Having a Baby

There are plenty of excellent reasons why you should consider carrying your baby or toddler in a sling. Here are my main ones:

1. Babies and toddlers love it! They can see what you see, and be ‘involved’ in what is going on around them. They are not stuck down at adults’ knee level, which can be a pretty boring place. And for tiny babies facing in to your chest, all they see is you, which is all they want to see anyway.

2. It promotes attachment between the person carrying and the baby. This helps the baby/toddler feel secure and loved, which gives them the confidence later to be more independent and less clingy. Contrary to common Western myth, you don’t need to encourage your baby to be independent from a young age; keeping them ‘attached’ to you actually helps their brains develop. While they are being carried they don’t get stressed and stay in a state of ‘quiet alertness’ which is the optimum state for learning about the world.

3. There are some situations where a buggy is just not practical and it is so much quicker and easier to pop the baby in a sling and off you go! Steps, rough terrain, narrow pavements or doorways – no problem! If you stop to let your toddler out for a run around, many slings are small enough to fit in your bag and it’s quick and easy to get the toddler in and out again. You don’t have to worry about your buggy getting in the way or being stolen.

4. Many babies when they are small like to be carried all the time. If you want to get on with something putting them in the sling gives you two free hands. They can sleep in there and even breastfeed, which gives you so much more flexibility to get on with your day.

5. It’s fun! You can chat to your baby much easier when they are in the sling than in a buggy. You can interact with them more and it’s nice and cuddly. They are within kissing distance at all times!

6. Your baby is not as heavy as you think he/she is. If you get tired quickly carrying your baby in your arms, you will find it so much easier in a sling. A decent sling spreads the weight across your back and keeps your posture correct. As your baby grows, so will your strength.

Before using a sling do read the safety information. Carrying a baby in a sling is perfectly safe when done correctly and according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.

Katie from http://www.suffolkbabies.co.uk, the number one site for people with babies in Suffolk, UK