How much do you wear your baby?

[cro]

When J was a newborn, I'd wear him for a couple hours at a time, several times a day around the house. Now, though, it seems I only wear him when we're out. (He's 8 months old.) Occasionally I'll sling him at home when nothing else will calm him. Otherwise, he's too squirmy to wear around the house just for the sake of wearing him. (But I do hold him a lot.)

Does this still count as babywearing? :shrug Sometimes I feel like a hippocrate b/c I don't have him strapped to me all the time. How often do you wear your darlings?

[Aisling]

(leans forward and whispers: I think it's nuts to expect anyone to wear their baby all the time :mrgreen) Honestly, babywearing isn't like breastfeeding- I don't think anyone could really expect a baby to be exclusively worn :hug My dd has gradually become more and more independant, and my attachment to her has allowed me to see this as a need of hers :) At around 8mo, she wanted to be on the ground exploring for herself more often, and I let her. I think it's more important to be in tune with what your little one's needs are, than to hold them accountable to someone else's ideal :grin

[DogwoodMama]

I think you are baby-wearing. :tu You are doing it as much as your baby wants! It might be a phase though... I noticed when dd was learning to crawl and learning to walk I wore her less for a period of time, and then after she had "mastered" those skills, she wanted to be in the sling more. It comes and goes, I think. :grin

[kris10s]

Once I was past my first trimester of pregnancy and DD was 1 and running everywhere, the pouch pretty much lived in the car. She didn't like being in it at home, but she still loves being worn when we are out and about. I think it depends a lot on a toddler's personality. My daughter is a mover and a shaker, a climbing adventurer, and when she's in a "safe" zone (like home) she wants nothing to do with babywearing. Forcing it on her (as I tried to for awhile while I did chores) never worked and seemed way less AP than actually going with her flow.

[cro]

[deep sigh of relief] Thanks. I don't know anyone IRL who slings, so it's nice to hear what other moms do. Everything's so different this time around. DS1 was adopted as a toddler, so I wore him LOTS to promote bonding and he loved it. But this li'l bugger...can't keep him still!

[Blue Aurora]

Welll I can't sling my 1.5 year old right now b/c I'm 36 weeks pregnant but I've always used the sling more out than at home. DS is very, very active and has been since about 6 months old so I allowed him his freedom as much as possible. :D

[ChristineG]

Does this still count as babywearing? :shrug Sometimes I feel like a hippocrate b/c I don't have him strapped to me all the time. How often do you wear your darlings?


:eek :( Oh, no!! I'm so sorry to hear you are feeling like this! I wear our babies as much as needed to meet their needs. An 8mo baby *needs* lots of time to learn through exploring his/her surroundings, so wearing ALL the time would not meet his needs. I wear/hold or someone else wears/holds our nbs most of the time, but this certainly decreases naturally as they grow. You're doing great!! :heart