Continuing on my exhaustive week of all things mom and yoga related, I just taught my new moms yoga class today. In class, there was a new mom whose baby is 10 weeks old. She lives in the neighborhood, and told me she doesn’t own a car or a stroller! She and her partner have planned to buy a stroller this spring, but she can’t bring herself to do it yet. The thought of storing the monstrosity in a city apartment is part of it. And she says, she likes wearing her baby and finds it more comfortable and convenient.
And then I read this article from the NYTimes two days ago, all about “babywearing” instead of strollering. Very interesting! Moms and Dads, what do you prefer?
Love and light,
Barrett
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I always enjoyed wearing my kids in a sling, and my wife wore each of them for hours a day, but there’s definitely a time and place for a stroller too. A $20 umbrella stroller can still be very useful and doesn’t take much room to store.
Rob,
Good perspective from a papa!! I think slings are really great for dads, and I’m so excited that in general, babies are being carried more. But I agree with you re: strollers. I can’t imagine never using one – that’s why I was shocked when someone said they actually didn’t own one!
did you see the movie “away we go”? there was a part about new agers and strollers… very very funny.
I’m a huge fan of the babywearing – it’s just so convenient with no car in this city. Navigating a stroller is a pain. I only started doing it regularly for either child care drop-off (carrying too much other stuff) or now, since I have another one on the way and my back just couldn’t take it.
I love wearing my baby. I did it for months with an infant insert in Ergo carrier, now we do hip carry + the sling. Our srtoller arrived 2 days ago, we were 6 months without it and did not miss it much.
Our daughter is interacting with people, smiling at everyone and enjoys looking around. And everyone is smiling back at her. I don’t think that would be possible in the stroller, at the dogtail and exhaust pipe level.
I loved wearing my babies and did it with front carriers, slings nad then backpack as they grew. It was so convient and great for the baby. Now my oldest is 17 and ready to carry me!
Yes, it’s so nice to hear that parents throughout the years have consistently worn their babes. And Anita, you’re so right about the noise and other unsavory things at the height of a baby when they’re in a stroller. It’s something I didn’t think about until I was in NYC once with a friend and her baby. It was so apparent suddenly!
Mothering Magazine has a babywearing101 pamphlet that may be of interest to some: http://shop.mothering.com/product-p/reprint-bwearing.htm
When I became a mom, I couldn’t understand why I would ever want a stroller. They struck me as clunky, prohibitive gear that got in the way of keeping your baby close. Since I wore her in a carrier nearly all the time, we experimented with a full range of carrier options. Now that she’s a 20-pound toddler, it’s a different story. She’s heavy, even in her Ergo, and the baby that used to want to be held is the toddler who loves things with wheels. She also wants to be freed from having to face in or be held all the time. The stroller is starting to get some use.
It’s also sobering to read the fatalities listed in this recall notice:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10177.html
Even with all the benefits, baby-wearing is not exclusively the best option.
Strolling can be very organizing for children, but I can also see how it might not be so convenient for city living. I would never recommend exclusivity, because both are beneficial at different times.
Yes it is a joy to have baby along with me anywhere. But as for the sling, I am more comfortable using it with my baby when she was still small and lesser active. Now, i don’t think I am comfortable having her hanging on me using the sling because she is longer, heavier, and more playful at one year old. She is more secured in her stroller, at the same time, my back is not heavily burdened by all the weight I am carrying.
We went the baby carrying route until Katie was about 1 year old and then we bought a stroller. Now we use both. I love babywearing! She is not light, over 30 lbs, but with the right carrier it is still comfortable to wear her on my front or back. At 21 months she still naps in her carrier while I run errands, it’s great! we also love strolling now, too, they are both good for toddlers.