Each day during International Babywearing Week (IBW), we’ll be posting babywearing tips from our friends at local Babyearing International (BWI) Chapters.
Today’s tip comes to you courtesy of BWI of Phoenix:
We would like to share our pointer for making sure you have a good seat, especially when wearing a newborn with the insert or using just the pillow for babies in the in-between stage. Many parents talk about baby pushing up and baby’s legs falling out the bottom. The waist band needs to be snug against the wearer’s body. We are using an organic Ergo with the pillow from the infant insert and a bear (for lack of an appropriately sized baby). Many times what happens is that the waist band starts off snug but as the wearer puts baby in and adjusts the carrier, it rides up to a smaller part of the waist. This creates a gap that can allow baby to push their leg through the bottom of the carrier.
The first picture shows what we commonly see when parents tell us about this issue (improper waist – Ergo). If the wearer slides their hand down in between baby and themselves, their hand, and thus baby’s leg, will easily slide through the bottom. To correct this the waist band needs to be tightened more at the smaller part of the wearer’s waist, or it needs to be pulled back down and snugged more on the wearer’s hip – depending on where the wearer finds it most comfortable.
The second photo shows a more correct positioning of the waist band (correct waist – Ergo). When the waist band is in the correct position it is nearly impossible to slide a hand, or for baby to slide their leg, through the bottom of the waist band. Happy babywearing!
Babywearing International Inc. is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote babywearing as a universally accepted practice. BWI’s Volunteer Babywearing Educators across the country provide free meetings and outreach in their local communities, sharing their knowledge and experience to ensure that babies are worn safely and comfortably.
