This isn't specifically about living in Africa, but I've gotten many questions about my wrapping, and it's something I'm really enjoying right now, so here's some basics about wrapping and my personal story!
Q: Why do you like wrapping specifically, instead of other carriers?
A: I fell immediately in love with wrapping when I realized that I could carry my children without back pain. A good carry with a wrap is absolutely night and day for me! Emerson was in an odd position for most of my third trimester, and I have had lower-middle back pain ever since then, probably exacerbated by nursing and leaning over my baby and being in a fog when I didn't take care of myself. As his babyhood progressed, so did my pain, until eventually I spent a year in chiropractic care, took up yoga, and spent months in physical therapy. The consensus was that my back problems are chronic and the best I can do is manage them, which I have learned to do. Meanwhile, I limited myself to carrying Emerson for an hour a day, and when Emerson was not quite three I tried to stop lifting him altogether. I now really regret that I felt like I had to limit him like this, and I am sad that I missed out on all those sweet-baby snuggles, and spent so much effort trying to make him be on his own. I first tried wrapping when Emerson was FOUR YEARS OLD, and it was immediately more comfortable than when I was trying to wear him as a baby!
Like so many next-time-around parents, this time I want to treasure every moment and enjoy my little girl for as long as she is little. I am grateful every day that I can wear my little one for all the time that her heart needs or wants wearing, without feeling like I am compromising my own health.
Q: When and why do you wrap your baby?
A: I wear Buttercup for her naps, when we are out and walking, when she starts getting out of control and destructive, when I need to be helping the older kids and she is in the way, when we have to wait around in a non-kid-friendly place, to keep her safe, to help her calm down, when she is feeling lonely, when she is feeling overwhelmed, when she wants to watch what I'm doing, and most of the time when I'm cooking (which meets many of the above categories!).
Q: Why do you wrap your bigger kids? They are definitely old enough to walk!
A: Wrapping is love. It really is. Big kids needs love too... they need lots of it. That's basically it.
Logistically, there is more to it. I started wrapping Emerson to help with his sensory processing issues, and I could see a huge difference. One reason I wrap Hibiscus is because she needs a chance to "go back to babyhood" and have a chance to bond with a mother. Also, since wraps can fit any child, if I have one on hand it will serve me in an emergency. Emerson has fallen and hurt himself badly a couple of times, and I have been able to carry him home.
The physical pressure of the wrap on their body is very instinctually soothing.
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