Self-portrait meme

[kate_nepveu]

A cropped, but otherwise unaltered, picture of me now, wearing the latest in accesories:

In the mirror in our entryway, trying out a sling for SteelyKid. Hair's longer than I'd like, glasses are the previous version (current version got twisted when they were awkwardly packed in the hospital, and then I popped the screw trying to un-twist them, and I haven't had the opportunity to get them repaired yet), but at least I showered today.

I'm still not sure about the sling—the angle SteelyKid's head is at doesn't look comfortable, but my torso is narrow and there doesn't seem to be any other way—but she was falling asleep in it when I took the picture:

and protested when I tried to take her out of it. Since she's been colicky (oh, the joys of discovering yet another food that probably causes her pain!), and is now sound asleep, I'll risk it for a little while longer.

Comments on babies in slings (note the specificity) are welcome. Other advice is not.

Comments

[casperflea.livejournal.com]

I always felt that a younger-than-4-month-old baby in a sling looked deeply uncomfortable, what with the squished head and weird neck angle. But the babies in question seem to actually like the sensation! I didn't sling much with my first because it felt weird to me and like I was dropping her or she was slipping around. With my second I just went with it, and it was great for the evening meltdown times (highlighted, for us, 6-10 weeks), especially.

[kate_nepveu]

Thanks. This sling has a Velcro belt-thing inside, besides the two shoulder straps, so she feels pretty secure; it just doesn't *look* right. But we will experiment.

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

The hair looks good, even if it is driving you up the wall, and the SteelyKid an excellent baby. Maybe, given the restrictions she's been under the past couple of months, she doesn't feel something that would drive us nuts is all that bad.

Good luck surviving the Age of Colic.

[kate_nepveu]

And yet, she doesn't like having her arms swaddled . . .

Thanks.

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

Clearly, she is Ready To Do Things with those hands!

[kate_nepveu]

Sometimes, she gets this solemn look on her face and gestures with one fist in a way that looks really emphatic and deliberate, and I fancy that she's trying *so* *hard* to communicate!

It's hard, being non-verbal.

[lbmango.livejournal.com]

On hands... Are you doing this new-fangled baby-sign language thing? I know nothing about it, except what friends have done...

(Please don't killfile me for making suggestions. This isn't a suggestion, I know nothing about it! If this goes beyond what you want incomments, then just ignore...)

[kate_nepveu]

We have a book on it, but she's still too young to start. We'll see.

[nakozlow.livejournal.com]

My brother-in-law's kids did sign language. I actually remember them using it most when they were around 2-3 and about to have a meltdown. I have a book on baby sign language as well as a 16-mo old who thinks it's HILARIOUS when we try to do the signing around/to him (he will giggle for ten minutes straight when we try to show him "All Done" after he eats). Despite my efforts, he's picked up exactly zero signs so far.

I didn't have a sling, but probably wish I would have since our kidlet insisted on being held all day/every day in the beginning. I used a Baby Bjorn front-carrier that I mostly loved.

[kate_nepveu]

At least you're amusing him!

[gtrout.livejournal.com]

Baby in Sling looks beautiful. Please feel free to kiss her wee head on my behalf whenever it seems like a safe time to do so.

[kate_nepveu]

Aw. Will do.

[jorrie-spencer.livejournal.com]

Comments about slings only, and not front carriers, then?

[kate_nepveu]

Yes. We have a front carrier but it's enormously complicated to adjust and currently sized for Chad, whom it fits; also, I'm unsure of my ability to get her in and out of it by myself (see: complicated). She didn't seem to like it when we tried it, but that was a few weeks ago.

[sargent.livejournal.com]

Our daughter had the same squooshed-head and odd-neck-angle thing going on when we put her in the sling, but she loved riding in it. The other babies I saw in slings looked similar.

[kate_nepveu]

Thanks for the information.

[thette.livejournal.com]

Awww!

Hulda was rather squished in her sling, but seemed to like it. She slept there, breastfed there and sometimes she was awake. It was so convenient. (Though some of the mothers at the new mothers' group commented that they had barely seen her.)

Have you tried adjusting her a bit upwards? I think my carrying position was slightly more upright, which straightened the neck a bit.

[kate_nepveu]

I think I may have, but next time she's in it, I'll try again. Thanks.

[missysedai.livejournal.com]

Comfy snuggly baby!!

We had both a sling and a front carrier. The front carrier was pretty much useless to us until Alex was quite a bit older.

The sling, OTOH, is what I'm convinced got us through colic. It made him happy and let me get stuff done. Score!

[kate_nepveu]

Thanks. She does like being held across my body when she's colicky, which is what made me try it out today; at worst, I can hold her up in it and just have it as a backup "arrgh, I need both hands to do something really quick" support, you know?

[missysedai.livejournal.com]

*nod*

I never would have been able to eat for the first six months if I hadn't used the sling. Da Bubba needed to be carried all the time!

It was handy for reading, too. I could plop him in the sling and pace to soothe him, and hold my book and read out loud to him.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I can't even begin to count the number of people who asked me, in tones of serious disbelief, "Is she comfortable in there?" When she would be, you know, asleep. Or gazing about peacefully. My theory is that if they're not comfortable all squished up like that, they'll let you know. Quick.

(My other favorite baby-in-a-sling comment: "Can she breathe in there?" No, but don't worry, I'll let her breathe when we get home. Sheesh. And now, to be fair, I should also acknowledge that many older women said some variation on, "Oh, I wish they'd had something like that when I had babies.")

