COTW #15- Celebrating Our Mothering Through Babywearing

by Tami Grosset and Aline Kelly
Photo by Jenna Sparks Bradbury

Happy Mothers Day!

This week you have an opportunity to share with the group a favourite picture of you wearing your child or children; a picture that says how babywearing has affected your mothering.

Please tell us how babywearing has impacted on your mothering role.

Here are some inspiring mothering/babywearing blogs to enjoy;

Nurshable - Keep You Close: http://nurshable.com/2012/05/15/keep-you-close/

Nurshable - A Strip of Fabric: http://nurshable.com/2012/11/19/a-strip-of-fabric/

Natural Mamas - I Have Carried You Always: http://www.naturalmamas.co.uk/blog/i-have-carried-you-always/

Unicef - Kangaroo Mother Care: http://www.unicef.ca/en/blog/kangaroo-mother-care

Enjoy your day ladies!

Babywearing and My Mothering, by Tami Grosset

When Rory was little we struggled with breastfeeding. Nursing him was frustrating and left me feeling maternally impotent. In the end I opted to pump exclusively for him so our strong bond grew mostly out of our babywearing. I had learnt about babywearing during my pregnancy at the OCEAs 'Bringing Baby Home' class. 

 

I loved wearing Rory straight away! I had adored the 'special' feeling during my pregnancy and wearing Rory in our navy blue Moby wrap gave me the same special feeling.
Our first winter was the snowiest on record for the last 30 years and towards the end of the season the city stopped clearing the sidewalks. Going out with a stroller was not an option and we HAD to get out! Wearing Rory that winter was such a fabulous thing. It made it possible for us to get out and see people, which I feel is an important part of my ability to mother, interaction with other mothers and their bubs. As time went by and Rory grew we found a basic black regular ergo our carrier of choice and it was in this carrier that I wore Rory whilst he wore his hip cast and braces as he received his hip dysplasia treatment. He would not comfortably fit in his stroller and needed the closeness and comfort that wearing him provided. Babywearing allowed us to not just get through this time but allowed me to give him the best mothering possible, and made a two week tour of Nova Scotia possible.
The last time I wore Rory was when I was 25 weeks pregnant with Rose. We were traveling to France for Christmas and there were massive delays. I hadn't worn Rory much over the previous months but brought the carrier with me just in case. He was 3 years old, about 30lbs and tired as heck! We'd been up since 4am and were still waiting for a flight by 10pm. He had been an awesomely calm and happy boy all day but he'd hit the wall and needed mummy, who was equally tired- we both needed a cuddle! 

When Rose arrived I had a pretty decent stash; a carrier for every occasion! This time round breastfeeding worked like a charm but I found I needed to wear her for different reasons. Rory was in the final stages of potty learning when Rose was born. Chasing after him, helping him to potty, making him snacks, getting him to nursery school, volunteering in his class were all made possible by wearing his baby sister. He experienced less change in my mothering of him because of my wearing Rose. And Rose, of course, gained so many benefits from our babywearing, and still does.
I remember one time when my husband was away on business. Rose was about 2 months old and Rory 3 1/2 years old. It was bath time for Rory and Rose wanted to nurse. I had her in my maya wrap ring sling and nursed her whilst blowing bubbles for Rory in the tub. I felt like Supermum! 

 

Rose is now two and I've worn her in such an array of carriers, each one having a special use and a great memory attached to it! We've just returned from a trip to London UK where we wore Rose all over town, traveling on just about every type of public transport and traipsing up and down some pretty ancient cobbled streets. We explored places where strollers will never go! It was an excellent trip and my children experienced many many things. I was able to provide these experiences because of our babywearing. 

So, babywearing has helped me bond with my children, allowed me to provide for my children when they are sick, made it possible for us to get out when the weather made it seem impossible, has helped me mother my older child whilst simultaneously mothering my youngest, has allowed me to nurse on the go and has allowed me to teach my children about their British roots. 

 

Babywearing has in many ways formed my mothering. Thank you to my moby wrap, my boba, my ergos (we have two- I know!!), my scootababy, my freehand and my babyhawk. Thank you to my wrapsody, my koakoa, my girasol and my TMD half buckle. Thank you to my maya wraps, my sakura bloom and my home made chimparoo ring sling. I have loved you all and you have helped to make me the mother I am!