Wearing While You Work

It's been said that a mother's work is never done, and how true it is!  Whether you're a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM), a mom who works outside of the house (WOHM), a mom who runs a business out of her home (WAHM), or some combination of these, there is always work to be done. Babywearing makes it possible to be attentive to your baby while also getting those things accomplished that just can’t wait until after bed time.

I, personally, am a SAHM with a new part-time job at a cloth diaper store where I'm allowed to bring my children to work with me.  I have a 4 ½ month old and a 19 ½ month old, and without babywearing, taking this job would have been completely out of the question.

My coworkers joke that I change my carriers as often as I change my baby's diaper.  And they're not too far off.  While I could keep the same carrier on for my whole shift, I find that mixing it up keeps me exercising different muscles and eliminating any soreness that I may have had, had I kept the same carrier on the entire shift.  And it gives us something fun to talk about when business is slow ;).

I’m not the only one who can be seen wearing a baby at work, though.  The store manager often has her toddler on her back in an Ergo.  One coworker wears her baby in a Moby almost every time we work together and her toddler on her back sometimes too, and yet another mom has one of her two toddlers (ages 2 and 3 ½) on her back in a BabyHawk Oh Snap! much of the time she’s working.  

All of my coworkers are moms with kids, as many as 5 per family, and without babywearing, our job would be impossible because even though we have a play area, a Pack N Play, a bouncy seat, and tons of toys, often there’s just no substitute for mommy snuggles.  And when we get busy, we often don’t have time to sit down and nurse, so the carriers provide a way to keep hungry babies fed while giving the attention to the customers that they have come to know us for.

As I mentioned earlier, “work” doesn’t necessarily mean going somewhere and getting paid to do something - I also wear my babies to work at home.  Whether I need to do laundry, vacuum, garden, change my older daughter's diaper (or entire outfit, as the case may be), wash dishes, prepare dinner - you name it, babywearing enables me to do it without missing a beat.  If my little one needs to be close to mommy, she will probably be in a carrier.  My older daughter will also ask to go up occasionally, while the little one is otherwise occupied.  Sometimes both my girls want to be close to mommy at the same time, and carriers make that possible too!  I don't do a lot of "tandem wearing", but I do it when it needs to be done.

Let's not forget about the dads, either.  My husband regularly wears one of our daughters to wash dishes, do laundry, work in the yard, etc., as well as to go on walks so mom can stay home and get some much needed rest!

Snow White sings about whistling while you work, but if you have a baby, wearing while you work is much more practical (and a lot quieter), though nothing says you can’t whistle, wear, and work all at the same time!

 

Posted by Jenni