Why I Wear My Baby

By Rivki Silver


Rivki Silver is a mama with many hats.  When she's not spending time with her two boys and husband, she can be found writing, arranging and performing music; teaching piano lessons; blogging at lifeinthemarriedlane.com and mainly trying to keep it all together.  She can currently be found in Cleveland, OH.

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Why I Wear My Baby

Most mommies I know joke about how they could use an extra set of arms. You know, one set to hold the baby and the other to do everything else.  Well, wearing your baby is one way to effectively get that other set of arms!

There are those among the baby-wearing camp who will claim that if you wear your baby, they will grow better, nurse better, sleep better and cry less.  I’d take that with a grain of salt, but most babies are happier when in their mommy’s arms, and wearing your baby will allow to you hold your baby while still being able to accomplish the zillion things you need to do around your house.


There are quite a few wraps out there to choose from.  After I had my first baby I spent hours - days! - researching, looking into different options, checking out reviews, prices and color choices.  Should I get a Moby or Mei Tai?  A sling or a wrap?  More or less structure?  In the end, I went with the Ultimate Baby Carrier, which is essentially a long strip of slightly stretchy fabric with a convenient pocket in the front to store various items (basically the same thing as a Moby wrap).   There was a nice instructional DVD to go with it, and I found it very easy to use.  There are also websites with helpful tutorials, like at http://www.wrapyourbaby.com/index.htm

I wanted a wrap because my first little bundle of joy was a little fussy, and I wanted to still be able to accomplish things around the house while soothing him.  Sometimes wrapping him up was the only way I could get him to sleep.  It was also extremely convenient when visiting Israel, as the Old City isn’t exactly stroller-friendly!  Now, with my second one, I’m finding that I will wear the baby when I go on walks with the boys.  Since we spent a mint on a nice single Maclaren, I’m loathe to turn around and spend another small fortune on a double stroller, so I’m milking this wrap for all its worth.

Some other things I like about it is that the weight is distributed more evenly across my back and shoulders, as opposed to thinner straps which, I’ve heard, can cut into your shoulders and sometimes be a bit painful.  My baby is already close to fifteen pounds, and I can wear him for an hour or more and it’s really fine.  It also comes in handy when I’m taking my toddler to a library program, or to the children’s museum.  It’s much easier to wear the baby than to lug around a carseat.

Wearing my baby in public has led to some interesting interactions.  When my littlest one was a few weeks old, some out-of-town friends came in for a wedding.  We planned to meet up on Shabbos, so I put my toddler in the stroller and wrapped up my baby and off we went on the mile-long hike to the shul (synagogue) where we were meeting them.  As I walked up to the location, I noticed that some of my local friends were hanging out by the entrance.  I also noticed that they had some mildly confused looks on their faces.  As I approached them they said, “Oh!  I thought I had heard that you had the baby, but then I saw you, and I thought it looked like you were carrying awfully high.”  They thought I was still pregnant!

That’s my bit.  I enjoy "wearing" my babies...and I think they like it, too.  So, fellow LadyMamas, I’d love to hear about your baby wearing experiences!  Dish, dish!