The Magic of The Sling

I have mentioned before the use of a sling in our house when toting Faith around. After using it almost daily, and having an epiphany at the beginning of this week, it is clear that there are two levels of sling use. The first level is simply learning how to use it, and use it comfortably with your baby. Baby may fight it a little, but she falls asleep and seems content. The second level, however, is the creme de la creme; it is the magic.

It is the moment you discover "the position". And that is the position, that instantly puts them at ease. And the key is, it may not be any of the positions you see listed with the sling directions. Faith is her absolute happiest when she is upright on your shoulder, however this is difficult to mimic with a sling. After some working with it, I found this week that I could achieve this feel for her if I wrapped her in a thin micro fleece blanket (which makes a very comfortable lining for her) and then used a modified hip carry. The blanket acts as a booster so she is closer to my shoulder and face. It also keeps her neck upright, which is further supported by the sling. The last "key" for us was to place her feet off to the side inside the sling, so they didn't get caught up underneath my hips.

When I found this position, it was so clear to me that this was a keeper. She instantly quieted, there was no "I'm squished Mom" sounds, and she fell asleep in minutes. The sling is now such a part of our routine after a week of finding this new position, that it is her preference for lulling to sleep. It has also almost eliminated the fussy time we were struggling with in the evenings. Faith has probably spent at least three hours in the sling a day. The funny thing is, she likes to hear the sound of dish clatter, and the laundry, and buzz of routine. She wants to be where the action is. Those noisy sounds and the feel of Mom close by are the comforts of home.

Before, I used to rock her, and rock her, and sit, and rock some more during the fussy time. She wasn't interested in nursing, which baffled me. Turning off the lights and playing nice music didn't seem to quiet her much quicker. And she still struggled. One night I sat with her for two hours just trying to get her to settle for bedtime. But I've learned that isn't what she wants. What Faith wants is the feel of deliberate movement, and the din of bedtime routine with the children, and household clean up chores. So the sling allows me to do the dishes, and the laundry as I would have those nights she was still soaking in the womb. And instead of the additional settling of Faith after all of that, she has already long since settled, while lo' and behold, I've been tackling house work!

Yesterday, Ken and I had the opportunity to take some time for ourselves and go on a date out to dinner while our church has a program that provides our kids with a movie night and pizza party. Faith, traveled with us out to dinner, and it was a test of the sling. The date fell right during her fussy time, and Faith let us know just how much she hated her carseat the whole ride there. By the time Ken and I got to the restaurant, her diaphragm was shuddering with her inhales, and I was worried that our date was going to tank. Ken went inside to get us a table, and I took her out of the carseat and placed her in the sling, and got her in "the position". Instant comfort! Faith was a dream the whole date, and slept in the sling for almost all of it.

Faith also nursed in public for the first time, after her catnap in the sling. Faith detests nursing in public places. Perhaps I was able to read her cues sooner because she was so close to me.

So the second test is church this Sunday. I'm ditching the 10 ton carseat, and eager to see if the sling allows me the ability to hear the entire sermon without making a beeline for the exit.