School of babywearing..

Since my post on baby wearing using my Boba 3G, several people have enquired about my third reason for choosing the Boba which was:

"3. It needed to keep our baby in the correct 'froggy' and M position, and should not offer the option of facing outwards"

I've been asked what this means, and why it's important enough to influence my choice of a carrier, so I thought I would share some of the important "rules" of baby wearing, and how to safely wear your baby.

As I mentioned before, I'm pretty new to baby wearing, but everything I've read stresses these points as important. That's not to say that if you use a high street carrier every once in a while that its anything awful, or that if your baby faces forward occasionally their hips will fall to pieces! At the end of the day ANY baby wearing is better than none! But if you plan to baby wear more than occasionally, it's important to know how to do so safely, and what you should look out for in a carrier.

The T.I.C.K.S. Rules: 

These tell you how things should look once your baby is in the carrier.

T- tight. Your sling, wrap or carrier should hold your baby tightly against your chest or back. This will be most comfortable for you both, and won't allow baby to slump down. There shouldn't be a gap between you and your baby's chest at any time.

I - in view at all times. You need to be able to see your baby without having to move any fabric, especially in a sling. You should be able to see your baby's face just by glancing down.

C - close enough to kiss. You should be able to tilt your head down and kiss your baby. This means your baby is being carried high enough. I love testing this out by kissing Izzy all over, and even nibbling her ears at times!

K - keep the chin off the chest. If the baby's chin is on their chest, their airway can be restricted. You should be ale to fit a finger under baby's chin, and their nose should be parallel to the floor to ensure they can breathe easily. 

S - supported back. Your baby's back needs to be well supported to stop the, slumping, which can restrict their airway and is bad for their back. This ties in with keeping them tight. If your baby is tightly against your chest or back (no big gap, their chest should be touching yours at all times in an upright carry) you should be able to push their back, and they shouldn't move forward.

Baby's leg position

I wrote in my last post that I wanted a carrier to keep my baby in a froggy, M leg position. I should have also said that I wanted it to carry them knee to knee. All of this is to ensure that the baby is kept in a favourable hip position. Traditional high street carriers support baby under their crotch (leading to the derogatory term "crotch danglers" by many baby wearing aficionados), and allow their legs to dangle down freely. This means their hips are left in a position which can contribute to hip dysplasia. However, carriers such as the Boba, Ergo and many other brands (including slings, wraps and stretchies) support the baby from the crook of one knee, under the bum, and to the crook of the other knee. This actually holds their knees slightly higher than their bottom, in an M shape. This position is much better for babies hips, holding them in a more natural position.

Similarly, many carriers/wraps will advise carrying baby with their "legs in" in a froggy position while they are newborn. There is some controversy over this at the minute, but the premise is the same - keeping their knees higher than their legs in a babies natural hip position. (Try it out with a newborn - hold them against your chest and they will almost certainly curl their knees up towards their chest). The Boba 3G instructions advised legs in, so I followed this advice, making sure Izzy was always in a froggy, M position. The picture below gives a good idea of how a baby's legs should look in a correct carry (however this baby wouldn't be close enough to kiss!)

Never facing out

The two points outlined above link into why it's not a great idea to face your baby outwards. Firstly, if they face outwards, they aren't being held tightly to your body, as their natural instinct is to curl up forwards and therefore away from your body. This isn't great for your back, as it throws their weight forward, and puts more strain on your back.
Secondly, if you wear baby facing outwards, it's unlikely that their legs will be supported knee to knee.

If you are planning on baby wearing frequently, look for a wrap, sling or carrier which will allow you to carry baby closely, and supported in the M position from knee to knee. Again, any baby wearing is better than none, so if you do wear your little one in a high street carrier (and let's face it, they are so readily available that many people do!) or forward facing occasionally I won't be calling social services anytime soon!

If you're interested in baby wearing on a more regular basis, check out some of the links below to brands of carriers, and to information on the benefits of babywearing and how to babywear safely.
Ergo Baby
Monkey Mei Tai
Rose and Rebellion
Moby Wrap

Baby Hawk

Wrap Your Baby
School of Babywearing
Babywearing UK

Baby wearing with the Boba 3G

Another one of the 'crunchy' parenting ways we have is baby wearing. According to Wikipedia "Babywearing is the practise of wearing or carrying a baby in a sling or in another form of carrier." 

