Many babies are rocked, swayed and bounced to sleep during those first few months, and yes, it’s so very exhausting! There’s no doubt having a baby around the house takes a toll on your relationship as there’s a completely new dynamic at play – sleep deprived parents + friends and family wanting to visit ALL THE TIME = no time to yourselves. I’m talking just the two of you, having an actual conversation.
Thankfully… we have babywearing!
My husband and I wanted to try our best to keep the fun and romance around in our early days of parenthood. Babywearing from the start helped us turn our daughters sleep time into sunset walks which ended up with us being able to gently put Annaleah into bed, already passed out. We’ve had many deep conversations while strolling around getting our baby girl to sleep – and it made me realize that it’s so easy for new parents to miss out on these moments together, especially during that crazy fourth trimester.
We continued this for a long time until she started to stay awake during some of the day time walks. It started when my husband said to me, “I don’t think she’s going to fall asleep,” and I responded by taking off the hood of the carrier and she looked about in awe. As the months went by, her facial expressions turned into little noises she made when she saw something that interested her, and now she is full blown pointing and reaching out at every little thing she can.
I’ve come to realize that there are different stages in babywearing and that each and every stage serves it’s own purpose, much like your baby reaching their milestones.
The most common reason parents decide to babywear is SLEEP! They realize that the only way to get their babies to sleep is to strap them to their bodies, this at least allows life to go on and doesn’t mean hours spent away from each other, trying to get their little one down without being able to do anything else in the process.
As my daughter transitions into toddlerhood, our walks are no longer just for sleep purposes but for her to see the world. For the first time yesterday on one of our walks, she pointed to a plane. I was in awe of how these moments in her baby carrier have opened up a whole new universe for her to explore. Walks that used to be sleepy, quiet moments have now changed into moments of us letting her know that, “yes, sweetheart, that’s a tree. Oh, look at the plane!”
I took this photo a few months back and I still smile every time I see it.
As your baby grows and changes, so to will your babywearing experiences. The one thing that never changes though is their want to be with you and to fall asleep to the beat of your heart.
Carry your little ones, as they are only this little for a little while.
