celebrating babywearing

happy international babywearing week!

our earliest bw picture- age 2 weeks

our most recent bw photo- age 36 months, though we have been at it for 43 months now! gangly 3 year old boys sometimes need to check that attachment with mama, too, if only briefly. (time to take some more pictures!) i wished i had brought along our carrier on our hike on this same beach, just last night. i ended up piggy back riding my son all the way back from the hike (usually he has more gumption, but he preferred a ride).  my arms got pretty tired, and my old trusty mama tool numero uno would have been just the thing.

babywearing has been integral to my journey as a mama. i am saddened by bad press it has been getting lately, because it is so essential to life with a baby/toddler, and has enhanced our lives in such wonderful ways. as both a babywearing mama, and an artisan who sells handmade baby carriers, this is near and dear to my heart- it is a huge part of my life and a part of my livelihood. it is so rewarding (and i never thought i’d be a salesperson but…) to have someone “just try on” a sling and walk away wearing a quieted, comforted, instantly-asleep baby they’ve just purchased because it was the baby gear they didn’t realize they couldn’t live without. in an effort to get the word out that babywearing is not only extremely safe but it is also enormously beneficial to babies AND parents! i believe that having your baby close to your heart is arguably the safest place they can be. babywearing is inherently safe, it enhances safety as well as ensuring a strong attachment bond between parents and babies. stephanie at adventures in babywearing has been hosting a “call to action” this week, where you can link your own bw story, and you can read more about the insanity of CPSC recalls and so on at the baby carrier industry alliance facebook page. i love the bw call to action: “they cannot recall my arms!”