I have to admit, it was Simon who pioneered the way in our house with baby wearing, insisting he wanted a "pousse" in which to carry the baby. I wasn't that interested at first but, as I began to research baby wearing and different slings and carriers, I was quickly won over. I learnt a lot about the benefits of baby wearing (see here, here and here) and some of the "dos and don'ts" of baby wearing. I also learnt that apart from the "normal" high street carriers you see, such as the well known Baby Bjorn, there are wraps, slings, Mei Tais, stretchies...the list seems almost endless. And let's not even get started on brands!

A few things were important to me when choosing carrier for our baby
1. It had to be suitable from birth until toddlerhood. I don't know how long we'll use it, but just in case
2. It needed to fit both myself and Simon (we aren't hugely dissimilar in height and build luckily)
3. It needed to keep our baby in the correct 'froggy' and M position, and should not offer the option of facing outwards (read why here)

All of this research led me to know that I wanted a soft structured carrier (SSC), and further research led me to the Boba Carrier 3G. This met all the requirements I had set and, unlike similar carriers, can be used from birth without an additional insert. I bought mine from a reputable, Boba certified, retailer on Amazon for £90. I was able to register my carrier with Boba, to give me peace of mind.

When our Boba arrived I was impressed from the outset. Along with the carrier body, we got a hood which can be used to pop over little one when they fall asleep - or to help them get there - and protect them from the sun. Also included were foot straps, which aren't something I had seen with other brands I looked into. The instructions it came with were easy to understand, and explained the different ways to carry a baby from (almost) birth using the newborn setting, the 'regular' front carry, and the back carry. There are numerous little touches which show the Boba 3G is well planned and a lot of thought has gone into how it will be used. Everything from a strap for handbags, to a pocket for your phone, and adjustable straps for easy nursing (something I am yet to master!). It also comes in a variety of colours and prints, and I now really wish I'd gone for one of these instead of the plainer black!

The Boba is very quick and easy for me to put on. I fasten the waist belt firstly - which I have adjusted to my setting, and then hold Isabelle on my front, before slipping the shoulder straps up and clipping the 'chest strap' behind my back and tightening it. I always give Izzy a quick wiggle to make sure she it in evenly, and off we go! With practise, I am getting much quicker at putting it on and tightening up the straps, with the only issue being my long hair getting caught in the chest strap when I try to tighten it!

We have carried Isabelle in two different ways so far, both using the Boba on the newborn setting i.e. with the bottom of the carrier 'poppered' up to create a smaller, snugger pouch. At first, and following the instructions from Boba, we carried her 'legs in'. Once she reached 10.5lbs, we changed to carrying her legs out.

Newborn setting, with legs tucked in - suitable to 10.5lbs

Isabelle always seems comfy in the carrier, and falls asleep immediately. For myself, the first few times I used it I found the Boba hurt my back, but I think now it was more to do with how I was walking (very stiff!) than the carrier itself, and now it's as comfy as anything! The straps are all very well padded, and I don't feel any weight from Isabelle, as strange as that may sound. I also don't feel the carrier ever pulling on any part of my back, waist or shoulders.

There are a few things which I don't love so much about the Boba. Firstly, when I carry Izzy 'legs out' in the newborn setting, the poppers refuse to stay popped. As soon as her legs are in the correct position, the poppers are out and if I try to get them in, it obviously makes Izzy uncomfy and she groans or even cries. The second thing I'm not convinced about is the sizing. According to Boba, the carrier fits adults from 5ft to 6ft 3. I am 5ft 8in, and have all the straps on their tightest settings. I can't see how this would then work for someone 8inches smaller than I am. And lastly, the elastic band straps which are supposed to help keep the straps neat just don't seem to work. Once I roll up the straps, I find the bands very difficult to access and use, so my straps just dangle down. That could just be a 'me problem' though!

Overall, I absolutely love the Boba 3G. I was very smug at a local cloth nappy meet when asked what carrier I have and when I answered the Boba, another mum told me how jealous she was. So I give it extra points for being so coveted and cool!  If you're looking for an SSC to last from birth until baby is much bigger, I would definitely recommend the Boba 3G carrier.

No pictures of me using the carrier, but here is one of Isabelle and Simon at a local agricultural show when she was just five weeks old. We felt so smug as we watched people (including my dad with our nephew!) struggle to push their prams through the shingle!