Bracing myself

When my eldest little bird was born I knew I wanted to use a sling for her. I had read many articles online and in print on how great a sling could be for a breastfeeding pair. Whether or not I would nurse that baby was not an issue. There was no choice I was going to do it. I had no clue how much I would be nursing her and how that sling would have morphed itself from a great accessory to a much needed tool. Sierra seemed to be a high needs baby. The first night she was on this Earth she nursed from midnight to 4am almost straight through. Every time we put her down she cried a desperate cry. We (read me) had considered co sleeping,but got a bassinet anyway. I have a picture of her in that pretty white bassinet and yep that was the only time she spent in there!  Sierra awoke every hour and many many nights more than that. During the day she would fuss and cry if I put her down and then she would also scream straight through "the witching hours". She would nurse til she spit it all up from being overfull and then nurse more. Spit up. Repeat. I was frantic after a few weeks. How long could she keep this bit up? Surely it's no longer a growth spurt. I went to a La Leche League meeting swearing my latch must be all wrong as I was sore. Nope. Everything was fine in that department. She was just nursing too much. I had worn the sling a couple of times and it was awkward,but sorta got the job done. I went to my next LLL meeting asking if anyone knew how to use this thing. I had to get my arms back! Sure enough there was a baby wearer there. Phew! She got me slinging with ease and life seemed a bit manageable after that. When four o'clock hit I slung that baby up and walked her til we dropped. Go to bed. Nurse all night. Get up the next day and repeat. I was getting tired though and that baby was getting bigger. She was born weighing nine (OMG) pounds and eight ounces.  All that wonderful breast milk was making for an even bigger baby. She wanted to see so much of the world and touch it all too. She started to wrestle me in the sling a bit so I got a used wrap online *insert sigh of relief* Now when I went out at 4pm for the witching hours she could ride on my back. When I needed to nurse her in the grocery store, or rather straight through the store, I could use the sling and get it done with ease.
For my birthday I asked for another type of baby carrier a Babyhawk to be exact. I snuck in a pouch or two to my growing collection also. Sierra did not outgrow being a high needs baby and instead grew into a high needs toddler. I needed, let me repeat that- NEEDED, my carriers to get through daily life. She rode on my back, hip and nursed in a sling everywhere we went. Soon my fellow mama friends were catching on to my carrier collection and how handy they were. My LLL leader saw the benefits and asked me to give a little talk at our next meeting. So I did. Before I knew it I was a NINO leader and held weekly groups on the benefits of baby wearing. Everywhere I went mothers were asking where they could get such a fab carrier. Do I sell them, Do I make them? No I just spread the love about baby wearing come see me on Wednesday. Here's the flyer.
When Sierra was 16mo I found out we were expecting another lil bird to our nest. Being pregnant and chasing Sierra was hard. No wait. It was darn near impossible! She was like herding a ferrule cat in the stores. Crazy and happy and tearing the items off of store shelves one minute and screaming to nurse the next. I absolutely needed my carriers more than ever now. I wore her on my back and the baby bump on the front. I nursed her through the whole nine months and often in a sling. That spring I gave birth to Sierra's best friend Alannah. Of course at the time she didn't see it that way. Sierra was still nursing as much as a newborn and so was the newborn. Again here comes my carriers to the rescue. I would nurse the baby in the sling to avoid conflict with a jealous tandem tot. I often wore one on my back and another on my front when out alone. When my husband was along ( oh thank God!) we each wore a babe. I cannot imagine how I would have gotten by without my baby carriers. What a relief it was to be able to nurse the girls out in public and keep about the errands I needed to tend to. No way could I have stopped and fed my baby in the bathroom with my high needs toddler going ape! Not that I would nurse my baby in a bathroom, but that's another post.
      Fast forward 9 months I get the flu and it doesn't let up. Surprise! I am pregnant again! Now I have a wild high needs toddler and a 9mo in tow and pregnant too.  Carriers to the rescue! I again wear the baby on my back and the bump on my front. I got a shopping cart cover for Sierra.It was a crazy and wonderful time and my baby carriers carried me through it all with ease.
 Soon after finding out I was expecting our third Sierra was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The treatment would be two sessions of occupational therapy a week along with an hour of speech therapy. There were therapy type exercises I needed to do at home also. I could not have done this without baby wearing! When I took Sierra to the OT gym I wore the baby on my back so that I could pay attention to what the therapists were doing. I needed to be able to continue therapy at home. At home when I was working with Sierra and baby needed mama I wore her on my back. Monday's were crazy. I picked Sierra up from her special preschool program and drove 40mins north for an hours OT. We immediately drove across town to speech therapy. We kept that schedule up for a year during which time our third baby was born. Here I was again a tandem nursing mama with a special needs preschooler in tow. Thank God for baby carriers! It wasn't long before my middle birdie was also showing signs of autism spectrum disorder and the therapy's began for her.At least we caught it early enough to qualify for in home early intervention services.Baby bird is now also receiving early intervention also for speech delay and sensory issues.
One thing I have heard repeatedly from occupational and speech therapists is that my baby wearing has had a positive impact on my children's autism issues. For Sierra deep pressure is something she craves and needs almost all the time. Her being worn and feeling that gentle deep pressure had most certainly helped her in her early years. My lil birds have all been nursed on demand and been apart of the world since birth. Being able to see things and be spoken to on an adult level surely is a good thing for an ASD baby.Children with autism disorders almost always have digestive issues. Being able to meet the needs of my nursing baby's with ease has certainly been helpful in that area. Cassidy has had chronic diarrhea and I know sometimes she just needs to nurse for the all of the wonderful belly soothing properties that breast milk supplies. Alannah and Sierra needed to nurse for comfort also as they both had reflux. I imagine that if I wasn't able to nurse on demand in my slings I would not have been a tandem nursing mama and two of my baby's would have been shortchanged maybe with some dramatically different outcomes.I could go on and on about the benefits of baby wearing especially in regards to the special needs baby. Again that is another post.

Our first wrap.

It has come to my attention that the baby carrier industry is under attack. Hence the reason for my post today. This saddens me. I made some phone calls today to make sure my voice was heard. The secretaries took down the information dutifully. I get the impression that the important impact that BW has made on our life like so many other issues will be lost in the shuffle unless we act now in full force. If you wear a baby, know a baby,have worn, maybe in the future would wear a baby carrier  please act now. Click over to TBW and follow the instructions.Follow and join the efforts of the BCIA. Also check out similiar stories at Adventures in BabywearingYou could help make a difference. Thank you.