by Rachel Bartlett

I love the feeling when my toddler wraps her little arms around my neck and lays her head on my shoulder. And it's so soothing when she strokes my hair as she falls asleep. It's times like these when I'm so happy she's nestled in my sling.

I formed a habit of carrying my baby, ever since her birth. We're both happier because of this decision. And with a good sling, it's no harder on me than pulling my own weight.

Yes, I'm one of "those". . .a babywearing mom.

The concept of babywearing is as old as time, and is still prevalent today in many cultures. It's a practice on the rise in the United States (luckily for the babies).

Advantages of Babywearing

• Return to the Womb - A baby being carried in a sling is able to experience warmth, motion, security, and sounds similar to what he heard while in the womb. Parents are more aware of their baby's needs, and can attend to them immediately.
• Pays Attention to Tiny Backs - A sling will conform to a baby's body, eliminating pressure on his developing spine.
• Close and Secure - Sling carriers allow babies to see and feel their mother, while increasing the time the mother is able to comfortably hold them.
• Hands Off The Baby Please - Wearing your baby in a sling protects him from curious strangers and their germs. Most people won't get too close to a baby being cuddled close to his mother's breast.
• Baby's Number One Choice - Babies prefer being held. (Think of the times you see mothers holding a baby with one arm and trying to push a stroller or shopping cart with the other.)
• Discreet Nursing - A sling provides for more discreet nursing in public.
• Optimal Weight Gain - A breastfed newborn who's having a hard time gaining weight will benefit while carried in the sling because he'll smell his mother's milk and be stimulated to nurse more often.
• Weight Distribution - Slings, as opposed to strapped carries like backpacks or frontpacks, distribute the baby's weight evenly over the parent's back, reducing strain.
• Calmer Babies - Babies who are carried in a sling have more calm, alert periods. Slinging helps reduce crying and fussiness, and can help immensely with a baby who has colic.
• Confidence - Carrying a baby in a sling helps him to be more independent and self confident as he grows. A toddler who knows his mom is there for him and will pick him up and carry him when he needs her to is more apt to feel secure in his environment.
• Look Mom - HANDS! Older siblings will feel less resentful of a new baby who is carried in a sling, since Mom has her hands free to help with the older child's needs.

How to Use Your Sling

It's important to remember that using a sling is something that is learned. It will take a bit of practice to easily use your sling, but soon it will become almost automatic to place your baby in and go. You will have more success if your baby is rested and fed before you start.

Preparing Your Sling for Use

1. Lay your sling out flat. It will be easier to thread this way.
2. Take the portion at the end where there are not rings and fold them as you would a paper fan or a strip of construction paper to make something "jump out" of a card that you made in elementary school. It is a sort of corrugated fashion folding back and forth until you have a neat stack. The width of your folds should be the same as the width of the folds that are sewn on the ring end of the sling.
3. Lay out your long folded sling with the Maya Wrap label facing upward.
4. Pick up your folded stack end and bring it toward the rings and through both rings about half the length of your folded sling.
5. Take the folded stack end and flip it back over, like a snake, OVER the top ring and UNDER the bottom ring.

Threading your sling is easier if you first lay it out flat. When you first open your sling, you will notice a folded over part. Holding the rings end of the sling in your left hand with the tag side down, unfold that piece and then spread the sling out completely on a flat surface. Gather the material together like you would fold a paper fan and pull it through both rings. Then pull it over the top ring and through the bottom ring, making sure to keep the edges or rails of fabric in the right place. (Follow each edge around to the rings and make sure it's on the same side through the rings. Make sure the material in the middle is evenly distributed through the rings instead of all bunched up.)

Preparing to Wear Your Sling

(These instructions are for wearing your sling with the rings on your right shoulder; they can be mirrored for use with the rings on your left shoulder.)

Hold your sling with the tail facing out, the rings in your right hand. Put your left hand through the sling and bring it over your head, with the rings resting just slightly in front of your right shoulder. Spread the fabric of the sling over your shoulder and evenly over your back (all the way from your shoulder blades to your lower back.)

Pull the material tightly across your back so that all of the slack is in front of you. You are now ready to place your child in the sling.

The Cradle Hold
This hold is most popular for newborns, but can also be used with an older child or a nursing baby.