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

by Anita Lincolne-Lomax

What is Babywearing?

There is nothing in the world that compares to having your baby in your arms – the feeling of your sleeping child against your chest, the sweet smelling downy head under your nose. These are moments every mother holds dear in those early newborn days. But life goes on, there are errands to run and things to do. Babywearing allows a busy parent the freedom to continue their normal daily routine while providing the richest and most desirable environment for their child. It is an instinctive parenting style where a baby is held close to the parent or caregiver in a sling or baby carrier. While babywearing is not a new concept in many parts of the world, it is rapidly gaining popularity in western cultures. So, what are the advantages of babywearing? Read the rest of this entry »

by Pam Leo

Pam Leo is a Parent Educator in Gorham, Maine. She has been a student and teacher of human development for more than 25 years. She is a mother, a grandmother, a parent educator, childbirth educator, a doula, a feature writer for Parent & Family, a motivational speaker on parenting and birth, and a sponsor of community education events. Her life work is to “help create a society in which all parents have the information, resources and support to raise children who can realize the promise of their potential.” For more information visit www.connectionparenting.com

“The single most important child rearing practice to be adopted for the development of emotional and social healthy infants and children is to carry the newborn/infant on the body of the mother/caretaker all day long…”  – James Prescott, Ph.D.

Contrary to what we have been taught to believe, research shows that babies who are held and carried all the time and get their need for touch well-met in their first year do not become clingy and overly dependent. They cry much less and they grow to become happier, more intelligent, more independent, more loving and more social than babies who spend much of their infancy in infant seats, swings, cribs, and all the other plastic baby-holding gadgets that don’t provide babies with human contact. We had all those baby-holders for my granddaughter and she spent a little time in all of them, but she spent most of her infancy in her sling because she was happiest there, and we loved carrying her and being close to her. Read the rest of this entry »

by Pediatrician Dr William Sears  - First Published in ‘Mothering’, Winter 1989

Dr William Sears, one of America’s most renowned pediatricians, trained at Harvard Medical School’s Children Hospital and the University of Toronto’s Hospital for Children, the largest children’s hospital in the world, where he was Assoc. Prof. of Pediatrics. He is the father of eight children and the author of more than twenty books.

New research is proving what experienced parents have long known – that something good happens to parents and infants when they are attached. Infant development specialists who travel throughout the world studying infant care practices have repeatedly observed that babies who are carried in a variety of cloth-type slings seem more content than those who are transported in plastic carriers, strollers, and prams. Which is better, to be worn or to be wheeled? My experience with new mothers and fathers in my pediatric practice strongly suggests that baby-wearing enhances not only the baby’s development but also the parents’ overall enjoyment of the baby. Read the rest of this entry »

by Alice Hansen

To hold your new baby close is a mother’s natural instinct. The soft newborn scent, wide new eyes and gentle breathing rhythms are pure joy. Surely new mothers and fathers should experience these precious moments for as long as possible.

For most parents, this magical time is unforgettable, yet relatively short-lived. Despite the new family addition, life hurries on and demands the shift of attention back to daily routine.

There are places to get to and chores to tackle. However, through the concept of ‘babywearing,’ a busy parent has the freedom to engage in every-day activities as normal.

Particularly for new parents, the transition of learning to incorporate their new arrival into daily life can be difficult. Not only does a new mother have to learn the motherly ropes very quickly, she must also learn how to introduce her baby into her current lifestyle smoothly. Read the rest of this entry »