How safe is a sling?

I love numbers.  Nothing puts things in perspective better than seeing the numbers laid out for you in black & white.  So with the rash of bad publicity that baby slings have garnered in the media lately, due to the recall of the Infantino slings. I loved reading this article with ALL the numbers right there to put it all into perspective.

Like anything safety comes first and a misused sling can be just as dangerous as a misused car seat. It's up to the parents and caregivers to read the instructions on products and to research and educated them selves about the equipment they use with their children.  Baby Carriers like slings are perfectly safe when they are used properly.

How safe are baby slings? About as safe as it gets ….

To put the safety of infant slings in perspective, here are a few numbers for you:

The likelihood you’ll get struck by lightning — 1:280,000.
The odds that you’ll die of a tsunami in the US — 1:500,000.
The odds an earth-impacting asteroid will kill you — between 1:200,000 and 1:500,000
The odds your infant will die in a car accident — 21:100,000
The odds your infant will die from a circumcision procedure — 1:500,000
The odds your infant will die in an infant sling — 1:700,000

 HERE to read the entire article on Wrapsody

Baby Wearing, Properly and Safely!

 Wearing your baby is the best way to keep baby close while giving you the ability to go about your daily routines without undue stress on your arms and back.  But Safety is Key! Baby carriers save mom and dad's back and arms and make life so much simpler with a small baby (and toddlers!), but like everything in life, it has to be done properly and safely. There are two very important factors to watch out for when wearing your baby:


1- insuring that their head is not slumped forward onto their chest, which can cause their airway to be restricted or even blocked.  This is the danger with slings like those made by Infantino which were recalled  due to several deaths of infants.

2-not carrying the baby with their legs hanging straight down, like the positioning in the Baby Bjorn, Jolly Jumper,and Snuggly  carriers. Whether using these carriers facing you or outwards (forward facing), these carriers leave the babies legs hanging straight down. This puts too much stress on the babies hips and lower spine.

On  Peaceful Parenting Dr. Momma writes about the proper positions for baby wearing safely:

Babywearing: Proper Positioning

Article and Image from Tadpoles & Butterflies
posted with permission
This positioning applies to any carrier – ring sling, pouch, wrap, mei tai & soft structured (buckle) carriers and to babies of all ages. If the carrier does not allow for this positioning, it is not a suitable carrier. Older babies/toddlers should be carried in this same position on your hip or your back.

We recommend always ensuring that your baby is positioned in your carrier as follows:

~ Vertically, on your chest, with baby’s bum at or above your navel
~ Knees above bum, in a frog legged or M position
~ Spine rounded
~ Head turned to the side, with baby’s chin well above his chest to avoid closure of the airway
~ The fabric of the carrier needs to be properly tightened to support your baby in this position. Fabric should be spread from one knee to the other and must not block the baby’s mouth or nose in any way.

You may notice that the manufacturer’s instructions provided with your carrier suggest positioning that does not meet these requirements - forward facing or cradle positions specifically. We recommend against wearing your baby in either of those positions.

Research consistently shows that when babies are held vertically, skin to skin, on a parent’s chest, their heart rate, respiratory rate & temperature are regulated.* Additionally, they cry less, breastfeed more effectively, and develop quicker and more optimally.* Dr Nils Bergman, a physician and scientist who has extensively studied the beneficial practice of keeping babies in their natural habitat (vertically, between their mother's breasts), says, "The baby is in the right place and therefore has the right behavior."...

 HERE to read the entire article on Peaceful Parenting

The Baby Wearer also writes another excellent article on the safe use of slings, answering the constant demand for information that they have been receiving since the wave of bad publicity a few months ago when the Infantino slings were recalled.

CPSC and Infant Sling Safety

In light of the recent advisory by Consumer Product Safety Commission regarding baby sling safety, Babywearing International would like to remind caregivers that wearing an infant in a well-constructed carrier and using proper babywearing techniques are of utmost importance. When done properly, babywearing is a very safe and beneficial parenting tool.

When caregivers learn to use their carriers properly while keeping safety and common sense in mind, babywearing can be just as safe, or safer, as carrying a baby in-arms. At BWI, we view babywearing as a skill that can be learned: many volunteers across the United States and throughout the world are committed to helping mothers learn baby carrier safety and proper babywearing methods.

