Don't say it's over...

Just as I thought my babywearing time was coming to an end I get a second chance…

When my daughter was little, from the time she was born to about the time she was two I wore her all of the time. Wearing an infant and having two hands to get things done around the house definitely makes life easier. As she grew bigger and began asserting her independence she wanted to go up less and less. And finally around the age of two she let me know that she was no longer interested in uppies…and I cried. I put my carrier away in the closet with little hope of using it again. But, I refused to let it go just yet for hope of a chance to wear her again.

Fast forward a year and a half. My daughter is now a full blown threenager and going through the developmental and emotional stages that all three year olds go through. The emotional ups and downs of a three year old can sometimes lead you to believe that they might be bipolar. Because of the increase in extreme emotions we have had to have a lot more snuggle time.

The other day we needed to go shopping at Costco. Usually, she loves the idea of running through the store and trying all of the samples. This day she had no interest in going at all. I talked to her about the trip and tried to see what would make her happy and how I could entice her to go. I tried every trick and bribe in the book. Then, I opened the closet and saw the carrier hanging there. I pulled it out and asked her if she wanted to go uppies on my back for the Costco trip. She finally agreed. We arrived at Costco and she rode on my back for the entire shopping trip. It was great! She was able to get the extra time and I was able to complete a Costco shopping trip without having to wrangle a crazy three year old! WIN WIN!

Three Year old asleep on dad's back while dad enjoys a beer.

Since that day we have used the carrier more in the past couple of weeks than we have in the past year and a half. Last weekend we went to a craft beer festival. The festival happened to cut right into nap time. Usually, my daughter would sleep in the stroller or our wagon but she asked daddy if he could hold her and she could sleep on his shoulder. Thankfully, we had the carrier and she went up on daddy’s back and fell right asleep. It was the best hour of the festival for us…no stroller to push, no child to wrangle, and two free hands.

I am so glad that we have had the option of babywearing to help us get through some of these tough times.

This theme repeats throughout our blog, here's an oldie but goodie story of a similar bigger toddler wearing.
Posted by Lindsey