http://www.sleepywrap.com/2011/02/strollers-baby-carriers-and-infant-stress/

It also covers positioning in a carrier.  Obviously, having a baby in a carrier isn’t enough.  The material isn’t magical.  It’s using the material to hold your baby in an appropriate position that leads to optimal growth and development.  As for magic, that’s in the human touch, body warmth, eye contact, heartbeat, synchronized breath, muscle symmetry . . . all this breeds wonderful, magical physical, mental and emotional benefits that will lead to happy babies and happy caregivers.  If you’re as impressed by all that as I am, please pass on the information and spread the love. Happy Babywearing!

Today Show on Babywearing

This is mainstream America, and I’m not expecting them to get HOW COOL wraps are!  I’m really pleased that the Moby wrap was featured as the most comfortable of the baby carriers they tried out!  For a back carry, though, please do get a sturdy woven wrap!  Why you don’t use the Moby for a back carry.

I do not recommend wearing babies facing outward, as was shown on the segment, though some babywearing pros consider it harmless when done mindfully and for short periods of time.

I do not recommend ever wearing babies with their legs dangling from the crotch, as an outward facing Bjorn positions them.  There’s no need to subject babies to this uncomfortable hanging position that is stressful on their developing spines–not when a good wrap will provide an easy way to make a seat under your baby in any position!

And those hiking backpack carriers?  Sure, they’re convenient for being able to go out with your toddler/preschooler, ditching the stroller (I’m always about ditching the stroller), etc.  But they don’t contribute to the major babywearing perk of staying close against each other.  So, I don’t object to them.  But just imagine adding cuddling time to the equation, and that’s why I love wraps above carriers like this!

In fact, I smugly noted that a good woven wrap can do everything that those carriers were recommended for.  One good woven wrap.

So here are some tips:

First, make sure you have your baby wrapped high and tight on your chest.  You should be able to kiss the top of your baby’s head easily.  My last post had some tips for tightening baby up to the right height.

Next, realize that your wrap is probably wide enough for a toddler, and that width may be swallowing up a little baby.  I personally like a wide wrap with a little baby.  The width is nice to have when you know how to use it.  You can choose where to spread it, and where to bunch it.  In the pictures below, the wide, alternating stripes of orange, green, yellow, and red, make it easy to see where I’ve bunched and spread the wrap.

The middle two stripes are spread, and the outer edges are bunched.

The upper half of the wrap is spread, the two lower stripes are bunched.

The lower half of the wrap is spread, with the top half bunched.

The wrap can also be evenly bunched over baby.  The trick is to make sure that the tightness along the length (from your shoulder to opposite hip) is uniform no matter how it is bunched.  And if you find that the edges (orange and red stripes in above wrap) are tight enough, check to see if the middle of the wrap is also pulled tightly, otherwise you may have too deep a pouch that your baby can sink down into.

Another thing that you can do to keep your baby above water, is just to poke out one of your baby’s arms.  My tiny infant often slept against me with the wrap supporting her head while one arm and shoulder hung out.  When awake, both arms can be out if the baby is supporting his or her own head.

Baby's right arm is out of the wrap.

Both arms and shoulders are out of the wrap.

And you may find it helpful to flip the top edge of the wrap over the ball of your shoulder to bring the edge down a little lower.  Here’s an old picture of me with my now five year old, but you can see that I’ve flipped the shoulder.

Pulling the top edge of the wrap over the ball of my shoulder.

This holding and tightening is demonstrated here in a front cross carry:

Holding baby with one hand to find the slack in the wrap.

Pull on the slack for a snug fit.

I pull the slack all the way around to the knot and retie.

And I have a very servicable video showing the same technique here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko2a_V3KmbY

One detail to note is that the width of the wrap can be tightened all together, as above, but one can also tighten just certain strands.  The wrap pictured above has four colored stripes: orange, green, yellow and red.  You could tighten just along the orange stripe, or any one of those colors, or more than one together.  For example, the green and yellow stripes (the center) might need to be tightened if baby is sinking too far down, while the edges–the orange and red–might be sufficiently tight already.

You will know where to tighten because you are taking up all the slack until the wrap is nice and evenly snug all around your baby.

Whenever you carry a newborn you must make sure that the baby’s chin is not tucked against his chest as this closes the airway so that the baby cannot breathe.  A person of any age will find it easier to breathe when the neck is not folded over, and the littler the baby, the more vulnerable to this problem.

When choosing a baby carrier, avoid ones that curl babies up so that this chin-to-chest position is possible.  The bag sling–unlike traditional slings–has baby sunk down in a deep pouch in a curved shape and there is nothing to protect a newborn from this unsafe positioning, or from rolling to the side so that mouth and nose can be pressed against the side of the carrier.

