Have you worn your baby today?

It's Babywearing week. Have you worn your baby today?

I like to think it's the latest fashion. Or at least it covers up the fact that most of my clothes are NOT in fashion. (that's what happens when you have 2 babies in 2 years, but I'll save that topic for another day.) This is much cuter than most of the clothes I own!

I discovered babywearing with my 2nd baby. I was excited to find a sling at a resale store and thought it was worth trying. Gracie loved the pouch sling. I wore her so much. Around the house, at my office when she was young enough to come to work with me, at 2am when that's the only way she would sleep, all around Ireland.

Lily loves to be worn too, although she prefers more of an upright position. Hence the Beco you see above.  It was my birthday present this year.  Yes, my birthday present was in fact something for my baby.  And it was the best gift! 

Lily loves the Beco.  She is so calm and peaceful when in it.  The two days a week I am home to pick Miss Rose up from school, I have to wake Gracie from her nap right before we leave.  She is usually still groggy and not quite ready to walk to the classroom.  So I push Gracie in the stroller and wear Lily in the Beco.  We are quite a site I'm sure.  But I have two happy babies, and that's what matters!

I was excited to get to introduce my sister in law to the wonders of the sling this week.  Her 4th baby is just a few weeks old, and she still has her hands full with a 20-month old.  Once the babe was in the sling she slept quite peacefully, and my sister in law could wrangle her little man-cub.

I love checking out Adventures in Babywearing to see all the lovely babywearing photos and posts.  I get a lot of sling envy! 

There are so many babywearing options.  Every baby and mama will have different needs, but if you have a baby or are expecting one--find a babywearing plan that works for you.  You'll love the closeness of your baby and the ease at which you are able to navigate the things of life.

I like Gracie would still love to be worn!  I just may give the Beco a try with her on my back.

When my babies are done being worn, I'm going to have to borrow some other ones!

Check out my post last year on Babywearing.  I wish I had more photos of me wearing Lily, but there usually isn't another adult around!

And the Beco gets the win

When it comes to baby purchases, I like to be frugal (lots of craigslist and baby resale stores) but sometimes, when it really matters, it's worth spending the money. We all have our "must have" items.

Diaper bags have been one of my most sought after items. Looking for one that was the right size, with the right compartments. My first favorite came from Pottery Barn Kids . After having Gracie, I found the Skip Hop dash (purchased for a steal on ebay) and have gotten a TON of use out of it. Now, I'm looking forward to trying this one from my Celebrity Bump Bag. I think it may fulfill my unrealized desire for one of these bags.

Another huge deal for me was finding the right double stroller--I decided a jogger would be most useful--and was so excited to find my Bob Revolution Duallie on craigslist at a savings of over $200 new. This stroller has now seen us through many trips to Sea World, the zoo, the fair and MANY miles run at the lake.

The only baby carrier I ever used with Miss Rose was the Baby Bjorn. I never found it very comfortable and didn't use it as much as I thought I would. She was my firstborn, so I was able to carry her in my arms quite a bit.

By the time Gracie was born, the babywearing buzz had hit and I thought I would give it a try. After all, with a 3-year old to care for as well, I would need a way to be hands free. I found a New Native sling at a baby resale for just $15 and it turned out to be one of my best purchases! [In fact, I couldn't decide if I wanted to purchase it or not. So I originally left the store without it. But after reconsideration, I called and they held it for me.]

Gracie was quite a colicky baby and I spent many wee hours of the morning pacing the house with her in the sling. She loved it. She would fall asleep in an instant in the sling and enjoyed many waking hours there too. As she got older, she would wave her hands and kick her feet in excitment when she saw the sling. When Gracie was 3 months old I spent 10 days in Ireland on a missions trip and the sling was invaluable.

Lily, notsomuch a fan of the sling. This time around I gave Hotsling a try. [I must confess, I don't find the sling deep enough and it's not as great as the New Native.] There have been a few times she's slept for a bit in the sling, but usually she arches her back and fights it.

Lily loves to be upright. Hence the search for another style of babywearing. I found this chart helpful. It boiled down to the Ergo and the Beco. I heard positive reviews of both. There were two swinging factors for me. Construction and style.

My Beco arrived a few weeks ago. I decided that was what I really wanted for my birthday. Yes, I know it's really for the baby and not for me. But it makes my life easier, so it's for me in some ways. And it was hard to justify the price, just for another baby carrier. I liked that the construction of it supported a smaller baby. We tried a mei tai, but it just made Lily mad because her head doesn't sit high enough yet. I think once she's taller, we'll get more use out of it. Plus the Beco comes in a ton of cute patterns, and I chose River.

We've had some VERY successful uses of the Beco so far. Lily seems to feel very secure in it, and she can see out of it. The most convicing experience so far was that she was content to stay in it while I sat a baseball recently for about 45 minutes. When she's in a sling, I have to be up and moving for her to be content.

It made a BIG Target shopping trip a cinch since I could put Gracie in the cart and not have to worry about the infant seat or Lily getting mad in the sling like what happened at Costco one time.

Yes...the Beco was the little surprise I was waiting for...and it gets the win for baby carriers this time around. [I'm glad too, that it seems to have good resale value, which is another criteria I use when making purchases!]

Here we are at the zoo...she refused to fall asleep in the stroller, but it didn't take long in the Beco. And there is the handy cover to shield her from the sun! [photo taken by Miss Rose, that's a elephant statue in the background and Gracie in the jogger]