Last week was International Babywearing Week – another thing that I had never heard of with my two older children but Motherhood 3.0 brings all kinds of information and goodies.

Now I have seen women carrying their babies on their backs or in these backpack like contraptions but it never piqued my interest.

Having each of my children so far apart (I have a 21-year-old, 6-year-old and 3 month old) has meant that with each of them, I’ve been in different places in life and have a host of new experiences to draw on. With this child, I find myself as a stay at home mom and I have time to dedicate to exploring things like cloth diapering before trying it (expect a post about that). When I first began to research cloth diapering on google and through my social media accounts, I came across beautiful photo’s of moms wearing their babies. I dare you to go to Instagram and look up the hashtag #babywearing or #wearallthebabies! You might even find my picture.

My first experience with baby wearing was with Lalabu’s Soothe Shirt which is a shirt with a built-in pouch (think kangaroo) that allows you to wear your newborn. It’s nice and simple and I loved it. This shirt is mostly for bonding with and soothing your baby.

Once I wore it, I had to find a carrier that would allow me to be hands free and carry my baby around with me. Studies indicate that wearing your baby is good for moms dads and caregivers and baby.

Once I was hooked on the idea, it took a lot of research to find the right carrier/style for me.

There’s the wraps – the ones that are simply a nice fabric that is literally wrapped around in a way that your baby is snug and secure on your back, your hip or in a front carrying position and you can walk about with your hands free.

There’s the ring slings – kind of wrap-like but with a set of rings that the fabric goes through which allow for easy adjustments and versatility.

There’s the pouch slings – it’s a pouch (I do not own one).

There’s the Mei Tai (May Tie) that is essentially a piece a fabric with four straps that you use to secure the baby.

There’s the Soft Structured Carrier which is the one that looks backpack like that allows you to carry your baby in a way that distributes the weight and is comfortable.

I am now the proud owner of 3 wraps, 1 ring sling and I’m waiting for the delivery of my brand new SSC.

I have spent countless hours on youtube and various blogs trying to learn how to wear these carriers – the complicated wrapping, threading the ring slings and learning the differences between all of them.

While I feel like I’ve got the basics down for the front cross carry for my wraps.

I have not mastered the ring sling. I am still on youtube looking at moms threading the rings, adjusting them and it’s not going so well for me. But I refuse to give up!

I spent countless hours research Soft Structured Carriers and landed on one from TULA.

As with cloth diapering, you fall in love with the different prints and you get easily sucked in to making purchases. Unlike cloth diapers though, you could end up spending hundreds of dollars on a baby carrier so take your time.

The descriptions that I have given are pretty generic and are my own. If you are interested in learning more and would like to start wearing your baby, check out Babywearing International. There is lots of info, instructions and you can connect with local chapters to meet other moms and expert baby wearers (I’m still learning).

Babywearing International