What kind of sling is that? It looks like a basic pouch-style thing, like a Hotsling? I used a Maya Wrap, the kind that has adjustable rings, and honestly it was kind of a pain to adjust.

[kate_nepveu]

if they're not comfortable all squished up like that, they'll let you know. Quick.

When you put it that way, I feel silly; but paranoia's a tough thing to shake.

It is a Boppy-brand sling, which I bought on a trial basis because it had two shoulder straps and thus seemed more likely to be comfortable. It's pretty much a pouch, yeah.

Its straps don't strike me as that easy to adjust either, but I'm not sure how much I'll need to once I've got it sorted.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Great photos. And OMG, our baby sling was the BEST THING EVAH for the crucial early months.

I mastered the art of nursing a baby in a sling while simultaneously typing on my novel. I'll admit that manipulating the mouse was tough, but I could type!

[kate_nepveu]

That is seriously impressive. All I manage to do is listen to audio lectures and podcasts.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

That is simply fabulous. It's amazing, how some folks get an artistic shot with a cell cam.

[kate_nepveu]

Thanks! I'm glad you like, especially since I don't generally attempt, let alone achieve, art with my pictures.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

That photo makes me sleepy. She looks so comfy.

I think we have the same haircut now.

[kate_nepveu]

We do, yes. I just prefer my hair chin-length (less time convincing it not to flip outward . . . )

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Back when I was carrying babies around I found the Snugli (which I believe is trademarked) was really, really comfortable for both parties involved. Of course, I don't come with female-model mammaries, so my thoughts on the matter might not be as helpful as some.

[cvantien.livejournal.com]

I really wish I'd found a pouch sling for my first two, the third was born prem and that was the first baby for which I used a sling. It got to the point fairly quickly where I would pop her in the sling and she would go to sleep pretty much straight away. The real downside was that the one shoulder carry makes them feel heavy at a fairly young age, but you said yours has two straps so that might help. Being asked if I had a broken arm or if I was carrying my groceries in there was slightly bizarre too.

The two pieces of suggestion I have are:
* alternate which shoulder you use the sling on (remember your ligaments are probably still a bit looser than usual due to pregnancy hormones) and
* you can use a pouch style sling when she wants to sit upright, just cross her legs before you pop her in sitting upright and tighten the front piece to hold her closer. That can either be to face you (which gets a bit unnerving, you look down and the baby is just staring at your face trying to memorise everything) or to face outward.

[kate_nepveu]

Thanks. (And she spends so much time staring at my face anyway . . . she really likes faces.)

[serrana.livejournal.com]

Wear the baby, she is a happy baby, I can tell from her sweet sleepy face. Babies are flexible and find being slightly squished comforting.

(I still remember being in Target one night and the clerk saying to me, "Is she really comfortable in there?" "Yeah, she loves it. She's colicky, and this way I can get stuff done." "Really? I mean, really? But she's all squashed." "No, I'm lying to you and abusing the baby. Because I get off on lying to random strangers. Come on." It is a really bad idea to argue with the sleep-deprived, IJS.)

Our slings were the New Native type, and...aw, some of my happiest little-baby memories are of the kids snuggled up against me. *sniff* I totally get sentimental about babies in slings (can you tell?)

Good luck with the colic. I swear, they really do knock it off eventually.

[kate_nepveu]

Thanks. She was six weeks yesterday, which is reportedly the peak, after all . . .

[serrana.livejournal.com]

I think Herself kept it up until about 3 1/2 months. I can remember times when I put her down in her crib and walked outside and cried. I don't think people who haven't done it have any idea how hard it is, especially with your first.

[kate_nepveu]

We've had it pretty lightly in terms of frequency and duration, and moreover it's obviously traceable to gas, which is actually a relief. But yes, there have been one or two times when I've come very closely to breaking down.

(An article I read said that "The United States military has reportedly used the sound of wailing infants as an instrument of psychological stress, piping recordings of their cries into the cells of detainees at Guantánamo Bay," and I can totally believe it.)

[serrana.livejournal.com]

Once, when Herself was about two months old, she hadn't slept for about 12 hours. I finally called my husband at work and told him I desperately needed a break and would he come home, please, before I walked out into traffic?

He did, took her off to the movies...and she slept through all of "The Matrix Reloaded." Which was not what you'd call a quiet movie. Augh. Kids.

Fortunately, her brother is such an easygoing smooch, it's not even funny.

[burger-eater.livejournal.com]

Here's my comment on the sling: It looks way more comfy than the one we had.

[ewanmcnay.livejournal.com]

The Boppy sling looks great; may have to get one. We used a sling (very basic, long piece of fabric and two rings for a clasp) for Aidan extensively, and he loved it; it was designed (and worked) so that he could nurse from it without being revealing, also.

I especially valued our sling: I tended to do more of the carrying, Jenny being the size that she is, and it left my hands free while being comfy; I could easily cook, for instance. When significantly older, Aidan sat up using the sling as a seat on my hip, and hat also worked well for long-distance carrying.

So yeah: worked for us. [Which the Bjorn never did.]

[castiron.livejournal.com]

I can't remember anything about son#1's neck angles, but son #2 has been perfectly content conked out with his face pointing one way and his feet the other. As he gets more neck strength, he's doing less of that, though.

Basically, if SteelyKid is content, then the position's fine; they'll complain if they're uncomfortable.