My Top Reasons for Babywearing

Baby Wearing... you mean put my kid on like a shirt?

Yup that’s what I mean. I love to wear Soren especially when he’s fussy or seems to just need some extra mommy time. Being a busy parent of two with an in-home daycare means that I don’t always have my hands free and that’s where babywearing comes in. I don’t have 8 arms even though I often need that many and wearing allows for my hands and arms to be free.

My Top reasons to baby wear:

It’s practical. You need your hands free for several other things. I can think of at least a hundred things I can do while babywearing. Dishes, laundry, prepare dinner, vacuum (Soren’s favorite), and the list goes on and on.

It’s beneficial for me: Who wouldn’t get a workout from carrying junior up and down the stairs 50million times a day or from a brisk walk around the block! I love to wear one of my kids and go for a walk. You could easily use a babyhawk and do just about any kind of exercise, baby is just added weight. When baby cries it’s also stressful for them and you. When he’s happy, I’m happy!

It’s beneficial for Soren: babies that are worn cry less. Crying less equals less stres. They stay in a calm alert state and can take in more than if they are crying. It can be especially helpful for colicky babies. I feel that he also has a chance to bond more with me; I wouldn’t be able to hold him as much with out it. Babies also feel secure when being worn. Things like your voice, breathing pattern and heartbeat are all familiar to him.

They are cute and cost efficient: Baby slings and carriers come in a variety of styles and colors. There are Moby wraps, Ring Slings, Ergo’s, BabyHawks, and Hot Slings just to name a few. There is bound to be one you’ll like. They are also cheaper than a stroller and a lot less heavy than lugging around the infant seat.

It’s convenient: One of the things I hate most about getting out and about with the kids is, “How am I going to control Zoe?” She’s 4 and can walk very nicely, when she wants too…I have always made her ride in the cart. After Soren was born I soon discovered there is only room for the infant seat in the cart. So I started packing my Moby and Zoe went back into the cart. It was much easier than chasing after her in the store.

I can breastfeed in public discretely: Just scooch baby down a little in the Babyhawk and bam! They are right a breast level (tummy to tummy). Or while in the Hotsling or Moby use the cradle carry. There is plenty of fabric to cover yourself and baby. I have also seen women use the Ring sling “tail” if you will to cover themselves while NIP (nursing in public).

Here’s Soren and I using a Hot Sling. Happy babywearing!

~Gracie

Nay-Sayers!

So your best friend thinks you’re off your rocker. She can’t believe that you’re going to use cloth diapers. She says, “Eww those are gross and I don’t have the time to do all that extra laundry”. Your grandma tells you,“They are way too much work, I know! I did them back in the day and don’t you know those pins poked your aunts and uncles more times than I can count”. Aunt Candice says, “Those wet pails are such a pain and they stink.” Your mom says, “Don’t they cost a lot of money? You’re not saving because it’s all being spent on your water bill.” And well you just know that they smell bad.

When I first thought about doing cloth at the prompting of my friend Corey, everyone was telling me not to but her. So, I did my research and asked Annie and Corey both a million questions. When I finally decided to try it, I had all of these people coming at me telling me not to do it and that I’d “never make it cloth diapering” and no ammo to fend them off.

Let’s start with what bothered me the most…The Smell. Oh Lordy was I afraid of the smell. Turns out they don’t smell at all if you wash them correctly. I can remember smelling Annie and Corey’s diapers and saying “Wow, they really don’t smell.” They must have thought I was crazy burying my face in a Fuzzibunz and taking a big whiff. The proof for me was in the diaper. Have your friends smell them. Seriously, they don’t smell like anything. They are just as clean, if not cleaner than the clothes you wear. If your baby has a blow out in disposables, don’t you just wash their clothes? Of course you do, and it’s clean and it will be worn again.

Isn’t the water in the diaper pail dangerous and smelly? Cloth diapering has changed so much. Gone are the days of diaper pins, wet pails, and only using prefolds because that’s all that was available. Now we get choices; velcro or snaps, flowers or cow prints, All-in-Ones or Fitteds and Covers. Wet pails probably did stink and they allowed for bacteria to grow. Now we use a diaper pail made with odor eating plastic, no water, and Planet Wise Pail Liners, which makes for better smelling diapers and houses all around. If you do notice a smell in the pail, there are products such as Fluff Dust and Deo-Disks that can help eliminate that for you.

Oh the laundry! How will I ever handle the laundry? If you remember nothing else about me, remember this…I loathe laundry! I detest the smell of dirty clothes, washing them, drying them and especially folding and putting them away. Needless to say I have a hard time keeping up with my regular wash but my diapers are always clean. All you do is dump the diapers in your machine set it for a cold rinse, come back, add some detergent, set it to do a hot wash/cold rinse, and then one more rinse and they’re done. If you have a new washer you can actually program it to do all of that for you. Set it and forget it! There is something so gratifying about having them all washed, dried, and ready to go!

The next big thing for me was the cost. And yes, initially they do cost more up front but the money you save in the long run is crazy. HERE is a Cloth Diaper Calculator that will help you see exactly how much money you can save. This was big for me and my husband and ultimately was a deciding factor in our choice to use cloth. I invested $364 (which is more than I needed to) to start. I have since sold some of my diapers (you can too at www.UnderMyCrib.com ) and made back $85. I don’t know anyone that has ever made money back on disposables, do you?

After all of this, who wouldn’t want to cloth diaper?

~Gracie

Yet one more contributing writer!

Hi, I’m Gracie. My husband Daron and I have two children, Zoe who will be 4 in December and Soren who is only 7wks old. I am brand new to cloth diapering and only started when my son was born. At first, I was so completely overwhelmed by the whole cloth diapering world that I almost didn’t do it. There is just so much to learn. When I started telling people that I was thinking about it, no one thought I would or could. One day when I was talking to my mom, she laughed at me and said “Gracie, you don’t do the laundry now, what makes you think you can keep up with cloth?” In my head I thought, “She’s right! What did I get myself into?” But I couldn’t let other people think I couldn’t do it, so I jumped in! I went to Nicki’s store in New Glarus with Annie and Corey and bought Snappis, prefolds, Swaddlebees covers, a couple of Haute Pockets, two Planet Wise wet bags, and a few other things. Me and my pride were going to do this! My first week of cloth diapering was a disaster! I didn’t know what I was doing. I was so sure it was going to be just like disposables just with added washing. How hard can this be? Plus I wanted to have Soren in cloth when I went home to NY to visit my family since I talked it up so much. I had to go home with him IN cloth to save face right? So I got out my Kissaluv 0 and a Swaddlebees ABC wrap and put it on. Within the hour Soren was soaked. Hmm, that’s strange Corey swears by these and her kids never leaked in them. So I tried again (remember my pride is hanging in the balance), and again, and again! Over and over I tried these diapers and every time he leaked through them. All the while I’m thinking to myself, “Boy this design is horrible. Why would they make it snap together like this and have these flaps on the top?” Finally out of desperation I decided to take pictures and send them to Corey and Annie to see if it’s user error. Check it out… Sure enough, I had put the darn thing on inside out! Best part of this story is I went home with him in cloth but leaking at every diaper change. My family is thoroughly convinced I’ve lost it. But I didn’t give up! Once we fixed this little inside out issue, it’s been smooth sailing. Honestly though, I cloth diaper because I want to save money, they’re fun and different from the norm and I love the look when I tell people. It’s a great conversation starter and I love to talk! I hope you’ll find some humor in my stories and my mistakes.

Me, Zoe and Soren! ~Gracie