"Slings are wonderful parenting tools when used properly and safely." said Dr. Lois Balster, a pediatrician and a member of BWI's board of directors. "Using a sling incorrectly is not unlike using an infant car seat without proper installation, infant positioning, and restraints. It is always important to position your baby safely in any carrier or infant-carrying device."

A correctly-used baby carrier's positioning should mimic how you would hold a baby in your arms. A normal in-arms holding position is fairly snug to your chest and somewhat close to your face ("Close Enough to Kiss"). Babywearing advocates have been teaching about the importance of correct newborn positioning for years and warning against the use of slings that do not allow for safe wearing positions....

HERE to read the entire article on The Baby Wearer

HERE is also a link to an excellent PDF article with pictures showing the correct positions for babies in various carriers.

Both Peaceful Parenting and The Baby Wearer have excellent resources for wearing your baby.  Baby Wearers also has probably the most comprehensive list of links to information about how to choose a carrier, "How To" videos and pictures, and instructions from many users for making your own carriers with many many designs to choose from.

Finally, if you have a  Mother-In-Law/Sister/Cousin/Neighbour who constantly tells you that wearing your baby is not healthy and will foster a spoiled insecure child, read Helen Schwalme's article on Natural Mothering about Babywearing:

Why should we carry babies?

 

A newborn is completely defenseless and is also completely dependant on someone else to meet all of his/her needs. Imagine knowing that and being put down and left alone. How would you feel? How would you know that this person would ever come back again? What if they just left you alone, hungry and scared? On the other hand, what if you were always with your mother, snuggled up securely on her chest where you could feel her heart beating, smell her familiar scent and be close to your food source? Do you not think that this baby would learn that his/her needs will be met, and will learn to trust, resulting in a child that will feel more confident to move away from his/her mother when older? It makes sense when you think about it. A baby who is left alone in a crib, car seat or bassinet for extended periods, who does not have his/her needs met, immediately will either learn to scream louder or, even worse, will shut down.

5 reasons to wear your baby

1. Wearing your baby gives you your hands back. Do you wonder how you will make dinner, do laundry, vacuum or shop with a new baby? Wearing your baby in a carrier will free your hands for other tasks.
2. Wearing your baby makes for a happier baby. Studies have shown that babies who are carried are happier. They cry less and are generally calmer. Crying is stressful for both parents and babies, and stress hormones can cause long term damage to a baby's developing brain
3. Wearing your baby is good exercise for you! New mums find it hard to fit in exercise, but if you carry your growing baby in a sling all day or go for a brisk walk you will be getting good exercise and can nurture your baby at the same time.
4. Wearing a baby is a great bonding tool for dads, grandparents and other care givers too. New fathers sometimes complain they feel “left out” when mum is breastfeeding, but wearing the baby in a sling is a great way for Dads to bond with their babies. The baby will become accustomed to the sound of Dad's voice and heartbeat, to his smell and let’s face it, who doesn’t think it’s cute to see a Dad walking down the street wearing a baby?
5. Wearing your baby keeps them in a safe place. The world is a scary, noisy place for a baby. Being worn in a carrier provides the baby with a sense of security and comfort. They are not at the same level as exhaust fumes as they are in a stroller and they maintain the connection to their parent that is not possible in forward-facing strollers and car seat carriers.

HERE to read the entire article on Natural Mothering



But a WARNING:.... Baby wearing is addictive!  and baby carriers can easily become an obsession!! Just ask me and I'll show you my closet full of slings and wraps!!

UK study on Kangaroo Care for preemie babies

More and more good news in the world of baby wearing!!  A new study done in Kent UK shows that premature babies gain weight faster and get home sooner with the use of Kangaroo Care to keep the babies close to their mother, skin to skin.

