Foreign

Today my former hair stylist assumed the ring sling I held Belle in wasn't safe for the baby or good for my back. She insisted that the baby was cold and I needed both arms around the baby to keep her from falling. The woman wouldn't walk away until I had both arms around Belle. In fact, she positioned my arms around my own baby for me and seemed satisfied with her work.

People assume a cloth sling isn't appropriate because it doesn't have wheels. They also assume the mother wearing the baby in the sling is either foreign born or new to motherhood, both of which were assumed of me by strangers. They assume the baby in the sling is, at worst, physically cold or otherwise impaired or, at best, spoiled.

We misuse the world spoiled when it comes to infants and children. That pot of vegetable soup I finally removed from my refrigerator after however many weeks is spoiled and unfit to eat. Belle, however, is well cared for and well loved. I wear her and feed her on demand, which is a foreign concept to many people.