Wear Your Babies

`Babywearing?' It is the act of carrying or `wearing' one's baby to promote `attachment parenting'. There is apparently this non-profit organisation known as Malaysian Babywearers that will be organising an event in Penang on the 26th Oct in conjunction with the upcoming International Babywearing Week (IBW).

For me, I honestly do not know that such an organisation exists, neither am I aware of the term `babywearing'. I only know that I find carrying Ryan on his baby carrier so much easier than putting him in the stroller when we go shopping. Moreover, he likes it far better then being left alone in the stroller.

It is true that I noticed that not many Malaysian parents use the baby carrier. Instead, it is common to see parents using the stroller in any shopping complexes. Why? Is it because it is easier to handle the child? Do they prefer it that way? Or are we afraid that they will get too attached to us that they will refuse to walk on their own next time? Or maybe the answer lies in all of the above.

From my experience, I find bringing the stroller along for shopping a real hassle. Firstly, it is relatively bulky no matter how many times you can fold it. It is never easy to manipulate it when it comes to elevators. Going into lifts is never easy (after having to wait for ages). I find that `wearing' Ryan allows me the flexibility to move easily and wherever I want to go. He is equally free to explore the new sights and sounds. He gets extremely excited when he goes to toys stores!! Actually, I often gets the `funny' stares from other parents or people when I am wearing Ryan in public. I hope that they are staring because Ryan is cute and not that the dad looks kind of weird. In fact, I will `wear' him at home when I need to move about getting simple chores done. (However, be warned not to handle hot liquids or doing anything that could be potentially harmful to your baby).

Well, in choosing a carrier, find one that is soft and would be comfortable for the baby. Make sure that you find one that could at least hold the baby facing in and facing out. The `face-in' position is for newborn whose neck and head is still not strong while the `face-out' position is for baby whose neck and head is much stronger and they enjoy a better view than just your chest! Also, do look out for one that have a cross-strapped at the back from your shoulders. The one we have does not have the cross strap and hence, the straps tends to slip easily down my shoulders.

Nowadays, I don't leave home without it.

To find out, you can also visit www.thebabywearer.com.