As I wrote back in May 2010, Kangaroo Care is a way of nurturing a baby, to enhance skin-to-skin contact between the baby and the parent. The baby, wearing only a diaper, is held upright against the parent’s bare chest. The term kangaroo care is used because the method is similar to how a baby kangaroo is nurtured by its mother - from the safe environment of the womb to the safe environment of the pouch where further maturation of the baby occurs. Skin-to-skin contact promotes more consistent heart and respiratory rates; it stabilizes oxygen needs; it aids in stabilizing blood sugar levels; it regulates body temperature; and improves weight gain and helps increase breast milk supply. All of which are vital for babies born  too early.

YAY for Baby Wearing!!!!

Babies gain from 'kangaroo' care study at Kent hospital

By Nigel Thompson BBC South East health correspondent

Carianne Hamilton said she jumped at the chance to try the new method

The first minutes and hours after a baby is born are precious - it is the chance for a mother to bond with her child after months of expectation and the pressure of giving birth.

Now midwives in Kent are studying the use of a device which it is claimed can help babies born prematurely to put on weight and develop far quicker than if they were to stay in an incubator.
A simple sling, used to cradle the child as close to the mother's skin as possible, has been tested at the Pembury maternity unit near Tunbridge Wells since November.
About 90 mothers have made use of the sling, which is part of a method called Kangaroo Care, and the progress of their children has been monitored under a study looking at how particularly premature babies develop. The study will conclude next month.
So far the signs are that the scheme is bringing beneficial results.
Humphrey Hamilton was born on 28 December, six weeks before he was due.
His mother Carianne elected to use the sling in those early weeks.
"It was great to feel so close to him," she said.
"When it was offered to me to try I jumped at the chance."
Jean Meadows, a consultant midwife at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, said: "Normally we'd expect a child like Humphrey to spend several weeks with us... he went home within days."
It is also claimed that the sling encourages mothers to continue breastfeeding.
"There's been a lot of research elsewhere into Kangaroo Care for premature babies which shows that it can lead to a shorter hospital stay, more successful breastfeeding, less crying and more quiet sleep," consultant midwife Sarah Gregson said.
The hospital has established links with Craftaid, a Fairtrade charity based in Mauritius which makes the slings.
The plan now is that the Maidstone trust will act as a hub for the rest of the NHS and be able to commission more of the slings from the charity.

 

HERE to read the entire article on the BBC

Little mommies: when you know they've been listening!

You know they've been listening to mommy.

I have to tell you all about my wonderful afternoon with my youngest daughter.

As a mother, I've always tried to be very open with my children and talk to them honestly and straightforward.  As an Activist, I've always spoken to my kids about what I'm doing, about why mommy sometimes spends a lot of time on the computer or on phone, and how mommy is trying to change things.  But when you're talking to kids, you always wonder how much they are listening, KWIM?

Today I realized that my kids really are listening in on all those conversations about birthing and breastfeeding, about loving our babies, and about human rights.

It's been a long week this week (yes, I know it's only tuesday, please don't remind me). Feeling rather burned out, I was sitting on the couch struggling to nurse my 4 month old son (which many times is kinda like trying to dress a squid), while deciding whether to do the dishes or fold laundry... if he ever fell asleep that is.

Out of the corner of my eye I notice my youngest daughter (Keira, 5) coming down the stairs.  She comes into the living room dressed in her usual quirky fashion (today's outfit consisted of grey woolly tights with black and silver snow flakes, jean shorts, and a hot pink tank top with a white sequinned bolero jacket over top), wearing her little sling that I made for her when she was just 18 months old with her baby in it.

She sits down on the couch next to me, crosses her legs- very lady like- and strikes up a conversation.

"Hello, my what a cute baby you have.  My baby is just 3 days old and he is very small and delicate.  He was born out of my vagina, because that's the way babies should be born, but I came out of my mommy's tummy because she didn't have a midwife then.  We're waiting for our midwives to come and visit us right now."  all the while she's rocking her baby in the sling.

So we chatted for a few minutes.  She told me about her baby and I told her about my baby- you know: Mommy talk.  After a minute or two she very gently takes her baby out of the sling and says
"Oh he's hungry.  Don't worry baby , mommy's got lots of milk for you" and she pulls up her shirt and  makes sure that her baby's mouth is exactly on her little nipple and holds him securely in a perfect cross cradle hold.  While we nursed out babies together (one of which was far less wiggly), we continued chatting.  She told me that babies needed to be breastfed and that bottle were not necessary. "Babies just need boobies and to be carried and hugged.  Skin to skin is the best way, but I can't get my shirt off right now."

