Back in April, Babes in Arms featured a Blogger Call Out . Our first round of entries streamed in at a steady pace, so it was with real difficulty that we selected our first round winners.
Today we introduce you to Natalie, mother of Thomas 15 months old. Her post on being a regular, everyday ERGObaby wearing mumma convinced us that her post was the one we would like to begin with. So without further ado…..welcome Natalie…..
I’d never really pictured myself as a “hippie” baby wearing mum (classic suit professional type) but I have always done a lot of travel and I hate travelling heavy. Prams looked heavy and bulky and ‘in the way’. I’ve trekked to Everest base camp and managed that without a ton of gear, surely a baby doesn’t have to mean that much stuff!
So first it was a sling which was wonderful, but my little man soon got too squirmy. Then I needed something that would soothe him, that wasn’t tough on me physically but that I could also have hands free. Fortunately I had the chance to try the major competitor (Baby Bjorn) as a loaner and I knew that it was never going to work for me. Having been accustomed to carrying packs the ERGO “looked right” to me, it looked like it made sense from everything I know from trekking and hiking. I was right (as were all the testimonials I read), the ERGO makes sense.
Unique ERGO experiences…This is where I don’t think I should be entering the competition (but I’m avoiding contract law study tonight). My experiences aren’t unique, they’re very ordinary in fact. I don’t use it every day, I probably use it once a week, we use it all the time on holidays but we haven’t been to Morocco or Sudan or anywhere like that since we’ve had our son. Some weeks I only use it when I hang nappies or take out the bins.
The ERGO makes everyday activities that can become stressful post-baby normal. At 15mths my little guy will handle a pram for short periods (pretty much has to have a rusk or snack in his hand the whole time) or a walk with the dog (constant movement) but other than that he gets bored and cranky. I can handle pushing a pram with the dog for a walk or for short trips but anything more than that and I get cranky!
Crowded markets… nightmare.
Beaches… sand in the pram wheels.
Bush walking… not a chance.
Family picnics… too much to carry.
Airports… don’t start me.
Zoos… gravel paths, pram hell.
Even cold places… blankets being kicked off etc.
Rain…pram rain covers (sent from hell surely).
My ERGO means that when we go on holidays we don’t drag a pram around, we walk like we always did, one of us has a backpack, the other has a kid-pack (ERGObaby). Tom sleeps when he’s tired, chats and looks around when he’s not. If he’s fussy and teething I’ll put him on the front where I can keep a closer eye on him and pull faces, blow raspberries etc. I never have back pain and we go all day.
When Tom was very young we went to Tassie (I have family in the north of the Island). It was cold we were staying in Hobart which has some mighty big hills and we wanted to keep up our pre-baby tradition of a nightly wine in a Salamanca pub. We took the pram on that holiday, never again! Used it once and it was so hard. The ERGO was the favourite from then on. Every night we’d walk down all rugged up, Tom asleep on my chest. We’d order a nice Pinot and stand in those lovely warm Salamanca bars and toast ourselves for a baby asleep and us still behaving as grown-ups. Then we’d go for a walk, pick up some takeaway and head back to our hotel… lovely.
At Easter we walked 4km from my sister-in-law’s place to a good picnic spot, carrying picnic rugs etc and Tom had a nap on the way there. Arrived in a lovely mood.
A recent Zoo trip organised for my hubby’s 40th (I’d arranged for him to feed the Red Pandas) was nearly cancelled because my usually excellent sleeper woke 6 times the previous night. The poor kid was teething and very unwell. He slept the entire day in the ERGO, only woke up for the picnic lunch. The gravel paths made prams (even a good one like I’ve got) awful.
In NZ we did everything with the ERGO, wandered museums, walked on beaches, did good long bushwalks. Everything was easy with the ERGO.
What I like best about Babywearing and the ERGObaby carrier:
- “Attachment Parenting” doesn’t have to be a conscious decision, it can be the easiest, comfiest way to parent.
- My Ergo lives in an Enviosax fold up bag, it weighs nothing, folds to nothing and means everything.
- I like the comments, some people have a giggle because he often falls asleep in some funny positions, others coo because he looks all cute when he’s asleep, it’s kind of like the rest of the world noticing your baby and it feels nice. No I’m not one to be the centre of attention as a rule, generally I hate it.
- Everyone told me that premmie babies are fussy, everyone one complains about their kids… I just never have a problem. Not that he can’t be a ratbag or that he doesn’t have bad nights but he’s so settled. The kids and routines I read about on the BIA website all seem more settled, this can’t be a fluke… there’s something to this.
- I like the look, my Ergo looks good, plus (and yes I know how this will sound) it looks good on me. When I catch my reflection I look like I did when I went trekking, I like the ‘action mum’ look.
- Its so damn EASY! For the bit of time it took me to practice the back carry position it has been wonderful.
- Two hands, no wrist straps, no brakes, no fuss.
