With my 4 month old I’m doing a lot of quick nursing. It seems that nursing is ALWAYS an emergency and once baby starts crying, the pressure is on!

So try to practice a few times when it’s NOT an emergency. In this video, my baby was not yet asking to nurse, so it goes pretty smoothly

This one shows nursing in a Front Cross Carry. This only works if you’ve got baby wrapped up with both legs beneath both crosses, a FCC variation I like a lot as it holds my baby very close to me and is great for impromptu nursing sessions!

So I’m putting up the video for nursing in a Front Cross Carry and a second video showing how I put Cassidy into the FCC variation in the first place. I’ll try to do a similar video for Front Wrap Cross Carry soon.

Switching to a Nursing Carry

Wrapping Baby Under FCC Crosses

The Front Cross Carry is perfect for lots of ins and outs with a new baby, but the two of you will only enjoy it if you wrap baby high on your chest.

If baby tends to sink down deep into the wrap, try holding your baby and putting the wrap on around him or her for more of a custom fit.

As you go, be sure to pull each part snug across the entire width of the wrap. Take it slow and steady. Do it when your baby is happy just being held so that baby stays content while you take the three minutes to get this just right.

Be sure that the middle of the wrap that is behind your back is high on your back–right below your armpits is probably good. Make sure there are no loose or floppy bits of wrap back there. Do this by pulling carefully on each strand of the wrap as you make the first pass over baby, and just as carefully with the second pass.

Front Cross Carry is most convenient when you pretie, but wrapping it around baby for a couple of days can transform your pretied FCC into one that stays snug. Remember that your baby should be high enough to kiss!

My wrapping style, like my parenting in general, has gotten more comfortable and relaxed now that I’m on the third baby.  You know how they tell you that your newborn baby needs to wake up to nurse every two hours, should have 6-8 wet diapers per day, and needs to wear a hat?  These are rules designed to help out new, nervous parents, and they’re designed to reassure them too: baby’s peeing enough, thank goodness!  The rules are training wheels.

Like riding a bike, once you learn to parent you never forget.  And you never need training wheels again.  So I haven’t counted diapers, have no idea how often Cassidy is nursing, or how long he’s slept in between.  I know enough to know he’s healthy and thriving without those measurements.

Wrapping has rules, too, and once you understand what they’re for and what really matters, you don’t need them anymore.  For example, if you know why your baby’s knees should be positioned higher than his or her bottom, you understand enough to know that your baby is positioned well without checking knee-butt level ratio.

Sure a Front Cross Carry is supposed to cross in between your baby’s legs, but as long as your wrap job provides a good seat, you can cross over the legs instead, rebozo style.

Sometimes my baby’s feet are wrapped in the wrap, sometimes they stick out.  Sometimes one sticks out.

And when I lower my baby to nurse, in an upright position, he often ends up reclining in more of a cradle position–without my having rewrapped him.  And it doesn’t matter whether he’s upright or cradle, just that I know he’s supported ergonomically and can nurse comfortably.

I don’t want to give the impression I’ve given over to lazy wrapping.  Rather I feel that it’s effortless (for the most part) and more like improvisation.  Maybe I don’t plan exactly what carry I’m doing.  I just get my baby positioned where I want him and when I’m done, he’s all wrapped up!

And while I’m worrying less about the details, in a way, I pay more attention to them, too.  For example, this baby is my littlest and as such I pay closer attention to his vitals.  I’m not worried, I just want to make sure his face isn’t buried in a blanket, since he’s not as buff as my others (yet).  And by this point in my babywearing career I understand the physiology behind the danger of letting my baby’s chin fall against his chest.  And I recognize that this can happen in an upright position as well as a cradle position, so I am attentive to his chin position and far more likely to tilt his head back, than I am to worry so much about supporting the back of his head.

From this perspective, I have advice for babywearers that perhaps haven’t gained this confidence: RELAX!  Yes, it is important to use your carrier correctly for safety and comfort, but remember that you can adjust on the fly, you can take it off and try again, and you can learn something from every attempt.  So try to keep it light.  And if it’s working, don’t fret over whether it looks just the same as in the picture.  In fact, don’t be afraid to mix it up, some!  Remember, wrapping isn’t just functional…it’s an art!  Art is meant to be a unique expression, not a reproduction!