After the babies finished nursing (one of which didn't belch up a mouthful of milk all over his mother), we sat and bounced our babies on our laps (one of our shirts was already covered with milk, so the bouncing wasn't likely to make it any worse.) and she told me about how her baby nurses and sleeps with her, and that she loved to carry him around in her sling.  "Oh I think he has to have a pee! would you mind holding him while I get his potty?"  (then proceeded to tell me that I wasn't supporting his head well enough...good thing she was rummaging up stairs in her toy box for the little potty and didn't see my baby goobering all over her baby's head!).

When she returned she held her baby over the potty with perfect practised poise and made the "pee" noise, praised her little one for have a big pee in his potty, and then got him dressed again and put him back in the sling.
(Around this time her younger brutish three year old brother came running and yelling into the room and at that point the "mommy mirage" disappeared and off they ran together to see if Sesame Street was on TV).

The entire time we sat together, just two mommy's bonding with our babies, I couldn't removed the huge grin that lit up my face. As she ran off to fry her brain in front of the TV all I could think was:

"It worked!! We've changed the next generation!!!"  I know that I'll have home birthed, breastfed, babyworn, attached grandchildren... sometime a long time from now!

So next time you find yourself wondering if your little ones are really listening, take heart: they hear and they are listening.  We will change the next generation- one child at a time.

...although don't get your hopes up about their fashion sense.  A lost cause is a lost cause!

 My little mommies- Quinlin 4 and Keira 18 months, wearing their baby slings I made for them!

Baby wearing saves a baby

I read this blog last night and crumbled into tears. This is such an empowering story of one mother saying screw you to the system and all those around her- people, both medical personnel and friends who told her she was wrong, and who stuck to her deep mothering instincts.... instincts that saved the life of her sick baby girl.

We are mothers. We KNOW our babies. We need to listen to that inner mothering voice when it tells us what to do and how to parent and look after ourselves and our children.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Saving My Baby

I gave birth on a February afternoon by repeat caesarean. A pink, squalling bundle was handed to me, and I gazed lovingly into eyes that seemed to recognize me. I whispered sweet words of belonging to this girl child of mine, and comforted her outraged cries. She was the daughter I so desperately wanted.

A week after her birth, a friend dropped off a ring sling. I snuggled my 7 lb bundle into it and went about my way with a mostly content baby. Within two weeks, I was wearing her constantly. Towards afternoon, she’d begin to sob and scream inconsolably. She would arch and thrash, refuse to nurse, refuse a soother, the swing, my arms. The only thing that would quiet her screams was the sling.

Screamy baby began to lose weight. I carried her – day in, day out – in the sling. Repeated trips to the doctor revealed nothing. She was unable to nurse, screaming hysterically within moments of latch on.I was told rudely “ Do breast compressions. Breast is best.” Breast compressions made her choke and gag... and scream. I began feeding her formula. We went back to the doctor. Reflux. Milk Intolerance. Delayed gastric emptying. Her weight gain was poor, and the screaming increased in volume. Nights were long, filled with arching, thrashing baby. There was many a night that I slept with her in the sling, sitting up on the couch, unwilling to move her from her comfort zone. People told me I was spoiling her. I told them “ We’re coping. This is all that works.” I was told to let her cry it out, but I had no desire to abandon my child to a dark room to cry out her angst. My responsibility to her did not end when the sun went down. I whispered in her ear that I couldn’t stop her crying, but I could hold her while she cried.

I paced the floors with her, snuggled tummy to tummy in the sling. At six months, I begged the doctor to hospitilize her – I knew something was dreadfully wrong. The paediatrician agreed. She was poked, prodded, xrayed, and force fed. The screaming continued.

A day before discharge, my pediatrician’s partner waltzed into our room with his holier than thou attitude. He told me I wasn’t putting in the effort to feed her, to put her in another room to sleep and let her cry it out. I banned him from treating my child.

