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.
Showing posts with label ring sling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ring sling. Show all posts
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Eww!
I took Belle on a three hour walk earlier, during which I had to feed her. I found a quiet spot to adjust things and kept walking. I walked all through the beach and the park, nursing Belle as needed. It wasn't until we found our way back to our main street that I met opposition. A teenage boy of fifteen or so said "Eww" once he realised I had a nurslling. May his palms grow hairs, very long hairs.
I met a mother walking with her two small daughters immediately after the boy made the comment. I hadn't reacted to the comment in the moment, nor did I mention this comment to the mother and her daughters. The mother smiled when she said "That's how I carried them!" We talked very briefly about baby wearing and baby weight gain. That made me feel very good about myself again.
I pray that teenage boy learns tolerance before he becomes a father. He would only put pressure on his future baby's mother to bottle feed if he remains as immature about nursing as he is as a teenager. Breastfeeding is a beautiful and natural way to feed a baby. We wouldn't have thrived as a species without it.
I met a mother walking with her two small daughters immediately after the boy made the comment. I hadn't reacted to the comment in the moment, nor did I mention this comment to the mother and her daughters. The mother smiled when she said "That's how I carried them!" We talked very briefly about baby wearing and baby weight gain. That made me feel very good about myself again.
I pray that teenage boy learns tolerance before he becomes a father. He would only put pressure on his future baby's mother to bottle feed if he remains as immature about nursing as he is as a teenager. Breastfeeding is a beautiful and natural way to feed a baby. We wouldn't have thrived as a species without it.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Ring sling
I am having major success carrying (and nursing!) Belle in her Chic Tots Chic & Cozy ring sling. We took nearly a two hour walk with her in it this afternoon. I love it especially now that I have mastered the fine art of threading the sling in three easy steps (The manufacturer provided something like fourteen pieces of instructions). Now that I am so confident wearing Belle in it (I wasn't at first, thanks to the lengthy instructions provided!), I face the stares, comments and concerns of others.
Some people think Belle is a puppy when I wear her in either the Chic Tots ring sling or the Hot Slings. Once they realise Belle is, indeed, a baby, they ask how many weeks she is, thinking she is a newborn. When I tell them Belle is nearly four months old, they say, "She's petite!" Some ask if she is cold inside the sling, if I made the sling (Umm, no!) or how comfortable I am wearing the sling. When I reveal how cloth slings can safely accommodate an infant of five pounds to a child of at least thirty-five pounds, they say, "That will break your back." I have been wearing Belle since her underweight days at four pounds something. She is now eight and a half pounds and growing, thanks to the comfort and warmth this close contact provides.
I must be the only [black] woman on Alameda's West end who carries her baby in such a fashion. I must introduce [race] because someone once assumed I was an African based on my manner of wearing Belle, that, and my curly/kinky hair. I have witnessed two [white] women and one [white] man carrying their babies in an Ergo (I have a similar Infantino.) on this side of town. I have only ever witnessed one [black] woman carrying her baby in a Moby wrap (I also have one of those, but I have yet to use it publicly) across the island. Most everyone else pushes their young in car seats that attach to stroller frames before graduating to the more traditional strollers where baby sits upright. Belle won't fit upright in her stroller for another several months.
Some people think Belle is a puppy when I wear her in either the Chic Tots ring sling or the Hot Slings. Once they realise Belle is, indeed, a baby, they ask how many weeks she is, thinking she is a newborn. When I tell them Belle is nearly four months old, they say, "She's petite!" Some ask if she is cold inside the sling, if I made the sling (Umm, no!) or how comfortable I am wearing the sling. When I reveal how cloth slings can safely accommodate an infant of five pounds to a child of at least thirty-five pounds, they say, "That will break your back." I have been wearing Belle since her underweight days at four pounds something. She is now eight and a half pounds and growing, thanks to the comfort and warmth this close contact provides.
I must be the only [black] woman on Alameda's West end who carries her baby in such a fashion. I must introduce [race] because someone once assumed I was an African based on my manner of wearing Belle, that, and my curly/kinky hair. I have witnessed two [white] women and one [white] man carrying their babies in an Ergo (I have a similar Infantino.) on this side of town. I have only ever witnessed one [black] woman carrying her baby in a Moby wrap (I also have one of those, but I have yet to use it publicly) across the island. Most everyone else pushes their young in car seats that attach to stroller frames before graduating to the more traditional strollers where baby sits upright. Belle won't fit upright in her stroller for another several months.
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