Happy (Babywearing) Father's Day!

We asked our babywearing dad's to share with us what babywearing means to them. Here's what some of our OBG Daddies had to say, or in our first entry, what an OBG bub had to say about his awesome dad!

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Dear Dad(Ian M. Hickman)

Thanks for being a super amazing awesome Daddy. I was only 6 days old when you snuggled me into a Moby wrap at the dog park for the first time. I saw my first Heffalump while riding in a Muslin wrap on your back at the Zoo. I saw my first Dinosaur while riding on your back in the Mandooka. We have even jaunted through air ports together, and was able to make a last minute boarding because I was able to hold onto the reins.

You take me on a lot of adventures, and just recently I fell asleep into you while watching the Brooklyn Skyline while (wait for it) 1.. 2.. 3.. Blast Off! from the Newark airport runway. When you are not giving me a piggy back ride you push me along in my trike, or I run along beside you asking 'What's That?!'. One day you will see me pedal on my own, but I know you will always be there to enjoy life with me. Thank you for being... my best Dad in the whole... entire... werld.

Happy Fathers Day!
Love you Dad!

Gavin!

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by Ryan Hough

Before our first son Miles was born, we were lucky enough to take a "Bringing Baby Home" course with an exceptional instructor who introduced us to the idea of baby wearing. She even brought in a variety of carriers and wraps one evening. Of course she discussed the many benefits of baby wearing including the benefits of having your baby close to his or her parent.

Once Miles was born, we found many benefits of our own. I enjoy cooking, and baby wearing allowed me get some cooking done while keeping Miles as happy as a clam. They sure helped us manoeuvre around crowds more effectively than with a stroller. I believe the most important benefit to baby wearing is how it has helped to shape him into the wonderful little guy he is today.

People always comment on cute kids, but I thought Miles always seemed to get a little extra attention by people he met or people just passing by on the street. This is often because he has something pleasant to say to those he encounters. I believe that baby wearing had something to do with this. I will explain why.

We live in a old 1930s semi-detached house in the Glebe, which is an area in Ottawa which is pretty much walkable to everywhere you would want to be. I have always been a proud papa and loved going for walks, just Miles and I. Sometimes it would be in a stroller, sometimes in a carrier or a wrap. I quickly discovered that I preferred baby wearing, especially around a year old when a greater variety of sounds started coming out of his mouth. When he was in his stroller, I felt a little more disconnected from him. When I was wearing him and he was discovering all the sounds he could make with his mouth in preparation for talking; from as young as a year old he would be looking around wherever we were walking and seemed to be asking me questions. I would have on idea what he was saying, but I would always answer his questions anyways. There were times we would have "conversations" all the way to Bank St., with him babbling and me speaking back to him. As he got older, his vocabulary got more diverse and he started to ask me more and more questions about his world. Some of my fondest memories of Miles are waking through the Arboretum, along Dow's Lake or to Bank St. having conversations the whole time. These conversations continue to this day.
People often talk about what a large vocabulary Miles has, how happy and smiley he is, and how social he is. I truly believe this is in large part due to the walks I had with him while wearing him. He was close to me face to face and not in a stroller or a car seat. During our conversations he learned about his world, learned how to have a conversation and increased his vocabulary while feeling safe and secure with his daddy. To this day, I have some of my longest and most pleasant conversations with Miles.

Photo by Jenna Sparks Bradbury

I am very proud of the amazing little boy he has turned out to be. I believe that there are many reasons why he has turned out this way (his amazing mom being one of them). I am so grateful that I was turned on to baby wearing, as I believe wearing him factored into the development of his bright little personality, and hopefully his love of people, curiosity, creativity and sense of humour will continue to develop throughout his life.

Photo by Jenna Sparks Bradbury

I am continuing to wear our latest little guy Ewan, who is now six months old. Strangely, he is turning out to be smiley, happy. social and alert just like his big brother, with his own little twist of course. Coincidence?

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D'Arc preferred to allow these pictures to say everything.

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Kars shared these pics of him traveling with his twins; fathering on the go!

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Jenna sent in these photos of her proud hubby wearing her boys.

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by Kyle

For me the appeal is all about practicality. We can carry our twins anywhere, and it's a way for all of us to get out and about. It's also a great bonding experience. They get to see the world from our perspective and we can explore together. We started out with two fleece pouch slings that were given to us when the twins were born in January. Those were great for winter walks, and we wore the twins for all of their naps initially. They slept so well in the slings. Once the babies were big enough we got a couple of Ergos - we love those. Next we are hoping to look into woven wraps so that one of us can wear both kids at once. We're only four months into parenthood so we're still new at this!

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Does your baby daddy babywear? What does it mean to him? If he would like to share his babywearing experiences he can send them to be added to the post.

Thank you to all the daddies in our children's lives. Enjoy your day!