Just last week I was lucky to participate in the Advanced Course in Baby Wearing Consultancy!! Thank you goes to Manduca and Fertile Mind Australia for bringing Ulrike from Die Trageschule in Dresden, Germany to us, here in lil ol' Australia!! And just because Ulrike is so gosh darned awesome, I am learning German just so I can be as cool as her!
It was such an amazing experience, and I am all the wiser for it! Since the course I have done two consultations, and am totally loving it!
Included in our course was communication, and we focused on special needs children. I am a mother of a beautiful son who has Autism, and I shared my story with the class. Through the tears I felt happy and scared to share my experience, and Ulrike did something amazing for me. She applauded me. It made me weep so deeply, as this has been my (for lack of a better word) burden to bear. It has been lonely, it has been hard. I judge myself constantly, and although I am a very outwardly confident person, I felt such fear of judgment by others. It was such a momentous experience, and I have to admit that I felt kinda... weird when the class joined in applauding me. Then I felt grateful. Then I felt acceptance. I have an amazing circle of friends in my life that also live with Autism, and we live in our bubble. Our safe little bubble. I have never reached out to anyone who hasn't dealt with Autism in the past because there just is no way that anyone could ever ever ever ever understand. Ever. However now I have been proven wrong. There are people that don't live with Autism that want to understand. Hooray!!!
Of course we dealt with so much more than that. We covered SO much, it is overwhelming! I am practicing everything I learned (including the 'baby jail' :P) (sounds bad but it is a BWCC with a whole lot of AH-HA moments!) and just can not wait to share with the world what I am about. As an educator, I am bringing those who seek my services a holistic approach with more than a dash of fun.
So now while I talk about what I learned, I want to share with you what I saw today. I am shocked and saddened, as this is a post made by an (apparently) popular mother blogger (like how do you even DO that??). This is a prime example of what NOT to do
Look HERE for the blogpost I am talking about.
There is not ONE image that displays optimal positioning! Knees are NOT held above bottom height, in the squat-straddle position. There is ALOT of slack in the wrap. The images are just wrong wrong wrong.
Flame me if you will but as an educator I have to highlight examples such as these, they show exactly what goes wrong when people don't read instructions or seek the advice of a more experienced babywearer.
And now for a perfect example of knee to knee support, crease free wrap over babies body, hands free baby wearing. Amen.
*eep sorry about the non whimsical photo! I am a bit fat too, hope that is ok!!!! Please note the sarcasm as I am far too busy caring for my children to bother about frivolous things like my ... hair? :P*
While I am here, I may as well share with you my new guidelines to safe babywearing. They are called the ALWAYS guidelines. They follow much of my education (yes! Baby Wearing is a big YES!), and are so easy to remember!
ALWAYS
baby wearing recommendations
A
– Always
wear your baby high enough to kiss the top of their head in a front
carry, in a back carry, high enough to touch their forehead with the
nape/occipital bone on your head if you look upward.
L
– Learn
with your baby! Baby Wearing is a wonderful bond and when you take
it slowly and choose a good time of day to try new carries, like
after baby has rested or eaten, you will be assured success! Use a
mirror, practice over soft surfaces, ask a friend to 'spot' you.
W
– Wear
your sling or baby carrier tightly. There should be no loose fabric
over babies back, buckles should be tightened, baby should be held
firmly to your torso. This ensures that not only will baby stay
where you want them to in the carry, and not slump down, but that you
will be more comfortable.
A
– Airways
should be clear. You should not hear any grunting. Babies head
should not be resting on his chest. There needs to be at least a
fingers width between babies chin and chest.
Y
– of course Baby Wearing is a BIG YES!!
S
– Squat
Straddle
– your babies legs should be in the 'M' position (aka Squat
Straddle), with his spread knees above his bottom. The carrier
should travel from the hollow of the knee all the way to the opposite
knee. This is called 'Optimal Positioning' and must be adhered to
for babies best development.
Double AMEN to that!
