Baby Wearing

I guess I was lucky when I fell pregnant with my first child that the first book I picked up at the library was on “attachment parenting”. Lucky because in that book, the title of which I’ve long since forgotten insisted we buy a ‘sling’. When I brought home my baby 4 wks early he would scream whenever he was left alone or in his pram and who can blame him. He had been snuggled up inside listening to the beating of my heart for the past 9 months and now – BAM! Big wide world.
When I received my first sling – also my first internet purchase, I was so pleased to find a note that stated that anyone living nearby would receive a free “how to” lesson – phew! I had no idea what to do with this piece of fabric. I tried to figure it out myself but all I got was tangled so when this delightful woman appeared at my door, me trying to juggle my screaming baby I was ever so grateful. She taught me how to wear my one shoulder ring sling and the different positions we could try now and as he grew. He fell asleep in the sling before she even left. That was the day I fell in love with baby wearing.


From that moment on my son lived in his sling. We got many comments from people, some welcome, others not. Many people thought he was a handbag and got quite a surprise when my handbag wiggled or a foot shot out. Many a stickybeak got more than they bargained for when they peered in and found not only a baby but one breastfeeding while I completed my weekly shopping in peace and quiet.

I’m not sure I would have survived infanthood without our sling. I used it while hanging out the washing, cooking, vacuuming – everything. It was also great to use while shopping or out and about, to keep him close and prevent him from becoming overstimulated.

When my son was six months old we bought our first backpack. Even my husband loved this and I don’t think our pram saw much use after that. In fact our son accompanied us on our honeymoon in his backpack; one week bushwalking through the national parks of Northern New South Wales.

So when we were expecting our daughter the decision wasn’t whether or not we would get a sling but what type. In the years since I had my son I have seen the art of baby wearing blossom into mainstream parenting which is a marvelous thing. When I wore my son was often regarded as some sort of hippy new age mother – not such a bad thing in my eyes. The best part about the increase in popularity of baby wearing is the amazing assortment of carriers and slings available now.

For my daughter we had a wrap style carrier that I made myself and later a soft backpack carrier that I still use today at 27 months old. She has always loved being in her carriers and being mobile has been essential while chasing after an older child, doing school drop off, afterschool sport and other activities. From the day we brought her home from the hospital in her wrap to yesterday running around the AFL field with my son she has been ‘worn’ by either my husband or myself and we have loved every minute of ‘babywearing’.




These are the benefits of using a sling or carrier that we have found ourselves, from friends or in parenting books


- Convenience – breastfeeding, hands-free housework, shopping or even eating – if you’ve ever tried to juggle a baby and a sandwich you will understand this one.

- Many people have commented that it helps them to have a better breastfeeding relationship and even increases milk supply and wearing your baby in a sling can actually help with baby weight gain

- It reduces crying and colic. A 1986 study of 99 mother-infant pairs (reported in Pediatrics) showed that carrying babies at least three hours a day reduces crying and fussing 43% during the day and 51% at night. Babies are happier because they have less need to cry, and parents enjoy their babies more as a result.

- In some babywearing cultures it has been noted that babies cry only a few minutes a day instead of the hours noted in western cultures.

- It can reduce the risk of plagiocephaly ("flat head syndrome")

- Actually makes children more independent rather than less independent and can be very helpful during those clingy times and toddlerhood

- Babies who spend time in a carrier or sling tend to tune into their parents body rhythm

- Carrying your baby promotes bonding and enhances parents' feelings of competence and decreases postnatal depression. A higher frequency of feeding and touching stimulates mothering hormones, and frequent carrying encourages and speeds the development of a mutual reading of each other's cues.

written by Sarah M.

William Sears & Martha Sears. (1993) The Baby Book
Littlefield, Timothy R. "Car Seats, Infant Carriers, and Swings: Their Role in Deformational Plagiocephaly," Journal of Prosthetics & Orthotics 15, no. 3 (2003): 102-106.

Morris, D.(1992). What Comforts a Baby? In Babywatching (pp 80-82). New York: Crown Publishers Inc.