Monday, October 4, 2010

Babywearing...what's not to love?



Baby wearing makes everything easier-Well- I suppose mixing up a chocolate cake can be a bit more difficult as the baby will certainly have access to the batter and if they're anything like my babe they will take advantage of that access (Yes-she is eating uncooked cake batter- no I'm not concerned about that). Recently there's been a recall of a baby carrier- It's heartbreaking that children died, and my sympathy goes out to those parents, I can't imagine having to deal with that loss especially when it came about from something meant to bring your child closer to you.
The fact remains though that slings- like almost any product geared towards children-are safe if used properly.

Not only are they safe, but they can be a godsend, for the mother with a colicky baby, for the high-needs child, for the kid that is so smart they need to be stimulated or they will lose their mind- driving their parents to the brink of insanity, for the teething baby, for the active parent.
I've used a couple of types of slings- but Ring Slings are my favorite- I've used one from the moment that N was home until now when a lot of people will ask if she's too big for it (to which say that the rings I use are tested for 250 pounds so if the fabric was stronger I could carry my husband). Slings have allowed my kid to experience my world and be soothed by me without my having to remove myself from my work or society in general.

I'm not sure what it is about slings that makes people so nervous- cribs get recalled, toys get recalled hourly, formula gets recalled- and those things go on- (actually our crib was recalled and we get guff about not putting her to sleep in it- so go figure). The thing about being a parent is that you want to protect your kid from everything- and doing that means that you have to educate yourself about how to use your sling properly, and which slings are safe. Just like anything else.

The slings that were recalled were pouch style slings- what I love about ring slings is that they hold your baby just like you would hold them with your arms, which is key to safety:

here's a few links to safety sites:
http://babyslingsafety.blogspot.com/

http://www.babyslingsafe.com/

and here's a call to action from Adventures in Babywearing. Go there to check out more sling stories.

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