I carried my babies in carriers. I’ve owned more carriers than I could ever possibly count given my “weakened mommy memory.” When my baby girl was just over one, I sold what I thought would be the last of my baby carriers. I had carried her religiously as an infant, and she wasn’t interested anymore.
Then, she started teething. While the teething tablets work awesome, she still suddenly wanted to be held again. I had forgotten to anticipate this and doing the laundry, cleaning the house, and making dinner were suddenly impossible chores to accomplish.
So, I broke down and bought yet another baby carrier. My favorite carrier stocked by Everything Birth is the Maya Tie-On and it functions perfectly for paying attention to a clingy toddler while you get work done around the house. It goes on easy. It’s comfortable. It kept her out of my way. (I know that sounds heartless, but let’s be real, she waits until she knows I’m cooking to suddenly say, “Mama, hold!”) It keeps her happy. I’m not going to get into detail about how important it is to sooth a child with physical touch via a baby carrier because I did that in a previous blog. I will assure you though, it’s not just “babying” them. When they need to be held, it’s important for their health, growth, and emotional security that we do.
I will never sell this new carrier. There were several times between when I purchased this last carrier and when I sold the one before that that I had wished I had a carrier. Every single time I babysit for someone else’s child, I wished I had still had my carrier. When I baby sit, I don’t want to actually have to SIT. My life is way too busy. I’ve never met a baby who hasn’t let me put them in a carrier, even if they are unfamiliar with me. In fact, when I first was babysitting my step-son, before he was my step-son, I carried him in a wrap very similar to the Maya Tie-On. That was how we bonded.
This is how I look at it now. I am a woman. Owning a baby carrier is just part of being a woman. It’s a crucial accessory, it’s a necessary tool. Just like men have their power tools, I will always have my baby carrier. I have nieces and nephews cooking in wombs right now, and I want to be ready to comfort them in a moment’s notice. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying a baby carrier is only for a woman. I mean, I know how to use power tools, my husband knows how to tie a baby carrier. It’s just that it’s in me, a feeling like I’m living more in-tune with my feminine essence by having a baby carrier at all times, even though my babies are growing up and I’m not having any more.
P.S. In addition to the carriers on the Everything Birth Online Store, the Amazon store also features other baby carriers that meet our stringent seal of approval.
I love my carrier, I find it to be more important than a purse (which I never use) but I do have 3 carriers. I love them all, they are great to put a LO in while you work or even just so you have free hands while walking into the school. Without my carrier I would have missed so many things with my son, my carriers allow me to be a full time mom, have a 24/7 daycare and still have sanity and feel good about all of it.