That’s a wrap

I think baby duck has figured something out: as the third boy in our family he needs to have a voice *now* or he’s going to get lost in the shuffle.

He is snugly and lovely and a ‘good’ (now that’s a loaded term) baby.  He’s also very loud and has a fierce angry cry when he’s [a] hungry (all the time) [b] wants to be held (all the time) [c] s over-tired (dependent on how quickly we meet needs a & b.

In other words he likes to be held a lot.  Preferably 24/7.  He has been referred to as ‘spoiled’, which just makes me raise my eyebrows and snicker because he’s only three weeks old.  When he’s 16 and wearing $1000 shoes and driving a brand new car then you can call him spoiled.

The firefighter was carried constantly but I didn’t wear him in a carrier, mainly because he was my first baby and I didn’t really need my arms for anything else (ah the good old days).  He quite liked the Ergo between 4 and 12 months but despite it’s great design I found his chunky self hard on my hips.  I was a competitive horseback rider for almost 10 years and have several lingering back and neck issues thanks to a few spectacular falls.  I had a Velcro butt most of the time when I was riding but when I did fall I fell with a great deal of gusto and impact.

When the monkey was new he spent his time in the bucket car seat because the firefighter wasn’t yet at the independent walking stage (read: walking in the direction we needed him to travel in at a relatively decent pace) and our double stroller accommodated the car seat and the lolly gagging 2 year old.  And in all honesty I just didn’t know there was an alternative.

But my 32 year old tired self (remember I was young and spry at the ripe old age of 25 when I had the firefighter) has no interest in lugging around the giant baby car seat bucket and so it spends its time in the van.  After three c-sections I find carrying it is also one of the few things that pulls and tugs at my incision.  I also started taking care of my aching neck and back (mainly from odd nursing positions) five days post-baby this time and have had weekly massages to prevent the horridly nagging headaches that plagued me with the monkey.  Good thing since I wear the baby duck in a carrier or a wrap almost everywhere.

Right now I’m using the Boba wrap and the Freehand Mei Tei.  When there’s air conditioning or I need him to be snug and tight to my body (perfect for housework) I’ll use my Boba and when I’m outside or need to get him in/out frequently I tend to wear him in my mei tei.

And as much as I don’t like labels because of how they alienate and divide, especially parents, if it walks like a mom with a baby duck in a carrier, it’s probably a baby-wearing mom.

Or something like that.

95% of the time our car seat stays in the van; he’s either hollering when I stop and I take him out instead of carting him inside or I strap him into a carrier before heading to wherever we’re going.

He’s been worn to several doctors appointments and was only removed to be weighed or when one of the residents at our medical practice wanted a snuggle.  We adore them there: at our last visit one of the doctors had him in her arms for 45 minutes while I focused on the Monkey’s 4 year old check-up.  There might have been a brief scuffle in the reception area when someone else wanted some baby snuggles too.

When I grocery shop, he’s in a carrier.  On our last ‘quick trip’ we left him in the car seat and the firefighter’s toe tickling woke him up and resulted in hollering.  Lesson learned.

I took both boys and myself to the dentist for our check-ups and cleaning and the baby duck stayed in my wrap the entire time, including my cleaning.  After a morning of fussing and tears I was grateful that he was so happy and peaceful for the hour and a half we were at the dentists (man it’s quiet in there).

In either the Boba or mei tei he’s been:

On his first visit to the Children’s Hospital

To his first ‘girls night out’ dinner

Mini golfing

To his first movie in the theatre

To watch a soap box derby

And last week I took him to the fourth Annual Blog Out Loud event where I read this post with my wee baby strapped to my chest (until he had to be released for mandatory cuddles with many friends and passerby’s).

I do arts and crafts, make banana bread, and cook dinner, all with a baby strapped to my chest.  As my third (and last) baby I cherish every single solitary moment that he’s close to me (even when he’s hollering).  As my third baby I need both arms free to wrangle boys 1 & 2 and a carrier lets me do that in relative peace.  Unfortunately the carrier doesn’t stop boys 1 & 2 from [a] complaining about hunger [b] wanting me to be in 34 places at once.

What was your favourite carrier?  The most unusual thing you did with a baby or toddler strapped to your body?

Tagged as: baby wearing, boba wrap, mei tei