My ERGObaby love story begins when my daughter was 2.5 months old. While pregnant I had researched all the different types of carriers, and all the well-known brands, and finally decided upon a ring sling and an unstructured, two-shouldered sling. I thought that these two, along with the Kapoochi carrier I’d been handed down by my sister-in-law, would get me through my baby wearing days.
Fast forward a few months to when my daughter was born. It was very quickly apparent that this was a baby that just wanted to be held. ALL the time. For the life of me I couldn’t get my ring sling to sit comfortably on my body, and she looked terribly squished and uncomfortable too, so it was quickly put aside after a few attempts. My unstructured sling was really very good, but as she grew quickly, and was a heavy baby, it wasn’t long before she was starting to stretch it, and it soon felt like I was wearing her down around my knees. Not to mention that after a full day of wearing, my lower back and shoulders felt like I’d been run over by a horse.
The hand-me-down carrier was worse than useless. The million straps, clips, buckles and snaps had me utterly confounded, and when I finally did work out how to wrangle her into it, I could only wear it for about 10 minutes before giving in and taking it off again. All the weight seemed to pull right between my shoulder blades, leaving me achy and sore.
So, back to the drawing board. After asking a million questions on different forums, and reading numerous reviews, it seemed that the ERGObaby was going to be answer to my problems. And oh, how it was! The day it arrived I wore it for 4 hours, with my little one tucked up in the infant insert, and I couldn’t believe the difference that night. No throbbing back, no painful shoulders, no pulled muscles and aching bones! As an added bonus, she fell asleep in it and I was able to put her down to sleep on the bed! I was now able to go about my day (even going to the toilet!) with my daughter sleeping securely or peeping out to watch the world go by.
From that day to now, my daughter has been worn in one way or another almost every day. At 12 months old she’s graduated to more back and side carries, but when she’s tired she still loves cuddling into my chest and falling asleep. Our Ergo has taken us on numerous plane trips, including overseas, where she’s slumbered safely and peacefully through much of the flight. It’s allowed us to navigate airports without being slowed down by a bulky and cumbersome pram and once at our destination, we can go places inaccessible by stroller.
Obviously, being able to keep my daughter happy and satisfy her need for closeness and comfort, whilst maintaining my comfort, was the biggest plus of the Ergo, but there are so many additional benefits. Discreet breastfeeding in public. A change mat in an emergency. Grocery shopping without having to worry about the state of the bassinette attached to the trolley. Walking the dogs. I tell you, wrestling two large, excitable dogs while trying to manoeuvre a pram is no easy task! Now I just strap my daughter on, grab a dog in each hand and set off, knowing that she’s safe and the dogs under control.
I love the closeness that babywearing brings between parent and child, and I love that the Ergo allows us to babywear in comfort, for both her and us. Of course, being only 12 months old, I don’t need a new Ergo, as ours is still in amazing condition. I’d love to win a new ERGObaby for a friend of mine who has just had a baby seven weeks prematurely. Her baby is very sick and because of that she and her husband only able to hold their little one every now and then. My friend is worried about whether or not she and her baby are going to be able to develop a close relationship once she’s out of the hospital, and I know that an Ergo would allow them to nurture and strengthen the bond between her and her daughter, as it has done for me and mine.
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