A good pouch, sling, or wrap should always be worn so that your baby is held tight against you–not dangling off your shoulder like a purse.  Even aside from the issue of safety, all the benefits of babywearing are gained by having baby’s body pressed against yours!

Newborns can be worn in an upright position from birth to avoid being pushed into the unsafe position.  As most babies prefer the upright position, it is the way I usually teach new parents to wear their wraps anyway.

However, a cradle position can be used safely if desired.  If your baby seems to sink into a deep pouch of the carrier, you are probably placing your baby straight down the center, or deepest part, of the fabric.  Instead of placing your baby parallel to the sides of the pouch, you should put your baby in diagonally: baby’s head should be towards the outside of the carrier and baby’s bottom should be towards your stomach.  By resting baby’s head on the outer side of the pouch, it is held up (your baby’s head will be higher than his bottom and legs) where it is unlikely to be pressed against the chest and where you can clearly see to ensure that it is not!

In other words, in the striped wrap below, if I had placed my baby parallel to the stripes she would be sunk down somewhere along the purple stripe with her head on my right on the purple stripe and her bottom and legs toward my left side, still along the purple stripe.  This positioning would curl her body up.  Instead she is diagonal to the fabric with her head on the outer gray stripe which is much higher and this keeps her body much straighter along her spine.

Note that this was an upright carry which got lowered and tilted for purposes of nursing, but because of the stripes I felt it was perfect for the purposes of this discussion!

Cradle carry with baby's head toward the outer rail of the wrap fabric.

You should always follow these rules while babywearing:

• Wear baby tight against you so that there is no possibility of rolling or turning in the carrier.
• Do not cover your baby’s face with fabric–you want your baby to get plenty of oxygen and you also want to be able to see him!
• Keep baby’s head from slumping forward–you should be able to fit two fingers between your baby’s chin and chest at all times.
• Do not use any positioning that causes your baby’s breathing to sound labored.

Any carrier that does not allow you to follow these rules is a dangerous place to put your baby.  There are several other brands of bag slings that were not involved in the recall but have the same basic design and inherent risk.  Here is a good video that can help you identify dangerous carriers: Proper Infant Positioning in a Baby Sling

Babies sink down into bag slings so that their heads can curl forward onto their chests--dangerous for a little baby!

Cradle carry with a Storchenwiege Wrap holding baby's upper body (head to butt) in more of a straight line so the chin isn't tucked.

Let me explain, then I’ll post some pics to clarify.  I loosen the wrap a little, then lift Belle’s body so her weight’s not on the wrap, then I pull one of the crosses down from between her legs and around her body so that both legs are sticking out one side.  If I’m going to nurse her on my left side, then the cross coming over my right shoulder is the one that I’ll remove from between her legs.  Now that cross will be coming from my right shoulder, around her body, and around my left hip.  Her cute little legs will be sticking out on my right side, with the other cross still between them, and her head will be positioned at my left breast.

And I suspect that this is one of those cases where a picture is worth a thousand words so without further explanation…

Legs sticking out of one FCC cross.

At the nursing end of the Front Cross Carry.

Something about this particular position is very easy for me to get adjusted just so and does not require adjustments thereafter so I’m what you call a fan!

The reason for this is that newborns are still naturally womb shaped.  They curl up.  They pull in their little legs.  And if that is what your baby’s body seems to want to do, go with it!  Wrap around that ball of a baby!

However, there is no reason not to wrap newborn legs sticking out of the wrap if that is comfortable for your baby.  Baby does not need to be able to spread legs wide or straddle your torso.  In fact, newborn legs are so tiny that the length of thigh from bottom to knee fits in front of a mama’s tummy with only a slight spread.

In the photos below you can see that Annabelle’s legs do not have to stretch around my waist or spread wide across my torso–she’s 6 weeks old in these pictures, and I’m wearing her low in the second picture because she’s been nursing in the front wrap cross carry.

Newborn legs don't have to stradle your waist!

Wrap Spread to Newborn's Knees

As always when wearing your baby, a newborn must be supported under the bottom, and not just by the crotch.  This optimum position can be achieved by either tucking the baby’s legs in and wrapping around the whole bottom of the baby, or by letting baby’s legs hang out, but wrapping under the baby’s bottom with the wrap extending to the baby’s knees, so that only the baby’s calves are dangling down from the knee.  The baby’s knees should be even with or higher than the baby’s bottom.

In conclusion, do what works best for you and your baby in terms of leg position.  In or out is fine for a newborn.