Babes in Arms – blogging about select baby carriers and slings from around the world

In our second Blogger Call Out installment, we introduce you to mother of three, Kylie who began her ERGObaby journey shortly after the birth of her third son, Cooper.  We hope you enjoy reading about her experiences. We also invite you to submit your own story which could be selected to feature on our BLOG, earning you a cool $100 BIA voucher to spend store wide. Read or the details here: Blogger Call Out.

Introducing Kylie …………………………………………………………………………………………..

I have three boys; Jordan, almost 5, Riley, 3, and Cooper just turned one. I came across an advert in The Practical Parenting magazine for the ERGO Carrier about 6 weeks before Cooper was born.. I thought it looked great, but I was onto my last baby and wondered if it was worth the money.

My friends wanted to throw me a baby shower, but I was not keen as I was having yet another boy and did not need any gifts. My friends insisted so I suggested money rather than gift, to go towards the purchase of an ERGO. We have now been using our ERGO for just over a year.

At first it was nice and I found it supported my c-section scar well. It was great for settling and promoted breast feeding. However out real love of the ERGO came with out kids as they got bigger. Now I WISH so much that I had an ERGO when Riley was a baby… he was impossible to settle, he hated swings so much, but also hated cuddles. He didn’t cope well with LOTS of things. I could have worn him on my back, allowing him to feel close, but not smothered at the same time, and I would have been able to continue with what I needed to do.

Riley has some developmental and sensory issues similar to autism. He finds it very comforting to be close to someone or be able to put his head down and withdraw if he has had enough. He could not do this in a pram. We recently went to the museum and it was great for Riley to be able to hop in and out as often as he felt comfortable to do so. The scenario reminded me of a Joey in it’s mother’s pouch.

Now days, if Cooper, my youngest, is becoming unsettled, I ask him if he wants to come on my back, he always does, and problem solved! We are both happy and I’m fostering attachment parenting based on my baby’s cues. I love it so much! It’s really funny though, now when Pete takes Carla, our dog for a walk he wears Riley on his back. If Cooper sees Riley hopping on Pete’s back he gets all jealous, because he is not getting in the ERGO! Another reason for wanting two!

Recently, we spent a day hiking in Kalbarri National Park, WA. It has some amazing tracks, and vantage points. The most well known of these is the “Natures Window”. It is almost a natural lookout.  My husband, Peter carried Riley in the ERGO on his back. I carried Cooper in an old baby pouch that was given to us, years ago when Jordan was born. I would have been much more comfortable with another ERGO and it was one of the many times we wish we had two ERGO’s. We were able to go anywhere, do anything with our little ones being worn. My hubby climbed all over the place with Riley, and they were both super comfortable… Maybe just got a bit sweaty! If we had had a pram we simply would not have seen any of the sights in the national park. There were some other parents who left prams at the start of the track and had to fumble clumsily up and over rocks with small babies in their arms. I would have been terrified of dropping them or slipping. The ERGO allows you two hands to steady yourself while manoeuvring over terrain like rocks.

At the moment Cooper gets worn every evening, allowing me to cook dinner and do house work without an unsteady toddler round my feet or in the kitchen. He loves sampling dinner that I’m preparing, but I am often wearing these little samples by the end, or it’s down the back of my shirt! Cooper is now worn everywhere we go or anytime I need to do any house work. I was recently helping out with my local breastfeeding association when they were doing a feed and change tent for Mums and Babies and it was great to be able to wear Cooper, breast feed and chat to Mum’s and sell raffle tickets all at the same time!

We love the ERGO for many reasons. I love being able to wear the kids on my back so comfortably. It has improved my back after the trauma of birth and has acted as physiotherapy. My back actually feels better when I’m wearing the ERGO. I love the multi positions and being able to use it for bigger kids. I have recommended it to other parents for these very reasons. The sleeping/feeding hood is also a lovely feature. And it’s a real Dad friendly carrier.

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.