? about baby wearing

amother

Thu, Jan 07 2010, 10:06 pm

I am curious. I have never done it. I saw a mom today wearing her baby under her coat. In our community people drive almost everywhere so I'm assuming she drove to get back home. Do you take off your coat, unwrap the baby, wake it up to put it in a carseat, or do you just wear it while you drive home?

WriterMom

Thu, Jan 07 2010, 10:10 pm

I love the idea of baby-wearing but could never make it work. But this is something I'd thought about.

Driving with the baby in the sling/snuggli/whatever is illegal and very dangerous, because the baby would basically become the shock absorber if anything happened to you. In the winter, getting the baby out of the carseat and into the sling without catching badly cold would be hard. I have a friend who carries a sling in her purse, totes the baby in the carseat, then when they're inside wherever they are, puts the baby in the sling and leaves the carseat until she's going back out. This works when she's going to friends, volunteer at the school, etc. Not so much help if you're going to get groceries, because even though you probably could leave the carseat at the service desk, that's yet another wrinkle in the whole drill.

Most people I know, though, just give up on using the sling out of the house when it's cold out.

yaelinIN

Thu, Jan 07 2010, 10:23 pm

You (the generic you) should NEVER, NEVER drive while wearing a baby!!!!!!!

I have worn all of my children and I do not own (nor never will own) an infant car seat (my babies are, bli ayin hara, born big and grow fast). I own a convertible car seat that is rear facing and transfer the baby from the sling to the car seat when I come and go in the car. Most of the time there is no issue from the transfer. I could even transfer the baby with the sling (as it is not padded) if I felt that would help the transition.

I do not put my child in a snowsuit in his car seat as that too is dangerous. He wears either a thin cover-up over his clothes or a blanket I keep in the house so it is pre-warmed and a hat. I pop him in my sling or wrap, cover with the blanket and/or my coat and then into the (hopefullly pre-warmed) car and wrap him in his blanket again after buckling him up. A baby after the initial newborn stage is somewhat hardy and most cars will warm up in 5-10 minutes even in cold weather (recently it has been in the single digits here in IN).

You can get more information at www.thebabywearer.com or www.wearyourbaby.com

Mommy3.5

Fri, Jan 08 2010, 12:46 am

I am sure she put the baby back in the carseat. Or she actually did walk.

Anyone who breastfeeds while driving, or wears the baby while driving should be arrested. There are times when the babies needs, have to wait until it is safe.

amother

Fri, Jan 08 2010, 1:07 am

I'm not sure if you were referring to me (as I did have my dd under my coat today), so I can tell you that I'm not like the rest of the community here - we don't own a car. If I can get a ride with a neighbor/friend/relative, she goes into the car seat, and I don't usually use the carrier during those outings (ie. food shopping, etc., so she can sit in the shopping cart), however when she was younger, I did use the sling while shopping, and have one of those "bundle me's" that is for the car seat. I would slip her in and out - no coat necessary!

Although, it's much easier to keep her in tow while hopping on a bus, or trekking by foot.

Purplehair

Fri, Jan 08 2010, 1:09 am

A baby's most important need is to be kept safe by his/her parents. That means pulling over if the child needs to eat when mommy or daddy are driving. That means pulling over if you need to change a diaper. And that ALWAYS means using an appropriately installed carseat when driving.

Hashem_Yaazor

Fri, Jan 08 2010, 9:21 am

What I do with my 17 month old is wear a stretchy wrap so I can pop her in and out without untying and retying the whole thing. Stretchy wraps aren't really so good at this age since they don't hold weight as well as woven fabrics, but for the short time I wear her in between the car and getting into a warm building, it's a lifesaver.

For example, I tie the wrap on inside my home before I pick her up from the babysitter, put her in the carseat (I usually don't wear her for that 1 minute), buckle her (she's wearing a fleece jacket to minimize bulk which would impede the safety of the carseat harness)...when we get home, I unbuckle her, unzip my coat half way, pop her into the wrap which stretches to make it easier for her to fit in, zip up the coat if it's very cold, and wear her upstairs until I take her out, undo her coat, etc...if I want to continue wearing her, I put on a better carrier...