Toddler Wearing Straightjacket Wrangling

Tobias, 8 days old

Malachi, 3 weeks old

Babywearing. Someone (Martha Sears, actually) thought up this word to describe what people have been doing for a long time: giving themselves a free hand while keeping their baby close with some sort of carrier. The word "baby" is in babywearing, and many articles focus on the benefits to tiny ones such as increased milk supply, bonding, and how newborns are calmed by the familiar sounds, smells,  and motions of mom's body.

All well and good, and soon that tiny one is running around (in fact, babywearing may help babies' sense of balance develop) and weighs three times what they did when they were born. Can a good carrier still be useful, comfortable, practical, and helpful to the relationship when the baby is now a toddler? Yes! If I had to choose, I would probably go without the high chair than without the ring sling (my favorite all-purpose carrier). Malachi is 15 months old and I probably use it 3-5 times a day.

Checking the chickens, letting him watch while I stir something in the kitchen, running to the mailbox down the block, or walking through the grocery store...sometimes it is better to have your toddler right where you can keep an eye on them. It's also great for clingy phases or sick kids.

I asked a few friends what their thing about "wearing" a toddler is, and their responses ranged from practical to humorous to sweet:

• "I don't step on him while making dinner"
• good for hiking
• more secure or safer than the grocery cart seat
• a calm place where he/she can nurse or sleep when out and about
• the toddler gets to interact with adults in a different way because they are at eye level
• able to get things done around the house without the toddler undoing them
• "It's comforting for both of us"

Ready to go grab some eggs outside

Swung around to my back so he can't grab!