Babywearing

I wore all three of my daughters. Tried slings, wraps, and the Ergo carrier. The Ergo was by far my favorite once they're about 5 months and older. I went through two of them over the course of 10 years. The padded ring sling (Over the Shoulder Baby Holder) was most comfortable and convenient when they were very small. I loved the stretchy wrap (like the Moby) for comfort, but I got annoyed rewrapping it all day.

I've haven't heard that carrying your baby can help prolapse! I am newer so I was waiting to do various activities until I found out if they were okay. I don't really understand completely, though. Would somebody mind explaining how it helps, or the needed mechanics of a baby carrier that is okay for prolapse, or perhaps point me in the right direction to where that information would be? It would be so much appreciated! We have a baby carrier right now but I thought wearing it with my 9 month old would make it difficult to do diaphragmatic breathing and make it harder to be "tall". Thanks so much!

We have a Manduca and I find it really great to use. My partner used it from when our son was newborn, it took me til he was 5 months old to get up the courage to use it. Glad I did cos he finds it really soothing, I can get more done round the house, and it doesn't make my POP any worse - except if I try to mop the floors. The mop kind of sticks and I can't seem to maintain posture. I can sweep fine though! Also I have to turn side on when I'm standing at the bench or I find myself hunching to reach round the baby to chop or stir or do dishes. I can hang out washing as long as the washing bag is off the ground so I don't have to bend down at all. My shoulders get sore but my POP isn't affected. Also, it's great to go shopping in, much easier to get round the shops than with a push chair, although very difficult to try on clothes :) My son is 9 months old now too, he's long and the best position for me is belly to belly with his head resting above my breasts. I have the hip belt under my belly in front, angled up over my hips at the back. Keep the shoulder straps tight enough to keep your baby close to you, so the weight is close to your body. I find it easy to feel if I am in posture as I can feel my body against his, and if I slouch my shoulders really feel it. It's quite nice having the weight of the baby to concentrate my efforts to stay in posture.

Yay! an everyday, domestic baby carrier with a hip belt!!!

Can you wear the Manduca on your back as well as front? I used to find the back was excellent once they had good head control Great for getting a ratty toddler to sleep.

Oceangirl, the link that Kiko posted explains how and why carrying extra weight correctly can actually help your prolapse. It has to do with weight-loading from above when you are in correct WW posture. - Surviving

Hey! I really like the look of this Manduca baby carrier. It is so versatile. Newborn to 4 year old; front up high for newborns, or low for nursing; hip for toddlers or big babies who want to see what you are doing; back for hiking or whatever you want. Adjustable for Dad's big shoulders too. The fabric is cotton. The whole thing is soft for easy laundering and folding for storage. It has a wide hip strap so it is really hung of your hips. All straps easily fastened or adjusted with one hand. Plenty of strap for different sizes of adult. Put "Manduca baby" into a YouTube search to see how different women and men use it.

This looks like a heavy duty meh tai with some bells and whistles. I would say it is the duck's nuts!

This, http://www.babywearer.com/ is a comprehensive site about babywearing, with comparisons of carriers and lots of other stuff .

Hey Louise, Kiko & Oceangirl, just checked back here - yep, the Manduca has been great so far. We can carry our son on our backs, but one of us has to help the other get him in. I've seen a clip of a mum getting her toddler in by herself, but the toddler is helping her (by kind of lying on her back while she pulls the harness up). And it is easy to wash in the machine and dries overnight on the towel rail. We got it cos another dad recommended it to my partner and now he has started a bit of a trend among our friends with babies - great design that works for both of us, who would have thought!

Hey kiko, could it be the activites you're doing while babywearing? I assume you're not just walking round the park? I find with the babywearing it depends a lot on what kind of surfaces I have been walking on and what kind of things I've been doing and how fast. Like if I go grocery shopping and I'm in a hurry and not careful about my posture when I'm bending down to get something, the additional weight of my baby (almost 10kgs now!) definitely makes my POP bulgier. Same with moving bags of groceries into the car and into the house. I can't mop the floor, hang washing or do dishes for long without making it worse either when I have him on my front, but for these activities if he's on my back I can keep the posture much more easily. I find walking on soft sand at the beach not ideal too - but the firm sand is fine!

Where I live quite a few Myanmarese have been resettled and I see the women carrying their babies on their backs everywhere. They use their pushchairs for the groceries! And they are never rushing, always walking at the kind of pace it looks like they could maintain all day if they had to. A friend who works with them says they carry their children for about a year, the children crawl for about two weeks when they have stopped being carried, and then they walk. I think these women have more help around the house though, I hardly ever see a mother and baby alone, there usually seems to be a small group with older and younger women and children too, so maybe these mums aren't under pressure to get quite as much done around the house? I am trying to take a cue from these ladies and do more back carrying and rush less to maintain the posture better. I am still going to walk on the beach though!

One other thing - I have developed some different muscles baby wearing - my legs are really strong at the moment and I have a bulge of muscle at the top of my thighs that I never had before. I still feel quite sad about the POP but at least I am feeling stronger and fitter apart from that issue :/

Good luck with the experimenting!