Babywearing

-

Frankly, I was looking forward to outdoor stroller walks with my son when it's already safe to go out of the house. I just bought the baby carriers just in case we need to travel by public transport and it's more convenient to carry him rather than push his stroller (particularly in train stations without lifts). However, I definitely enjoy babywearing. It's such an easy way to move around with an infant! Even a squirmy one, like my son! I am definitely a convert! 

The carriers I got is the Moby Wrap while the framed carrier is the Ergobaby Omni 360. I was mulling whether the KTan is worth the investment but I backed off when I learned that it has to be bought according to the size of the user; that is, each of the baby's caregivers must have one if they are of different sizes. Case in point, Val and me. I recently discovered Konny carriers but I might not be able to use them enough because the Ergobaby is our workhorse.

Anyway, after more than six months of babywearing, I can say that I prefer this to a stroller system for short walks. When we venture far from home, I bring both just to have options depending on my level of exhaustion. 

Here are some of my thoughts about the babywearing products that I use.




Moby Wrap

The Moby Wrap is a long and stretchy piece of fabric that I have to wrap around my body before putting my son inside. There is quite a bit of a learning curve: it took me a while before I figured out how to wear this. Because my son was born when the weather was still cool, this wrap was very useful in keeping him warm while I carried him around the house. It definitely made him feel cozy enough to fall asleep during those times when he would only sleep for 15 minutes at a time during the day.

I think that the Moby Wrap is capable of carrying babies up to 30 lbs but I didn't continue using it when the weather became too warm because it might contribute to overheating my child. It's now in storage, ready for the coming cold; hopefully, we can walk outside without worrying about catching the COVID-19 by that time (I thought... Fast forward to winter and the San Francisco Bay Area is hunkering down for what appears to be a serious surge of cases).

Ergobaby Omni 360

I waited for my child to reach the minimum weight limit before trying this out with him. Unfortunately, he didn't like to be in it at the beginning, strongly preferring the coziness of the Moby Wrap. But when he reached three months, something clicked and he was no longer complaining about being in the Omni 360. This was definitely a welcome change because it's so warm at that time that I didn't want to take him out in the infant car seat atop the stroller frame or on the Moby Wrap. Thanks to his acceptance of the Omni 360, we were able to walk around our neighbourhood every morning during the summer and fall seasons (except when the wildfires caused unhealthy air conditions outdoors and we had to stay inside). It felt comfortable because of the mesh frame, which allows air to circulate.

I enjoy using this carrier a lot because the baby's seat can be adjusted based on his height. There's head support that can be repositioned when my son is sleeping while I carried him, too. I like using it so much that it's always with us when we go out of the house though I also bring the stroller with me. I just feel awkward using the bag that's attached to the carrier because it's too short to hold my phone or my wallet. I can put a burp cloth in and my keys, yes, but its positioned below my son's bottom that I can't reach the bag when I need something. Thankfully, this bag is detachable; I moved it to the strap that goes under my right arm and the bag has become more functional. During the winter, I still use Omni 360 but I use a winter coat to keep both me and my son warm.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for dropping by!

Before moving on, please share your thoughts or comments about the post. :)

Thanks again!

Popular posts from this blog

Skyflakes

-
One of the more famous Philippine exports is Skyflakes , a wheat-based, salty cracker. It is one of my emergency food items: I typically have some stocked at home and in my handbag in case I become hungry (like in traffic jams). When there's no electricity and it's impractical to cook rice (because the leftover would spoil), I'd open a pack of Skyflakes and generously coat each cracker with Cheez Whiz... if I had a bottle of it within reach. Anyway, each time I spent more than two weeks outside the Philippines, I'd be elated to see boxes of Skyflakes inside Asian stores (particularly when in I was Australia and in the USA). Back then, I took it as a sign of homesickness. When I moved to California, I didn't miss Skyflakes because Mommy made sure that there's a steady supply in the house. Skyflakes is embedded in Filipino gastronomy as a snack, a panawid-gutom , that anyone who reacts positively upon seeing Skyflakes outside the Philippines must have spe
Read more

10 things I learned while driving on Marcos Highway to Baguio City

-
I went on a day trip to the City of Pines, which was around a 700-km drive from my house. I drove  going up there and then from the city to Victoria, Tarlac. After that, my dad took over the driving duties. It was day trip with Tita Ising and Tito Sibing with us. Anyway, this trip was my first time to go to Baguio City with me behind the wheel. As everyone who drives up knows, there are three main routes to Baguio from the lowlands: Kennon Road, which ascends from Rosario, La Union. It was out of my options because it's too dangerous to use that road in the rainy season. The second route is via Naguilian Road, which makes my trip a lot longer because the beginning of the ascent is in Bauang, La Union (further north). The last route, and the one I took, was the Marcos Highway, now known as the Aspiras-Palispis Highway. This 47-km road starts from Agoo, La Union and is touted as the safest route among the three.  As I drove up and then down (on the same day; we were in Bagu
Read more

Surat Mangyan

-
Image
In high school, part of the Filipino curriculum was learning about one of the country's ancient native scripts called Baybayin . I learned back then that this script was eventually abandoned because the Spanish, and eventually the Americans, encouraged the use of the Latin script for written communications. But that's in the lowlands; the rules were different up in the mountains. In the lush mountains of Mindoro, groups of indigenous people called Mangyans  live largely in isolation away from the Christianised Filipinos. This isolation has led to the continuous development of the Mangyans' old script, Surat Mangyan . As I walked inside the Ayala Museum , I saw this bamboo tube (I'm not sure if it's an instrument) with Mangyan script written all over it. I suppose that this was equivalent to a book or a song. But I haven't figured out what's written yet, despite the translation guide provided. What I can do, however, is write my name in Ma
Read more