Carrying your baby

We all want our babies to cry less, grow well, and sleep contentedly. We want them to learn easily, to have good muscle development, and to feel settled. Isn't it amazing that just carrying your baby in a sling can facilitate all those things?

For more detailed insight into how this works, see the book "Babywearing".
From the Amazon description "If someone told you they knew a secret to help your baby sleep better, cry less, and learn better, you would certainly be interested... Babywearing, the practice of carrying baby in a soft carrier close to our body as we go about our daily business, is parenting's best kept secret. Good things happen when we wear our babies. Babies who are worn cry less, are more calm and content, sleep more peacefully, nurse better, gain weight better, enjoy better digestion, and develop better. Babywearing benefits parents! It enhances parent-baby bonding, is practical, facilitates breastfeeding, helps working parents reconnect, and makes transitions from one caregiver to another easier. But most importantly, it allows you to meet your baby's need to be held while allowing you to meet your need to get things done! Anyone can wear baby - mom, dad, sister, brother, grandparents, baby sitters, and day care workers. The more baby is worn the happier baby is. And, a happy baby makes a family happy."

I have a copy for loan to mothers who attend Little Angels groups at my house, and LLL Tokyo Central library has a copy for loan and another for sale.

There are so many baby carrier options available these days, it can be very hard for parents to know which one would suit them best. As the site Mamatoto says, "You only need to learn ONE carry with ONE type of carrier." Don't let the variations overwhelm you. The site has details on all the different ways to use the various styles of slings, with photos and diagrams.

For reviews of the various kinds of carriers and the people who sell them, check out The Babywearer.com

Oh and by the way, I am obviously biased by the fact I stock and sell Maya Wrap slings I try not to let this colour my judgment too much. Any sling is better than no sling. It is the act of wearing your baby that matters. Different slings work for different people, and I started to import the Maya Wrap slings several years ago when you couldn't buy slings in Tokyo at all. In fact, one resourceful mother bought a Maya Wrap, copied it, starting sewing them for her friends, and now she runs a HUGE sling company in Japan, selling the same basic type of sling for about 10 times the price. Seriously, a sling does not have to cost the same price as a small vehicle. Fashion item...possibly. Useful tool for parents...definitely!