The Joys (and Pains) of Baby Wearing

I don't know how I ever lived without my Moby! After four babys I finally have the best baby carrier ever! My baby is an extension of me and with the Moby I can actually hold my baby and have him close while having my hands free. That means being able to do important things like making myself something to eat, using the bathroom, or chasing my toddler down before he throws my cell phone in the toilet. Freedom!

With my oldest son I first discovered the joys of babywearing. Someone gave me one of those front carrying baby "backpack" thingamajigs. This was almost 11 years ago, and about the only kind of baby carriers there really were. I used it alot while I could, but the weight range on those aren't very big, so my 9lb nb grew out of it within a couple of months. As a new mom I didn't know alot about taking care of a baby. I had done my fair share of babysitting my niece and nephew, but having your own 24/7 is quite different! I quickly learned that my baby did not want to sleep in his crib - he wanted to be snuggled up to his mama. So in order to be able to get off the couch to eat or pee, I had to come up with a way to put my little guy down without making him cry. I had a Snoopy pillow I would use for breastfeeding (no Boppy back then either!) that I kept on the couch. I would often take naps on the couch, so one day after laying down and nursing the baby I decided to get up and lay the pillow next to him to see if I could get him to think it was me. It worked! It proved to be a lifesaver in the early months.

With my next son two years later I came across a ring sling. I loved it! I used it all the time to tote my new babe around. The only prob was that it really hurt my back and shoulder. I loved having the freedom to wear my baby around, but hated having to deal with the pain of the uncomfortable sling. At least I was able to move up from the Snoopy pillow fake out!

By the time I had my third son six years after that, baby wearing had evolved in a big way. I really wanted to get a Moby, but didn't think I could afford it. So when I saw a wrap style baby carrier at Toys R Us for much cheaper, I was super excited. It didn't take long to figure out why it was so much cheaper. That thing was awful! I tried to make it work, but it was so cheaply made I just ended up getting rid of it. Of course I still had the same problem of not being able to do much because my baby wanted to be held all the time. I don't know how long I spent barely eating before I decided to go online and look for another ring sling. That's when I found a whole new world of baby carriers!

After researching the many different kind of carriers, I decided to go with a pouch sling since it seemed like a better version of a ring sling. They were super cute, but still had the same problems - back pain! If only I had gotten a Moby from the get go! By that time my son was almost 1 and a Moby seemed like the wrong thing.

This time around with my fourth son I knew I was absolutley going to get a Moby! I bought one midway through my pregnancy so I would have it right away. Right before the baby was born I went over the guide on how to use it and imagined how wonderful it would be to have it. I would wear my baby everywhere and be able to live my life just like before. LOL. I was pregnant and spent a lot of time imagining what it would be like to NOT be pregnant.

Of course the first month I didn't even touch the Moby. I spent most of my time in bed or on the couch resting. After birthing four babies my body just wasn't bouncing back like I thought it would. Fast forward two months later and I am loving it. I spent a month on the couch not doing much, and while I enjoyed being able to relax and snuggle my baby all day, I seriously started to go stir crazy. I popped my little guy into the Moby for the first time and got off the couch! Yay! I walked, I eat, I peed, lol. I lived my life again. Of course I have to say there are still some limits, and in some ways it is a bit like being pregnant, but other than that I would recommend one to any mom! The beauty is I know I will be able to get use out of my Moby for quite some time.