I worked part time, baby in sling. I got a mei tai, two more ring slings. I carried her everywhere. In the shower. To the doctor, to the park, on playdates. People nastily asked me how she would learn to walk if I never put her down. I ignored them. Carrying her stopped the screaming.

Just before her first birthday, she developed a high fever and cough. I took her to the ER, still wrapped in my sling. We waited 7 hours. Xrays revealed her heart was enlarged. We were admitted. I carried her nonstop for the next few days – through a terrifying whirlwind of echocardiograms and finally a diagnosis. During one particularly memorable screaming fit, a nurse turned to me in tears, and handed me my sling. My daughter quieted, safe in her sling.

She was in heart failure. A rare and very serious heart defect had been causing massive heart attacks. Fatality rates were 90% in the first year. The screaming was her suffering from crushing chest pain. In the hallway, the cardiologist turned to me and quietly told me that it was my parenting – the constant carrying – that had allowed her to survive against all odds.

My daughter never cried alone, left in a room. Had I ever practiced CIO, I would have woken to a lifeless baby. I held her through months of gut wrenching doubt, moments when I cried too. But today, I watch my daughter play and run, and laugh. I carried her through a mom’s worst nightmare... and we both survived.

Sarah Kaganovsky

HERE to go directly to the original Blog Post on Fierce Mamas

I"m trying.... really I am!

Well everyone, the time has come the walrus said.... to fess up.

I'm not super mom, nor am I a super blogger.

I've tried to keep up with my blog- I've even got about 3 or 4 blogs half written in Word that just need some more time.... "Time" - HA! that's such a joke!! Having 4 kids at home- with the youngest being just 26 days old- seems to of created a trans-dimensional black hole that sucks up every extra second in my day, ROTF!!!!

I can deal with the dishes and the cooking. I can deal with getting my two daughters up and ready for school in the morning- breakfasts on the table (... you can lead a horse to water...), lunches packed, I can even find them matching socks and mittens (usually). I can sweep the floors and tidy the living room. I can even pick up the dirty socks and muddy mittens from yesterday and find the missing lunch box or a sharpened pencil (a rare commodity in our house).

Just a regular day in the trenches of our household.

Then we add our latest addition to our family.

I am nursing my 26 day old Ewok/I mean baby, on demand... which in my vernacular seriously means "Whenever he wants", be it every 20 minutes or for hours at a time (as is apparent by the fact that he's gained 2 pounds in 26 days!!lol), and Kael and I have started our adventure into the land of Elimination Communication, which, while very rewarding, requires more than a small bit of my attention. Luckily we are a babywearing family and while my youngest two beasties aren't quite ready for slinging a new born around, between Nick and I and the ever wondrous WRAP, and my daughters love of holding their littlest brother, Kael rarely finds himself lonely :>P Which makes reading his signals much easier as for the most part they mean "I'm hungry" or "I need to Pee/poop"...

I can deal with all of this.


....but OH GODs!!!!! Will someone please shoot the laundry troll that lives under my stairs!!! I CAN NOT keep up!! Oh, I can get the laundry organized, and even washed.... but when ever it comes out of the dryer it seems to cause serious consequences through out our house: small children decide to go to war (or fall off the couch... that they were using for a trampoline), the baby needs to poop, or nurse, or burp, or cuddle... the eldest DD needs help spelling "ardvark", the youngest DD decides to "help out" by "doing the dishes", "the Boy" decides to go surfing through the kitchen in the run-off from his older sister "doin the dishes"....OH! the baby needs to poop again..... and so the laundry is either forgotten in the dryer or in the laundry basket.... regardless, it never seems to get folded and put away in a safe spot (preferably, in the proper drawers), and always seems to end up on our bedroom floor- waiting oh so patiently for the black hole to spit out a couple of those stolen minutes so that it will finally make it to it's home. But when I'm not looking, the laundry troll sneaks out and runs through the semi organized piles of clean clothes, dragging pieces out into the hallway (where they get mixed up with the dirty laundry awaiting my undivided (rotf) attention, and if I'm really preoccupied he'll even find a puddle of mud (or ketchup, chocolate milk, pudding, applesauce, peanut butter....) and rub it all over his body and then roll through the laundry piles, for maximum devastation....

