I posted a while ago about my stash, and that hasn't really changed. I thought this time I'd write more about what babywearing has done for me and Virginia.
When Virginia was just a few weeks old we had a really tough time with breastfeeding. Mostly this was because I didn't know what I was doing and she had reflux. I was trying to nurse from one breast per feeding to help with her gas and reflux issues, but I wasn't nursing her often enough (you need to nurse more often when you do one breast per feeding). She wasn't gaining much weight and my midwife recommended feeding her constantly; as often as she would accept nursing. This was a difficult time for me. I was always hungry, thirsty, and under a baby. If I hadn't been able to wear Virginia and nurse her at the same time I wouldn't have been able to take care of myself at all. In the end, Virginia did gain weight and I started to figure out how to feel confident about breastfeeding instead of thinking about it too much.
Babywearing has come to the rescue again since our move to an apartment. There were pros and cons of all the apartments we looked at and the underground parking at this apartment was sort of both a pro and a con. When I go shopping at Whole Foods on a rainy day I can make the whole trip without getting a drop of water on me (Whole Foods has a parking deck). However, the walk from the car to the apartment is longer than the walk from a regular lot might be and it involves stairs no matter what floor you live on. (Okay, there is an elevator, but I like to get a little exercise.) Virginia is way too heavy for me to carry her in her car seat that distance and too squirmy for me to carry her in my arms if I have anything else I'm trying to carry as well. Every day when I come home from work I pop Virginia into the Ergo, fill my shoulders with my purse, breast pump, and Virginia's day care bag, and climb the stairs. Sometimes I do a few chores with Virginia riding along before letting her loose on the floor. (She is mobile now. And fast.) I also enjoy this time, having her close to me where I can breath her in, after we have been apart all day.
Babywearing is a beautiful thing and it has helped me be a better mother.
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