Anyone who sells or promotes a product should accompany that pitch with advice for using the product safely.  But it’s lately occurred to me that “babywearing safety” is mostly the same thing as “baby safety” and is good for any parent or caregiver to be familiar with, whether or not a baby carrier is in use:

• an infant’s neck should not be curled with the baby’s chin against baby’s chest–this obstructs the airway and has proven fatal in small or weak infants.  When your baby is in your arms, crib, carseat, swing, baby carrier, or anywhere else, make sure that you can easily fit your two fingers in the space between chin and chest to ensure that your baby has a clear airway.
• as much as possible, you should be able to see your baby’s face.  Proximity is the best defense against SIDS both because your baby’s body will take breathing cues from your body, and because you will be there to observe if something goes wrong and can intervene before it is too late.  Babies’ faces should not be covered.  Even a breathable fabric will leave your baby inhaling stale air and will prevent your being able to see his or her face.
• spines have a natural curve that we should support.  Keeping a baby’s back straight and flat is not optimum, nor is a concave curve, as often occurs when a baby is worn facing outward (with the baby’s back against the babywearer’s stomach).   Teach your baby to lie flat in a baby device only in moderation and stay mindful that each flat baby holding device you use adds up to more flattened-spine time.  This may include strollers, carseats, cribs/bed (if baby sleeps on back), playmats, etc.  Remember that evolutionarily, that baby’s body expects to be in arms most of the time, where it can curl up into a desirable position.
• spines are developing throughout the first year of your baby’s life, and it is important not to put stress on the spine by sitting all of the baby’s weight on the base of the spine.   Baby carriers that hold babies upright but do not support their thighs, suspend baby by the crotch, with the entire weight of baby resting squarely on the base of his or her spine.  When using a device to carry baby upright, make sure it is in a more seated position, with the carrier coming under to support baby’s thighs at least out to each knee.
• when holding, wearing, or otherwise keeping baby close to you, make sure your activities are safe or out of baby’s reach: cooking, cleaning products, etc.  Don’t chop veggies if your baby’s waving arm is within reach in either a high chair or a back carry.  Ditto with the hot burner, using chemicals with fumes, and other hazards that I’d hope would be obvious!

What did I miss?  Leave a comment to let me know!

The difference?  The stretchy wrap has more give, so it is less sturdy and secure as your child grows heavier, or in a back carry where you cannot keep an eye on the fabric, or quickly thrust out your hands to adjust as needed!

All the advice I give applies to woven wraps.  Stretchy wraps are great, too, but have a more limited use, and I have very little experience with them from which to give advice.  Look for tons of tips and experience on the premier (and free) babywearing discussion forums: www.thebabywearer.com

Do not consider my instructions as applicable to stretchy wraps!  This is the only tutorial I have for a stretchy wrap: http://www.wrapyourbaby.com/pocketwrapcrosscarry.htm You can find plenty more from more knowledgeable users on Youtube.  Have fun!

• Babywearing outerwear specifically designed for accommodating the two of you and the babycarrier.  Babywearing outwear comes in the form of coats, jackets, vests and ponchos.  Some are for cooler weather than others.  Some are water resistant.  Some are made from natural and some from synthetic materials.
• Babywearing covers that cover the baby and baby carrier for warmth, but do not cover the babywearer (who would wear their own coat).
• Larger winter coats for the babywearer to wear that are big enough to close around baby as well, so that both are inside the same coat.  Mens coats, swing coats and A line coats are all good options, buttoned up just as far as baby’s neck.  As baby and wearer would be sharing the same head hole, it may be necessary to wear a scarf or shawl to cover your neck and chest between the two of you.
• Traditional shawl, poncho, or pashmina can be wrapped around both of you.  Wool is an excellent material for warmth, water resistance, and breathability.
• Bundling baby within the carrier, and wearing your own coat on top.

Some people do their bundling (mother and baby in winter gear) and then put the babycarrier on top of all the coats.  I am not a fan of this method as coats can be slippery and unsafe to babywear over, and the bulk makes it difficult to get a comfortably tight carry.  It also eliminates the babywearing benefit of having baby close enough to hear your heartbeat, smell you, etc.  Also, your warmth is the best way to keep your baby warm so I like to avoid layers between you.

