Yesterday I wrapped my 18 month old and 3.5 year old a collective total of 7 times. Now this is not exactly a normal day for us. It was Saturday after a busy and tiring week. I've been back to work for only a month and we are still finding our groove. I think it was all just starting to catch up to them.
Now 7 times for a toddler who is walking and running and a preschooler may seem excessive and spoiling to some people. But let me take you through each session and hopefully it will be quite clear how babywearing can be beneficial (if not life saving/sanity saving) beyond the baby stage.
We woke up and had a relaxed morning. L (18 month old) wanted to hang out while I made breakfast. Often times I myself don't get to make the girls breakfast during the week, I'm in such a hurry to get everyone's stuff together and get us out the door. She sat in a rebozo carry on my hip while I scrambled some eggs and talked her through what I was doing. She listened, watched and repeated what I said back to me.
An hour later we were running errands. It was a chilly, rainy day so I grabbed the wool shorty. L hopped on my back two different times. The first to help my DH buy a pair of jeans in a store with 2 flights of stairs. Have fun maneuvering a stroller around that! The second was in the grocery store where low and behold there were no more double seat "car" carts. And letting my G, my 3 year old, walk is not an option as it makes the trip take twice as long and we were already short on time.
Back at our house it was lunchtime and L was full on into tantrum #2 of the day. After 15 minutes of trying to calm her down, I finally wrangled her into a messy front carry. She stopped crying within 30 seconds after I tied off and is asleep less than 5 minutes later.
She woke up 2.5 hours later refreshed. But not G. She was feeling overly sensitive and clingy and just the sight of her sister was annoying her to the point of tears. I, however couldn't play referee because I needed to get the house picked up so our babysitter for the night wouldn't be totally appalled by how we live. She hopped on my back while I vacuumed the house. My husband came home as I was finishing so she hopped down for just a few minutes to chat with him and then back up again while I folded laundry. After some much needed mama time, she was her happy self once again.
The rest of the day went on splendidly.... Until 3am. L still wakes up 1-3 times a night and likes to nurse when she does. Note, she does NOT need to nurse to fall asleep, she just needs to know I'm still there. Normally I'm in and out of her room in about 5 minutes. But for some reason last night she was angry with her crib and not willing to go back in. After 45 minutes of nursing and swaying and failed transfers, she asked for "up we go". This is her way of asking to be wrapped. We went downstairs, grabbed a wrap and 5 minutes later she told me it's time to go night night again.
As I said, this is not the norm. A typical day would include only one or two wearing sessions or maybe none at all. But it's there when we need it and the girls know it. They see things they wouldn't normally get to see with their eyes being at knee or hip level. They get the soothing touches, the special scent that only their mother has and the calming effect of being near to her heartbeat. Baby wearing is not just for babies. It's an invaluable tool for children of all ages.
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