Babywearing here at the home =) What works, and what doesn't

We have been blessed with a number of baby carriers at the home. Some of them work well; some of them aren't quite as ergonomic (for me and/or baby). So it's been a learning process as I find the most comfortable way to carry them! I think it's really important that abandoned babies are held a lot. Plus, it makes life easier for me...=) I can clean or work in the kitchen, and don't have to listen to a screaming baby. Bedtimes go so smoothly - I just put them on my back and wash the dishes. I'm becoming less and less of a fan of the American-style swings and bouncers - although they are nice at times. They just don't seem to work really well for putting babies to sleep! They are more like a nice place for the babies to sit, relax and chill.

First we tried this one, the Baby Bjorn. It was comfortable for my back, and really nice for a while, but as the babies got older than one or two months (we have nice fat babies), their legs/hips grew and seemed to dangle too much. This isn't good for their hips (babies should have proper seat support) and they kept kicking me! This black and red carrier has a waist strap, which is nice, but the other Baby Bjorn carrier doesn't - it just has an X on the back, which doesn't give me enough support and makes me sore unless the baby is very small and light.

This was my first attempt at dual babywearing. It didn't go too well - Small wasn't really a fan of the sling-style carrier and only lasted about 15 minutes.

This was actually a good thing, because I read online that these slings are actually dangerous for babies. So, this material is going to be repurposed to make some cute baby dresses!

This was attempt #2. Comfortable for me, but Little Guy didn't really have enough head support. He wasn't complaining - he seemed to be enjoying himself. But once he fell asleep, his head really slumped and I knew we needed to find a solution.

I thought about sewing some kind of insert into the carrier, but thankfully my practical roommate came up with this easy solution... 

This allowed me to put two babies to sleep within 15 minutes, in addition to cleaning the kitchen and getting dishes done!

This was attempt #3. We still weren't quite there. I've read that it was better to put the heavier baby on your back, but Squishy was also kind of floppy at the time, and the front carrier was not one of my favorites. 

Finally, I decided I needed to learn to do it African style! Joy was a very patient teacher. It took a couple of weeks for me to get the hang of it. It was pretty awkward at first. I tied knots and gradually learned how to do the more comfortable towel tuck (it's secure, don't worry). This is the first day - after Joy did all the work of getting Princess up and on there!

Unfortunately, we don't have a surplus of appropriately-sized blankets. We need a few good big towels!

This was the first time I got her on by myself! I was proud. =) Still not perfect, but she went right to sleep.

This is better! I also got the towel tuck down. Mostly. I wore a baby to the corner store the other day, and an African lady had to stop me to tell me to pull up on the blanket because the baby's head was sagging. (Not falling off, don't worry, just not too comfortable.) It was kind of embarrassing!

Now I do this a lot to put babies to sleep at night.

Look, we're twins!

I'd been meaning to make a woven wrap for a while (buying them is expensive! Good grief, it's just a piece of fabric!) and was so happy to see that the team brought one! I'm on a mission to find a comfortable way to wear two babies at once. Little Guy and Princess were the best first choice for this, as they're close in size (about a KG different) and also fuss to be held the most.

So I found a Youtube tutorial, and with a little help from Joy, I did it! It's not perfect. They did both go to sleep, though. It didn't work so well in the afternoon (Little Guy started screaming) but I think he might have been hungry. We're almost there. I am going to maybe try a few variations with the back part of the wrap. I think I need to learn how to comfortably wrap one baby on my back - that might help.

They also donated this one (see below). It's really nice and comfy.

I'm trying to learn other ways to use the woven wrap! Here's what's known as a "Front Wrap Cross Carry."

And with legs in (she seems to like this better, although is happy to be held, both ways).

And that is as far as we've come! Some people might say I'm 'spoiling' them but I find it beneficial for both them and me. =) <3 my babies!