Babywearing bother!

Hello :)
Babywearing is a fairly new concept to some people. However, if you look back over history, women have worn their babies for a long time..it's how a lot of them get stuff done.
So why did I start wearing Henry? It was so both my and G (my fiancé) could bond with him. I'd had a fairly difficult birth and the section recovery made it difficult for me to look after him so G ended up doing a lot of it. Wearing Henry was how he went about his daily business and it helped Henry fall asleep a lot of the time too. When G had gone back to work, I took over baby duties and wore Henry a lot! We were living with my mum at the time and she lives in a fairly hilly village so pushing a heavy pram up and down hills wasn't good for my recovery! Now we live in a first floor flat so the main reason I wear him is so I don't have to lug a pram up and down a flight of stairs.

The reason I wanted to write this post is because I feel society doesn't accept babywearing. Both me and G get funny looks if we're wearing Henry. I have a wrap now (after having gone through a ring sling, a stretchy wrap and buckles) and every one has drawn attention.
Don't get me wrong, some of the attention is positive. I had a conversation with a woman in Boots on Monday who had her baby in a carrier and she said how nice is was to see someone else carrying. Other people have said they admire my wrapping skills (I'm still learning so it's not always perfect!) but that's still nice to hear.
However, there's always more negative attention then good. When I first got my wrap, I was wearing it around town. A woman clocked me and watched me walk towards her. As I got closer, she shook her head at me and carried on watching me as I walked away. That really dented my confidence, I didn't wear Henry for a couple of weeks after that.

I would love babywearing to be normalised! Unless you babywear, you can't understand how good it feels. I love having Henry close to me. He falls asleep a lot better in the wrap when we're out and he can see a lot more then if he were in a buggy. He gets more social interaction too, cashiers especially talk to him because he's at eye level. And it still helps me bond with him, even after 9 months. (I still use his buggy so I'm not against them in any way!).
If I was just carrying Henry around (apart from getting a sore arm), I wouldn't get any looks, comments or digs. What's the difference?

I asked some of my Instagram followers what their experiences have been and luckily, their responses were all positive :) here's a few;
ladyandieleigh - I wear my henry all the time for quick errands! Love it!

blwfun - I ❤️ baby wearing, but I do it much less now that they're older. I used the Moby at first, but didn't like that when I would tie it out of the house the ends would drag all over parking lots. Then I got a k-tan which I loooooved. Now that my son is 22 lbs it's less comfy, but my daughter still goes in it occasionally (she's 17 lbs). Now I most frequently use the ergo baby. Before we go overseas to live we will get a 2nd one so that when we travel we can each wear a twin.

thelittlemagpies - My 18 month old still loves being carried although I don't do it as often now he is bigger. I either use a mai tai or an osprey rucksack for longer walks. I find it really good for shopping trips when he would otherwise be unhappy being confined in the pram and the rucksack has plenty of space for shopping too. I think he enjoys being up high at grown up level. When I'm carrying him I've always worn a babywearing necklace which I've now started making as a business. Now I carry him on my back I attach one to the carrier for him to fiddle with. He has always slept very well in a sling/carrier and I've never had any bad comments only positive ones.

kimminihands - @the_henry_files Ive just started wearing Benjamin, I wish I'd done it sooner! We didn't get on with the mothercare carrier I bought so didn't bother trying again. (I was pretty clueless to all the different kinds of wraps and slings you could get) I'm waiting for my manduca 3 in 1 carrier to arrive and I can't wait!! It's so much easier to carry him I feel free to go places I couldn't go to with a pram

I'm glad that so many of you are getting positive comments, long may it continue! I encourage everyone to try babywearing, at least once. If it's not for you, that's fine :)
Until next time
Shannon x

Ever feel like a parrot?

Hello all!
The running theme this week has been 'no'. I must spend 90% of my time now saying "No Henry, don't take my phone." "No Henry, don't pull on my necklace." "No Henry, don't take Daddy's glasses off his face." He's become so used to it that instead of crying or looking upset, he peers up with his big blue eyes, gives you his naughtiest look and carries on!
For now, I don't mind. He's only 9 months, he's not doing any harm. But when do I start to really tell him off, so he knows what he is doing is wrong? Taking my phone and playing with it is one thing but when he's with other babies and tries to take the toys they're playing with, that's another. How do I explain to him that there's a difference? He can't talk yet, he only knows basic words like daddy and milk.
My fiancé doesn't understand what the issue is. He says there's plenty of time for him to grow up and to get told off and in a way, I agree with him. But what if Henry takes it too far and another parent tells him off? I'd want to kill them, then want to die of embarrassment and then wonder where I'd gone wrong.
If you've got any ideas/tips for me, please let me know!

In other news, we've had such a lovely weekend. It's the first whole weekend my fiancé has had off work in a long time so we just spent it together and relaxing. We went to a local park today, went round it's museum and had a picnic. The weather was beautiful and we were out in it for most of the day. It's really got me excited for the summer! I've got so many fun ideas for us to do when the weather is warmer. Henry was born in June so he spent the summer last year under wraps in case he got sun burn or heat rash!

Until next time
Shannon x

Welcome!

Hello!
I guess my first post should introduce me and my son so you know who you're reading about and what we're like!
I'm Shannon and I'm 20. I have a 9 month old little boy called Henry. I'm what you would call a 'young mum'..I fell pregnant at 18 and had Henry at 19. The term young mum makes me think of an unplanned pregnancy, that's just society's views on it. Henry was very much planned by me and my fiancé. We didn't expect it to happen as quickly as it did, mind you!
Henry was born on 8th June 2014 at 12.27pm by emergency c-section. I had to be induced, he was 9 days late. I laboured through the night and then he got stuck so off I went, wheeled into theatre. Not the best first impression of childbirth! However, it wasn't traumatic in the slightest and I'm looking forward to doing it all again some day. In the distant future!
Motherhood has definitely changed me. I'm not scared or ashamed to admit that I was very selfish before becoming a mum. I was one of these people in restaurants who gets annoyed when a child starts crying. I always said I wasn't going to have children, they were clingy and snotty. But when I met my fiancé, that all changed. I wanted to have children but more specifically, I wanted to have his.
I'm what you would call an attachment parent. I bring Henry everywhere with me..and I mean everywhere! He comes with me to any hospital appointments I have, to the drs, just to the shops..9 times out of 10, he's with me. I also babywear a lot too and I love it! I don't breastfeed (I couldn't keep up with his demands) and I couldn't get on with cloth nappies (as much as I wanted to). I parent the way I do because that's what I feel is right..and unless a mum is doing something harmful, I don't judge her. Which is how a lot more people should be.
Anyway, that's enough rambling for now. I hope you've enjoyed reading my first entry.
Shannon x