A friend of mine posted this on the local Babywearing Board in my state and I thought it would make for good converstion here. I had a lady with a 9 month baby approach me at the library today. I was wearing Cole in his sling while Meghan was at storytime. She asked me how old Cole was (17 mos) and if he was walking yet. I said of course, and had been since his birthday, and she told me that her pediatrician told her that "if she didn't quit holding her baby she would never learn to walk and would have developmental delays". This poor mom didn't even "babywear" with a sling, she just carries her baby in her arms instead of in a "baby bucket" (car seat). I was saddened to hear that she had a well-respected pediatrician here in town. I spoke with her for a few minutes telling her about attachment parenting/babywearing. I also mentioned that Cole was still breastfeeding (thought I'd really do my advocating for the day!!) - she said she was told to stop when the baby turned one or she "would never learn to eat" - sigh. I told her the AAP and WHO recommendation was 2 years, and she smiled and liked that. Educating one mother at a time. I was so frustrated that pediatricians are telling mother's these things!! This pediatrician is fairly young and is considered by many to be one of the "best" in pueblo. I recommended her to mine instead.
This ped is full of shit. Babies are carried on the mamas body all over the world for all of human history. ALL primates carry thier young, even after they "learn" how to walk. I wonder if this ped warns mothers about the abuses of car seats? I see babies who never are taken out of them. THIS can disrupt development, because it isn't attached to a human, the baby is in an unnatural position for too long, and the child is taken out of human contact in the car seat all day. IMO, car seats should NEVER leave the car! Slings and carriers, OTOH, are attached to a human, are an extention of a mother's arms, the infant can interact with humans while in them, and they have natural posture as well as natrual movemnent (from the mother's walking) while in them. Medical schools rarely teach Child Development from an emotional perspective nor do they teach lactation at all (I think about 10 medical schools in the USA have Lactation courses and none require it, it is just an elective.) I tell my clients and my freinds all the time. "Your doctor is your HEALTH CARE CONSULTANT, he is NOT YOUR LIFESTYLE CONSULTANT! He isn't trained in "lifestyle, attachment, breastfeeding, normal infant sleep patterns, normal healthy nutrition ect" He's the person you go to when you have a sick child. Where you baby sleeps, how your baby goes to sleep, how long you nurse, how and when you stop nursing, how often your baby is held or carried, ect is NOT his territory. Illness is. Illness is what he is trained to deal with. Use him for illness, not for lifestyle, because he isn't trained in that." This usually straightens out the "my doctor told me" silliness some mothers fall for. lena, I hope you are feling better, Strep is awful. Take care, honey.
I wish I could sling Ruby ... I used my maya wrap with ds (3yrs old) all the time when he was younger and ended up ruining my shoulder and now have to have corrective surgery on it It is in constant pain. But I loved the time when I was able to use it. Good docs are so hard to find. Moms just need to educate themselves before going in. Thats what I do and then I always make sure they know who the boss is and who is paying who for their services. That poor mama!
When my son was born. the pediatrican came to see him in the hospital and asked how long he was breastfeeding. Well at that time he was having really long feedings hour or hour and a half sometimes. And he told me to limit it to 15 mins on each side. I just said okay, and continued nursing him for as long as he wanted to. Well now he is an excellant nurser, and feeding now only last 30 mins or so. I think that if I would have limited his time at the breast he would not have become such a good breastfeeder...
You are right! Good thing you thought to do what was best! YOU know your baby. I'm sorry about your shoulder, Yellow. I have known a few mamas who have spinal or arm problems that prevent the use of a sling or body carrier. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Your babies look well taken care of.
my little girl wouldn't tolerate any sling i tried. instead i either carried her in my arms, or when she didn't want to be held, i kept her near me in her little bassinette. it kept me within plain sight of her, which made her happy, but was more comfortable. i don't know why she wouldn't tolerate any slings, but she's 3 now and still extremely cuddly.
I had to find the sling which fit ME! I tried slings with my first two. And my kids hated them. It turns out the sling was too long and the baby hung down too far and felt like she was falling. It wasn't until they came out with Petite Baby Slings that I could use one. I know mamas and babies who love one brand of slings and hate an other. There was a carrier called the Tot Tender, which allowed the baby to look out, face forward and have complete movement of her limbs at all times while you walked. It was the only one my dd Moon would allow.
