Babywearing International of Grand Rapids' Blog

Babywearing & Feeding

4/26/2017

One of the most popular questions received online and in person from wearers is: “How can I feed while wearing?” Considering that small children are eating nearly a dozen times a day, it’s not surprising that caregivers are looking for a way to keep their baby fed and not be tied to a chair all day long. There are plenty of solutions for feeding on the go, and you can almost certainly feed with the help of whatever carrier you have on hand.

In this post, our goal is to educate you on feeding in different carrier types for various feeding scenarios, including breastfeeding, bottle feeding, SNS feeding, and G-Tube feeding. If you have tips and tricks you’d like to share for these or other scenarios, please leave them in the comments so others can learn from your experiences. Babywearing is by no means one size fits all—we can all benefit from hearing others’ hands-on knowledge.

One caveat before we begin: we like to see a good feeding routine established before attempting to wear while feeding a baby. Starting a new feeding routine can be daunting in and of itself—adding wearing to it can make it more stressful than it needs to be. Waiting can help increase your chance of success, as you can devote your attention to wearing instead of wearing and juggling a new feeding type.

Soft Structured Carriers (Ergo, Tula, Bjorn): Soft Structured Carriers (SSCs) are one of the most popular and pervasive types of carriers in the babywearing world. If you see someone wearing on TV, it will almost always be a SSC. You can nurse, bottle feed, SNS feed, or G-Tube feed in a SSC (note: if your SSC is a harness style SSC with fabric between your chest and baby, nursing and SNS feeding most likely can’t be done in that carrier). SSCs work well for upright feeding, where your baby is parallel or near parallel with your body. You can feed in both a front and hip carry (though hip carries should only begin once you’d naturally prop baby on the hip while holding them).

For nursing, you will loosen one or both of the shoulder straps to lower baby enough to reach the breast without making the carrier loose. You may also have to loosen your waistband to shift baby down an inch or two. Then you’ll gently lift your breast and latch baby on. Once latched, you can tighten the carrier as needed to make the fit snug without pressing baby into the breast.
For bottle feeding, you can leave baby in the carrier as is, or lower one side to have baby at a tiny bit of an angle. The bottle will come in from the top of the carrier and baby will face one side or the other while feeding.
For SNS, you will follow the instructions for nursing. You can prepare for SNS feeding before wearing by taping the tube on your breast before putting on your carrier, or you can slip the tube in baby’s mouth after the latch.
For g-tube, you will vent the child’s tube (if needed) and place the feeding tube extension before putting on the carrier. Once your child is in the carrier, you can begin feeding.

Woven Wraps (Didymos, Girasol, Natibaby) and Stretchy Wraps (Moby Wrap, K’Tan): Wraps are the most versatile option for wearing and feeding, as you can easily shift baby around or use different carries to achieve different results. You can nurse, bottle feed, SNS feed, or G-Tube feed in a wrap. Wraps work well for upright feeding, where your baby is parallel or near parallel with your body, and cradle feeding, where your baby is in a checkmark position on your chest. You can feed in both a front and hip carry (though hip carries should only begin once you’d naturally prop baby on the hip while holding them). The instructions below will be for Front Wrap Cross Carry, as it is the most common of the beginner carries, but you can amend the basics for any carry).

For nursing, you will carefully untie and loosen one or both of the shoulder passes to lower baby enough to reach the breast without making the carrier loose, then retie. Then you’ll gently lift your breast and latch baby on. Once latched, you can tighten the carrier as needed to make the fit snug without pressing baby into the breast. For cradle feeding, you will lower baby to the height of the breast and latch, with baby facing up.
For bottle feeding, you can leave baby in the carrier as is, or lower one side to have baby at a tiny bit of an angle. The bottle will come in from the top of the carrier and baby will face one side or the other while feeding. For cradle feeding, baby will be facing up towards the sky in a check mark position.
For SNS, you will follow the instructions for nursing. You can prepare for SNS feeding before wearing by taping the tube on your breast before putting on your carrier, or you can slip the tube in baby’s mouth after the latch. You can often use the top rail of the fabric to keep the tube in place.
For g-tube, you will vent the child’s tube (if needed) and place the feeding tube extension before putting on the carrier. Once your child is in the carrier, you can begin feeding.

Ring Slings (Sakura Bloom, Sleeping Baby) and Pouches (SevenSlings, Hot slings): Ring slings and pouches are great options for feeding small babies, as they are fast and easy to put on. You can nurse, bottle feed, SNS feed, or G-Tube feed in a ring sling or pouch. Ring slings and pouches work well for upright feeding, where your baby is parallel or near parallel with your body, and cradle feeding, where your baby is in a checkmark position on your chest. You can feed in both a front and hip carry (though hip carries should only begin once you’d naturally prop baby on the hip while holding them).