...I've never actually seen the laundry troll, but he must exist since everyone else in my family denies culpability, and my sweet children would NEVER lie about something like that .

*snort*

Anyway, I digress.

All I'm saying is that I'm trying my best. My children are clothed in (reasonably) clean outfits (well, except for my youngest nudist who refuses to wear clothing between the hours of 8am and 5pm), They are fed healthy foods (...ok, somewhat healthy foods), their homework is done (thanx to their father who is in charge of math and spelling, both of which I suck at), the house is tidy (ish.... again, mostly thanx to my darling hubby), and I can usually find a moment to at least read my emails once a day (twice if I'm lucky!).... but my blog..... my poor poor ignored blog.... well, it's gathering a bit of dust (great, one more thing to clean), but I PROMISE I'll get back to writing again soon.

No, really: I will!! The fact that it's taken me 3 hours, several revisions, 2 nursing sessions, multiple snacks for small beasties/I mean children, two potty emergencies (not Kael's), one potty break for kael, a change of clothing for me (there is only so long one can stand smelling like baby barf), and overseeing the building of an enormous fort in the middle of our living room .... Just to get this blog written... well, that doesn't mean that I won't have time tomorrow. Or the next day...

I'm blathering again.

Most of you are moms. You know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, all I'm saying is that please have patience and check back here often. I'm sure I'll find a way to get rid of that black hole sooner or later.

(anyone have Stephen Hawkings number?)

"Baby Wearing is Da Bomb!"

I loved this Blog by Woman Uncensored- she speaks my language!!

My youngest son is 2 and a half, and way back when logan was about 12 months old Nick and I decided that he was our last baby- 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls.... what could be more symmetrical than that?!? Well last summer the universe decided that symmetry wasn't our game and threw us a curve ball that brought me and the kids home from Africa early: We were expecting a new baby in February 2010.

Having decided that we were finished baby making and given the fact that we were moving to another continent, we gave away EVERYTHING.

Fast forward to this month, I finally decided that I'd better start gathering up baby things. Putting the call out to various friends and family (and visiting my favourite thrift stores), I knew that I wouldn't have a problem with sleepers and undershirts, (though socks seem to be not as easily found, lol), cloth diapers and receiving blankets.... But as I lamented to my partner Helen:

"I need a wrap!!!! and I don't have a Meitai!!"

But you know that you're a baby carrier junkie when you go into the basement and pull out the bin that you have stored those precious baby things that you can never part with and in it you discover: 4 sleepers, 3 special blankets, a bib and a hat or two....... and 2 ring slings, 1 pouch sling. 2 wraps, and enough spare rings, straps, buckles and fabric to make at least 1/2 a dozen meitais/slings!!!!

"Hello. My name is Dani, and I am a baby carrier junkie"

Of course, I still went out yesterday and bought another wrap....

Well! I didn't have one in that fabric and it was a good deal!!!

.....and I'm cutting out fabric today to make my hubby his very own Meitai in black with Star Wars fabric.... or maybe X-Men.....

The stroller is parked in the laundry room, but there's a baby carrier in just about every other room of the house. And my little UFC baby hasn't even arrived yet!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Baby Wearing is Da Bomb

How comfy does my little meatloaf look? She's a newborn here, but about 2 seconds after this pic was taken, she grew so rapidly that people wondered if I'd had an affair with the Michelin Man. Despite her abundant rolls and my wussy back, she and I were always comfy. Baby-wearing is da bomb, I'm tellin' ya! So awesome, it makes me use descriptions like "da bomb", yeesh, heaven help me! I personally used a MetroMamma Wrap, which comes in some super cute "bling" designs (like mine with the wings) as well as solid colors. I must admit, I'm naturally a blond, in addition to being clumsy and uncoordinated, and those carriers with all those straps and buckles were always just too complicated for me to use. I honestly was never able to get one on and baby in it without help from my hubby. Pretty pointless when he's gone at work much of the day! Fortunately, prior to having my 2nd daughter, I'd discovered the wonderful world of baby wearing beyond the ugly store-bought contraptions of confusion!...

HERE to read Woman Uncensored's entire article