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Attachment Parenting
lcherian
member
Basic questions about baby wearing a newborn
lcherian
member
Sorry, I'm new to this. When did you start wearing your baby? At one day old? do you wear him/her all day or just when he/she seems fussy? On average, how many hours a day did you wear your newborn?
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Re: Basic questions about baby wearing a newborn
Sometime in the first week. I look at baby wearing as a way to keep baby close when baby wants to be held but when I might like to have my hands free. So if you are just resting and lounging in the days after baby's birth, you are probably not wearing. When you are ready to eat a meal with both hands...you might be
Really there aren't any rules - just do what feels right! Many babies aren't super happy about being worn when motion isn't involved - bouncing on an exercise ball can work well if you need to sit.
I wore my kids for hours a day as newborns - Eleanor more than Callum as I had less time to just sit and hold her than I did when I just had Callum.
Breastfeeding Counselor with Breastfeeding USA
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as mentioned above ^^^^^
I wore mine when I needed to be on the move. She was with me most of the time if I was resting. She napped on me. Think of that first month as the 4th trimester - they need to be close and being alone is scary. As a newborn I loved my moby and over the shoulder sling. As she got older I still use the moby but now my ergo and I wear her whenever she just needs to be recentered if she is cranky, needs to nurse or needs to fall asleep and is having trouble doing it on her own.
My DD was in the NICU for three weeks after she was born so I wasn't able to wear her until she came home but I started pretty much immediately when I got her home. I loved being close to her (still do) and she has always loved being worn (until she started walking then she went on a BW strike!).
Like other mamas have said, do whatever feels right to you. There is no reason you can't wear from day 1 if you want, both to allow your baby to feel close to you and to free up your hands for other things.
I love stretchy wraps for newborns and then woven wraps as they get heavier. I also love my ring slings, they are awesome for newborns! Good luck!
I wore her for the first time in a DIY Moby at 3 days. I used my ring sling quite a bit when she was tiny, and now I mostly use wraps. I probably wear for at least two hours a day, but that's because I wear every time we go out (and when running errands), and usually for at least one of her naps.
Ditto above. There is no right answer, here, just what works for your family.
For us, we wear NBs a ton--when fussy or not. We like the idea "nine in, nine out" (like the fourth trimester idea, but longer) which means essentially mimicking the 9 months of womb time by providing a high degree of physical contact (largely through babywearing) until crawling/around 9 months when baby elects a degree of independence.
Babywearing helps me when I need or want to be on the go or just when LO needs that womb-like experience to sleep, be content, etc. It also makes NIP easy and helps with keeping up with DS1. I wore DS1 at 1.5 days old and DS2 at 12h. Any time I can wear LO and my back is up for it and my task works for wearing, I wear. For us, this is probably several hours a day since we don't use a swing and we leave the carseat in the car on shopping trips, etc.
I would suggest not just making it a fussy time thing. Many parents find the most success with carriers when they get used to them while baby is calm. Worn babies are shown to cry less, so wearing baby when content is a preventative strategy. With a NB, the warmth, smells, sounds, and rythyms of your body will be immensely calming to your baby. You cannot over-touch a newborn, so wear as much as you'd like. Wearing also is a great way for babies and daddies to bond. Plus, as baby grows you can have many educational and fun moments as baby sees things at your eye-level rather than knee level in a stroller, swing, in a bucket seat, etc. There is nothing wrong with those things, but baby's world is richer when being worn.
All of that said, I definitely do get "over" wearing baby at certain times of the day and put him down. Being true to my own emotional and physical needs is a vital thing! Sometimes a mama just gets touched-out and we all have different tolerances for when that point is reached.
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