For nursing, you will carefully loosen the ring sling to lower baby enough to reach the breast without making the carrier loose. Then you’ll gently lift your breast and latch baby on. Once latched, you can tighten the carrier as needed to make the fit snug without pressing baby into the breast. For cradle feeding, you will lower baby to the height of the breast and latch, with baby facing up. In both carries, you can use the tail of the sling as a nursing cover, if desired. For a pouch, you will have to nestle baby deeper in the pouch to achieve a feeding height.
For bottle feeding, you can leave baby in the carrier as is, or gently shift baby to a cradle position to have baby at an angle. The bottle will come in from the top of the carrier and baby will face one side or the other while feeding. For cradle feeding, baby will be facing up towards the sky in a check mark position.
For SNS, you will follow the instructions for nursing. You can prepare for SNS feeding before wearing by taping the tube on your breast before putting on your carrier, or you can slip the tube in baby’s mouth after the latch. You can often use the top rail of the sling to keep the tube in place.
For g-tube, you will vent the child’s tube (if needed) and place the feeding tube extension before putting on the carrier. Once your child is in the carrier, you can begin feeding.

Meh Dais (Babyhawk, CatBirdBaby): Meh Dais (MDs) are a popular option for smaller babies and are used very similarly to a SSC. You can nurse, bottle feed, SNS feed, or G-Tube feed in a MD. MDs work well for upright feeding, where your baby is parallel or near parallel with your body. You can feed in both a front and hip carry (though hip carries should only begin once you’d naturally prop baby on the hip while holding them).

For nursing, you will carefully untie and loosen one or both of the shoulder straps to lower baby enough to reach the breast without making the carrier loose, then retie. You may also have to loosen your waistband to shift baby down an inch or two, then retie. Then you’ll gently lift your breast and latch baby on. Once latched, you can tighten the carrier as needed to make the fit snug without pressing baby into the breast.
For bottle feeding, you can leave baby in the carrier as is, or lower one side to have baby at a tiny bit of an angle. The bottle will come in from the top of the carrier and baby will face one side or the other while feeding.
For SNS, you will follow the instructions for nursing. You can prepare for SNS feeding before wearing by taping the tube on your breast before putting on your carrier, or you can slip the tube in baby’s mouth after the latch.
For g-tube, you will vent the child’s tube (if needed) and place the feeding tube extension before putting on the carrier. Once your child is in the carrier, you can begin feeding.

Many thanks to Kate Vandenbos for her knowledge on SNS feeding and photo and Michelle Kischnick-Leach for her knowledge on g-tube feeding and photo.

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Hiking & Babywearing

4/9/2017

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Now that the weather is getting warmer, we’re all itching to get outside and explore nature. There’s plenty of fun to be had in West Michigan during the summer, but one of our favorites while babywearing is hiking. Did you know that West Michigan has over fifty trail systems to explore? With babywearing, you can go farther and explore more than you could with a babe-in-arms or with a stroller.

Hiking can be done with any carrier type, but there are perks and drawbacks to each depending on your carrier preferences and the age of your child(ren). We’re going to outline some main points below, but feel free to attend one of our free educational meetings to learn more or get one-on-one help for your situation!

Soft structured carriers (Ergo, Tula, Lillebaby, etc.) are one of the most popular options for hiking. They’re good for front carries for little ones, or back carries for when your kiddos get older. They can be one of the fastest options that are also comfortable for longer excursions. Some even have pockets, airflow panels, or other features that may be helpful while hiking.

Frame packs (Kelty, Osprey, etc.) are another popular option, especially among hiking enthusiasts. They’re a good option for older children who can sit unassisted and who only want to be worn on the back. Many have storage for extra gear or for hydration pouches. The main drawback of frame packs is that they tend to be heavier and bulkier. You can learn more about frame packs at BWI of Portland’s blog here: http://bwipdx.weebly.com/blog/hard-frame-carrier-101 or here: http://bwipdx.weebly.com/blog/hard-frame-carrier-fit-comparison

Meh Dais (Babyhawk, CatBirdBaby, etc.) are a versatile option that can be used for smaller babies on the front or older babies on the back. The openings in the sides of the panel offer a good amount of airflow between you and baby, so it can be a great option when it’s warmer outside. The drawback of meh dais is that they have longer tails, but there are many ways you can tie to keep the tails out of the way and keep your shoulders comfortable, too!

Woven wraps (Girasol, Didymos, Lenny Lamb, etc.) are the most versatile option for hiking as babies can be worn on the front or back, plus many wearers find them to be the most comfortable on the shoulders. The drawback of wrapping is the time you have to put into it, plus the fabric can get warmer than other wearing options. Wearing with a shorter wrap is also an option, as you can get the benefit of the versatility of wrapping without having to worry about having too much fabric.

Ring slings (Sakura Bloom, Sleeping Baby, etc.) or pouch slings (Sevenslings, Hot Slings, etc.) can be used for hiking and are especially useful when you are going short distances or your baby likes to get up and down a lot. They don’t tend to be the most popular for when baby gets older or for longer excursions, as they are one-shoulder carries. Their man appeal is that they are fast to put on and fold up small, so they’re easy to take along when you’re not sure if your baby will want to be worn.
When it starts to get warmer, your preferences may change as well. If you want to learn more about wearing when it’s warm, check out our blog post on hot weather wearing here: http://bwiofgrandrapids.weebly.com/blog/hot-weather-wearing

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Babywearing & Feeding

Hiking & Babywearing

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