You should also think about whether you will want yourself and baby to stay bundled up when you get to your destination.  If you’re going to the mall or grocery store, you’re not going to want to be wearing coats when you get there, and you will probably still want baby wrapped up when you get there, so it will be most convenient to NOT have baby bundled up inside the wrap.  One coat over both of you is easiest to remove and carry.

If you’re wearing your toddler to the park where he will want to get down and play with older siblings, then you will want baby out of the wrap, but with his own coat.  I find it works well to wrap the baby up with his arms out of the wrap, and then put the coat on outside of the carrier.  His arms will go into the sleeves, hood will go over his head, and the coat will remain open, covering his back outside the wrap while his front is toastily pressed against yours.  When you get to the park, you pop him out (may I recommend a front cross carry so that you don’t have to remove the wrap?) and you and he leave your coats on and button them up at this point.

Keep in mind that babies are not supposed to wear coats in carseats if the seat belt has to be adjusted looser to accommodate the extra bulk.  A blanket over top of the baby once strapped in is a safer plan.  So if you are driving, you want the easiest way to keep baby bundled up on the way to the car, and from the car to the house, without a baby coat or bunting.  If you don’t have other things to carry or other kids hands to hold, and your car is just out in the driveway, it may be easiest to simply carry your baby in a blanket or under your coat, climb into the car, close the doors, and get him buckled in and tucked in.  When you get to your destination, you can either wrap baby up while sitting in the back seat (may take some practice or a roomy vehicle), or carry bundled baby into the mall (for example) and then wrap him up once you are inside.

If you like the idea of a babywearing coat, but lack the funding, consider making your own:

make a babywearing poncho

make a zip-in insert to turn your regular winter coat into a babywearing coat

convert a coat to a babywearing coat

convert a coat to a babywearing coat for back carries

If you’re new to babywearing on your back, you and your baby both need to become comfortable with it.

If you are worried or uncertain, your baby will be worried and is likely to cry.

I recommend practicing without the wrap.  The best place is where you and your baby can both see yourselves in a mirror.   This helps you to know what’s happening, and is a source of entertainment.   If you are not certain you can keep your baby from dropping, of course you must begin over a bed or other soft surface, or with a spotter hovering behind you.  Soon you will find that you can smoothly and easily move your baby from your front to your back and back to the front again safely.

Make it a game for your baby or toddler.  Play around with it.  Make funny faces and funny sounds.  Shout, “Super-baby!”

If your baby becomes upset, scared, or frustrated, stop and try again another time when he or she is clearly in a playful, wide-awake, not-hungry mood!

There are several ways to get your baby onto your back.  A toddler can often climb on when you squat in front of her and offer a piggyback ride.  Otherwise you can scoot your baby or child around your hip to your back, or lift baby, rotate, and place him or her over your shoulder.  Your baby might enjoy your swinging him or her around before settling him on your back.

Look over these different methods of putting a baby on your back, and pick one to try.  See which you and your baby like best.

Rucksack Carry crossed over chest

Most back carries with a wrap will have either rucksack straps (the wrap comes straight down from your shoulder and goes underneath the same arm like a backpack–or vice versa, from under one arm to over the same shoulder) or are crossed across the chest so the wrap goes from over one shoulder to under the opposite arm.

A lot of people like rucksack straps because it saves having to find a way to spread the wrap across your chest without looking funny.  A lot of people like rucksack straps because they’re cooler, and use a little less fabric.

Some people don’t like rucksack straps because they pinch, or cut off circulation, or feel like they’re going to slip off your shoulders.  It varies by individual.

If you are not comfortable with rucksack straps, do the same carry but cross over your breasts instead of doing rucksack straps.  If your wrap is long enough, you can also tie tibetan to pull the straps together in the center and relieve any pressure or prevent slippage.

Conversely, if you do not care for a cross in the front, you can still do your favorite, traditionally crossed, carry, but use rucksack straps instead of a cross.

Today I took advantage of the versatility of a wrap to switch from rucksack straps to crossed in front.  Belle was asleep in a short Double Hammock Carry (tied under the bum) and after a while my arms started to feel tingly, even though I am usually completely comfortable with rucksack straps.  I switched to crossed and she stayed up there for another hour.

Double Hammock Carry crossed over chest

Back Wrap Cross Carry with rucksack straps