What is babywearing?
Many people want to know…what is babywearing? Babywearing is the act of carrying or wearing a baby or child in a sling or other carrier. While babywearing is an up and coming trend in western civilization it isn’t such a new trend for many other countries. The documented benefits of babywearing are endless. Helps Care for Older Siblings Once the arrival of a new baby takes place many women wonder, “How will I care for my first child and the new baby?” This can be an overwhelming task; however wearing your baby can greatly reduce the stress that is involved in caring for more than one child. Imagine for a second that your newborn is crying, has already been fed, changed, burped, bathed and anything else you can imagine to meet the basic needs of survival. At the same time your toddler is crying, throwing a tantrum and showing signs of needing some mommy time. Both children need your time and unfortunately you cannot be split in half! Wearing your baby while playing with your toddler can accomplish all parties involved being happy and feeling loved. Reduces Crying
In 1983, Hunziker and Barr of the Montreal Children’s Hospital Research Institute conducted a study on the increased carrying of infants reducing infant crying. The outcome of that study is astonishing. Infants that received “supplemental carrying” cried 43% less. The study goes on to indicate that “although constant carrying is unlikely to become the typical infant care-taking practice in our society, we hypothesized that the “normal” crying pattern might be changed by supplemental carrying, that is, increased carrying throughout the day in addition to that which occurs during feeding. If so, such carrying might have anticipator- soothing effectiveness in normal infants and therapeutic or preventive value in relation to infant “colic””. In short, researchers are indicating that approximately 20% of “normal newborns” are diagnosed with colic or fussing rather than simply being carried more often. Simply stated, carry your infant more. Increases Growth in “Failure to Thrive” Babies According to Dr. Sears, of “The Baby Book”, failure to thrive babies (slow to gain weight) flourish when worn for a number of reasons. First, wearing your baby has a calming effect, which results in less crying; therefore babies can spend energy on growing. The close proximity to mom naturally increases feeding frequency. Dr. Sears further reports that frequent feedings are a “potent stimulus for growth”. Enhances Learning/Smarter Baby Dr. Sears goes on to say that wearing your baby enhances learning/cognitive development. In “The Baby Book”, Sears reports that wearing your baby results in decreased crying and therefore more time and energy is spent on physical growth and mental development. Babies have periods of “quiet alertness” which allows for time to take in their environment. As scenery changes baby’s brain is stimulated through the senses, such as smell, sight and sound. This constant change in environment “stimulates nerves to branch out and connect with other nerves”. The developing brain then begins to store all these new experiences called “patterns of behavior”. Sears also reports that speech development is enhanced through baby simply being at eye and voice level with others. Enhances Bonding Human bonding is defined by wikipedia, as the process or formation of a close, personal relationship as between a parent and a child, especially through frequent or constant association. Wearing your baby is the action of the definition of human bonding. “Frequent and constant association” is achieved by wearing your baby. Others indicate that bonding is a gradual process, therefore what better way to achieve this important attachment with your infant than wearing your infant. Conducive to Breastfeeding
Many modern mothers have a difficult time breastfeeding while keeping up with a hectic pace. Whether mom is shopping, eating out, traveling, or chasing after other children, when “wearing” your baby you can breastfeed at the same time with the privacy of the sling. According to Dr. William Sears, “Some babies breastfeed better on the move, especially those problem suckers who need movement to organize their sucking. Tense babies and back archers often breastfeed much better in the sling because of the organizing effect babywearing has on their entire physiology. As the baby’s whole body relaxes, so do the suck muscles.”Dr. Sears goes on to indicate that breastfeeding while wearing your baby helps babies with difficulty gaining weight due to close proximity to mother encourages more frequent feedings. Babywearing while breastfeeding allows a mother to meet the needs of multiple children while caring for an infant, which any mother knows is very time consuming.
http://www.slingsmart.com/index.htm
What is babywearing?
Many people want to know…what is babywearing? Babywearing is the act of carrying or wearing a baby or child in a sling or other carrier. While babywearing is an up and coming trend in western civilization it isn’t such a new trend for many other countries. The documented benefits of babywearing are endless. Helps Care for Older Siblings Once the arrival of a new baby takes place many women wonder, “How will I care for my first child and the new baby?” This can be an overwhelming task; however wearing your baby can greatly reduce the stress that is involved in caring for more than one child. Imagine for a second that your newborn is crying, has already been fed, changed, burped, bathed and anything else you can imagine to meet the basic needs of survival. At the same time your toddler is crying, throwing a tantrum and showing signs of needing some mommy time. Both children need your time and unfortunately you cannot be split in half! Wearing your baby while playing with your toddler can accomplish all parties involved being happy and feeling loved.Reduces Crying
In 1983, Hunziker and Barr of the Montreal Children’s Hospital Research Institute conducted a study on the increased carrying of infants reducing infant crying. The outcome of that study is astonishing. Infants that received “supplemental carrying” cried 43% less. The study goes on to indicate that “although constant carrying is unlikely to become the typical infant care-taking practice in our society, we hypothesized that the “normal” crying pattern might be changed by supplemental carrying, that is, increased carrying throughout the day in addition to that which occurs during feeding. If so, such carrying might have anticipator- soothing effectiveness in normal infants and therapeutic or preventive value in relation to infant “colic””. In short, researchers are indicating that approximately 20% of “normal newborns” are diagnosed with colic or fussing rather than simply being carried more often. Simply stated, carry your infant more. Increases Growth in “Failure to Thrive” Babies According to Dr. Sears, of “The Baby Book”, failure to thrive babies (slow to gain weight) flourish when worn for a number of reasons. First, wearing your baby has a calming effect, which results in less crying; therefore babies can spend energy on growing. The close proximity to mom naturally increases feeding frequency. Dr. Sears further reports that frequent feedings are a “potent stimulus for growth”. Enhances Learning/Smarter Baby Dr. Sears goes on to say that wearing your baby enhances learning/cognitive development. In “The Baby Book”, Sears reports that wearing your baby results in decreased crying and therefore more time and energy is spent on physical growth and mental development. Babies have periods of “quiet alertness” which allows for time to take in their environment. As scenery changes baby’s brain is stimulated through the senses, such as smell, sight and sound. This constant change in environment “stimulates nerves to branch out and connect with other nerves”. The developing brain then begins to store all these new experiences called “patterns of behavior”. Sears also reports that speech development is enhanced through baby simply being at eye and voice level with others. Enhances Bonding Human bonding is defined by wikipedia, as the process or formation of a close, personal relationship as between a parent and a child, especially through frequent or constant association. Wearing your baby is the action of the definition of human bonding. “Frequent and constant association” is achieved by wearing your baby. Others indicate that bonding is a gradual process, therefore what better way to achieve this important attachment with your infant than wearing your infant.Conducive to Breastfeeding
Many modern mothers have a difficult time breastfeeding while keeping up with a hectic pace. Whether mom is shopping, eating out, traveling, or chasing after other children, when “wearing” your baby you can breastfeed at the same time with the privacy of the sling. According to Dr. William Sears, “Some babies breastfeed better on the move, especially those problem suckers who need movement to organize their sucking. Tense babies and back archers often breastfeed much better in the sling because of the organizing effect babywearing has on their entire physiology. As the baby’s whole body relaxes, so do the suck muscles.”Dr. Sears goes on to indicate that breastfeeding while wearing your baby helps babies with difficulty gaining weight due to close proximity to mother encourages more frequent feedings. Babywearing while breastfeeding allows a mother to meet the needs of multiple children while caring for an infant, which any mother knows is very time consuming.
http://www.slingsmart.com/index.htm