Bond and nurture through baby wearing

Only 12 days to go to delivery… approximately. I think our baby will probably come around the date determined by the ultrasound but nevertheless these last days I plan as little as possible. I start my mornings considering that baby could be born today and go to bed relatively early prepared for an earlier delivery.

Everything seems to be in place, baby’s name, arrangements for baptism, baby’s clothes, pram, etc. I try to include my sons in as much preparations as possible, including choosing baby’s name. They seem so thrilled. My husband and I have gone through delivery routines. We feel quite prepare I guess. At the same time we try to keep our minds open to things developing differently than imagined.

This week I ordered through the Internet a new baby sling. Mine is 5 years old and looks worn out. That’s because both my husband and I have used it so much. We find it so comfortable, easy to use and so extremely cosy. It gives us this close proximity to our baby that makes baby feel more secure and cry less. We find that this particular baby sling we bought is so wonderful because baby can adopt lots of different positions, it can be used from baby’s birth until your child is as big as 2 years. (You can see it in the picture although not so clear, so if you’re interested in buying one don’t hesitate in contacting me).

Baby wearing in slings was not at all common here in Sweden 5 years ago when I bought my sling. I got lots of questions. Now it is more a question of fashion than really understanding the benefits of carrying your baby in a sling. In lots of other cultures it’s been for centuries the natural way of bonding with babies.

I got to learn about baby slings while reading about attachment parenting. Research shows that babies who are touched and cuddled frequently, cry and fuss less. Content babies are more alert and show more readiness to learn. It helps the slow-weight gaining baby because it helps mom respond easily to baby’s feeding cues. It develops deeper bonding between dad and baby. The sling lovingly embraces baby keeping him/ her close to mom or dad or older siblings, developing a feeling of caring and trust.

I look forward to wearing our baby in the sling!