I have a fussy baby. She tenses her leg muscles and clenches her fists, hates to nap, loves to be held, and can scream like nobody's business. Initially, I was having a tough time soothing her without having my own meltdown. Then I heard that babywearing can make your baby the happiest baby on the planet.
More from The Stir: Does breastfeeding make you dumb?
Famed babywearing advocate Dr. Sears claims there are a gazillion benefits to this age-old practice. But the one that got my attention was that sling babies cry less.
Sold on the theory, I picked up a Jelly Bean sling and watched the magic begin.
Luckily, the sling came with instructions, for I was a bit confused about how not to smother my newborn in this thing. But I got her in the cradle hold (shown) during a particularly fussy episode and began walking her around the house.
As usual, she wiggled and struggled for a few minutes, but then something magical happened. Without a boob or a pinky finger in her mouth, she was suddenly calm. Her eyes were still open, but she was looking around in awe at all the things I was doing. Her fists opened up and dropped to her sides. She relaxed her back and her legs. Moreover, she stopped crying.
As a result, my muscles relaxed, my stress melted away, and my own frustrated tears stopped.
I figured this was just a one-time thing and there's no way I could get so lucky again, but the next time I tried it, she calmed down so fast that she fell right to sleep and started snoring. She soon felt so heavy that I had to put her down. I slid the sling over my head, placed her in the crib, and lo and behold, a daytime nap was in progress.
More from The Stir: Heidi Klum is a baby wearer, are you?
Now that I've got the hang of slinging my baby around at home, I'm finding there are all sorts of things I can do while keeping her close to me. For example, I can sweep the floor! She loves the rocking motion, and those dust bunnies I'm always glaring at while breastfeeding on the couch are history. Another bonus: I can tone my thighs and butt! If I drop something or have to reach down, I can't lean forward because my baby might fall out of the sling, so I'm forced to squat.
The most important thing, however, is the difference I see in my daughter. When she's feeding, she squirms less. When she comes off the boob, she fusses less. When she's put in her bouncer for a few minutes, she no longer instantly cries. Of course, there's still crying. She is a baby, after all.
I can't say it enough: I love babywearing! I'm not so hardcore that I'm breastfeeding at the grocery checkout -- I think I need a more sophisticated sling for that -- but I'm trying it out for a few hours a day and it's working. My baby is happy. And when baby's happy, so is mama!
Have you had success with babywearing?
Written by Lauren Flynn Kelly for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
More from The Stir:
Toddler drowns after parents ask about killing her
Making out can get you pregnant
Your sister's bad pregnancy could hurt you