Babywearing

One thing that is clear about Cameron is her primary joy in life is to be held. And you can't just hold her, you need to move. She is not content just sitting on the couch and snuggling. She wants snuggling in combination with walking. And she wants it all the time. The only problem with that is by the end of the day mommy's biceps are sore and tired. So I've found myself very interested in the world of babywearing! I enjoy it, Cameron L-O-V-E-S it, my arms get a break, and I can get some stuff done around the house. It really is a win-win situation. So I've spent a lot of time finding the best wraps/carriers that both Cameron and I like. Here are the two that I absolutely love! Cameron enjoyed the photo shoot by the way because she can't get enough of looking at herself in the mirror. Even she knows how cute she is!

Gauze wrap

I have talked about my moby before, which I absolutely loved. I wore it quite a bit but now Cameron is getting to be a bit too big for it. This gauze wrap is essentially the same exact thing as the moby except it's a different fabric. The moby is made out of stretch jersey and this is made out of a really thick, non stretchable gauze. It is just a long piece of fabric that you wrap around yourself and the baby.

Pros:

Can be used from newborn stage through toddlerhood. The longevity of this wrap is wonderful and I'm sure I'll get tons of use out of it. The problem with the moby is that since it's a stretchy fabric, once the baby starts to weigh more they start to stretch out the fabric. While the moby is absolutely perfect for preemies/newborns/small babies Cameron was just starting to stretch it too much. She would start leaning pretty far to one side because of how much stretch it allowed.

Allows for many different carrying positions. You can do a back carry, a hip carry, or a front carry. Shown in the pictures is the front carry which is the most commonly used. I'm not sure how much I'll be using other carries with it but we will see, for now Cameron is perfectly content with the front carry.

Perfect for long outings. It is very secure and distributes the weight of the baby very well across your body so you do not get tired very easily with carrying the baby. I would use it to on a shopping trip to somewhere like Target or for a walk through the Metroparks. Cameron doesn't last long in a stroller so I usually end up wearing her instead of a long stroller ride.

Cons:

Learning curve. This wrap does have a learning curve. It can take time to get everything right and to learn how to wrap it properly. It really isn't that hard but at first it seems confusing and complicated. Once you have the hang of it though it is pretty easy, just a little tedious.

Takes a long time to get it on. It is not something I would ever put her in for a couple of minutes. In order for me to use this wrap I would have to plan on wearing her for at least a half hour. It doesn't take a terribly long time but long enough that wearing her for 15-20 minutes wouldn't be worth it.

Can't be pre-wrapped. One thing I really loved about the moby is that it could be pre-wrapped. Meaning I could wrap it around my body, drive to the metroparks, get Cameron out of her car seat and put her in my already wrapped moby. This one however has to be wrapped around the baby. So when I get to my destination I can't just pop her right in. It has to be wrapped there instead of at home.

Ring sling

Basically a ring sling is one long piece of fabric that is sewn on to two rings one end, and then you wrap it around your body in one circle and thread the other side through the set of rings like a belt.

Pros:

Can be used from newborn stage through toddlerhood. Like the gauze wrap this will last for a long time. It is essentially the same thing as carrying them on your hip with one arm underneath their bottom except you put a piece of fabric there instead to free your hands up. So pretty much as long as you would carry your baby or toddler like that, this sling can be used.

Very easy to use. This sling has very little learning curve and you can figure it out really quickly. You never have to unthread it so you literally just put it over your head, put baby in, and tighten it up appropriately.

Can get baby in and out quickly. This is my go to for around the house. When I know I just need to get a couple things done around the house I can pop her right in for a couple of minutes without taking a long time. Or if she is really fussy it is the quickest way to get her to stop crying. In order to use the gauze wrap, I need to know that I'm going to be wearing her for a while in order for it to be worth the trouble of wrapping everything up.

Cons:

Only good for shorter periods of time. I could never use this sling for a long walk. The weight is not distributed across your body very well because it's all pretty much on one shoulder. If you wear it for too long you would find your shoulder starting to really hurt.

Not many carrying options. You can wear it on your back but I don't know that I would feel comfortable since it is not as secure as the gauze wrap. She feels very secure on the front but I just don't know about the back. Pretty much what you see is what you get in the picture. That is the only way the baby can be worn with the ring sling. If I were to wear her on my back, it is still used the same way just her body is in a different position.

Not quite as secure. It is definitely safe and it is definitely secure, but I sometimes still feel the need to put my arm under her bottom. Of course I don't need to support her weight so it's not tiring but I like that extra safety net. With the gauze wrap, it literally feels as if the baby is cemented to your body.

Overall, I think these are the two must haves if you are a babywearer. I personally prefer them to the structured carriers that you usually see people using because they are more customizable. I have two others wraps/carriers. I mentioned the moby wrap which like I said is great for newborns. I also a have what's called a mei tai, which is no good for right now. I won't be able to get much use out of that one until Cameron is a fair amount bigger. It is supposed to be able to be used early on but neither me nor Cameron likes it yet although I can see us liking it in the future.