My babywearing journey by Hannah Nilsumran, SSL member 26.3.20
I first encountered baby babywearing with my twins Allie and Linc five years ago – it was a complete eureka moment when I realised I could strap one to me and have hands free to deal with the other one. Never quite mastered the art of tandem carrying though – I would just present whoever was with me with another carrier. Allie and Linc weren’t fussy – any chest was a good chest!
Fast forward five years and I’ve got Mitch, my (currently) three-month-old singleton. I knew I wanted to babywear with him, so I visited the sling library at 38 weeks pregnant, had a much-needed refresher on how to wrap a stretchy and was all set. The Boba stretchy was a godsend in the very early days; Mitch loved it and it allowed me to spend time with my five year olds while he napped. It was also great at Christmas – saved six-week-old Mitch from being passed around multiple relatives and allowed us all to eat dinner together.
Once my husband went back to work and I started doing the school run (up 118 very steep steps – I’ve counted!) I needed more of a “clip on and go” solution as I found that my stretchy-wrapping skills were not equal to the challenge of early morning chaos. I was recommended the Mamaruga Zen as it is just three buckles, a cinch to cinch (ha ha) and a suitable size for Mitch and his stubby little legs.
Once Mitch’s grown a bit more, I’ll resurrect the Manduca I have that I used with Allie and Linc. I carried them on and off until they were four, and I think I’ll be doing the same for Mitch. The experience has proved that slings are definitely not a “one size fits all” affair – for that reason, I’ve been very grateful for the expertise and resources offered by the sling library.
Hannah x