Julie Kieras
I remember going to my local baby superstore when I was pregnant for the first time. Complete overwhelm.
A sales clerk told me I needed a baby carrier. It sounded like a good idea, so I just scanned the cheapest available. I didn't even realize there were different styles, different positions, safety concerns and reason to babywear.
Five-plus years later, one of the first things I recommend to new moms is that they get themselves a soft structured carrier. And then we usually have a conversation about the merits and reasons to babywear. It's a conversation I love to have with new and expectant mothers.
Looking back over my five years mothering two boys, I see how my understanding and reasoning for babywearing has changed and expanded overtime.
Early on, I babywore for convenience. It's certainly easier to shop, prep food, take walks, or work around the house when you don't have to run back and forth to a baby in a crib. Baby can be right with you and you know their waking, sleeping
Daddy and sons took a stroll out to find frogs while we waited for the farm truck.
Babywearing while berry picking is a must, as you’re not likely getting a stroller onto the bench-seat-only farm truck. At least not without some frowns from the other passengers who’d love the space!
Plus, the ride out is bumpy, and a baby securely on your back (or snuggled against your chest) is best for this kind of a ride.
With the heat… and the rate at which we ate the berries! … we definitely had to pick fast to keep our mouths and buckets full! I was so grateful our nearly-one-year old 
Motherhood is so all-consuming at times, it’s easy to forget the person we were before we had children – what was life like for you before kids?
I was a musician. About halfway through my first year of college I borrowed my sister’s guitar and taught myself to play. In 3-4 months, I wrote 30+ songs. I dropped out of college…with the full support of my family. I gave myself a year and within the year had radio jingles, was on a Disney Made For TV movie, recorded with local bands, and put out my own album.
I got married See the mom in this photo? She’s been a mom for exactly one year. You see a happy smile, bright eyes, and a one-year old in a baby carrier. She is me. I am the mother in this photo. But… there is so much more you don’t see. Let me show you. Like most mothers, I dreamed only of snuggling my baby close to me when he arrived – that mysterious child who rode underneath my heart for nine months – I wanted him to hear my heartbeat as long as possible. However, struggles with breastfeeding, as well as severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine), made this impossible. Tears, as I tried to hold my baby close, only to recoil in pain caused by months of struggles with breastfeeding. Discouragement, as I tossed aside yet another carrier style because within minutes my back and shoulders were in searing pain. You see, most carriers I tried (I even made one myself), either put the baby’s weight on my shoulders, or asymmetrically across my body. Since my spine is curved badly, one shoulder is slightly higher