7 Common Ways Of Carrying Babies That You Should NEVER Practice!
How does it feel to hold your baby in your arms, his tiny fingers clutching onto yours? Like bliss! Carrying their baby is a beautiful experience for new moms. It is also an opportunity for babies to take in sights and sounds, be alert, and let vital functions like respiration and digestion develop fully. But did you know that improper carrying can actually harm their physical and mental development? So, are you sure you are doing it right?
Moms have a powerful instinct when it comes to their children’s well-being; they can sense if something is wrong faster than even a paediatrician! While you are hyper-sensitive when your baby is not around, there is a chance that his full growth is being dampened even in your arms! The following styles of baby carrying are fairly common but are actually not recommended at all!
1. Tight Swaddling
While swaddling, or wrapping your baby in a tight wrap, has been known to be soothing, there’s more to this than meets the eye. Doing this for extended periods of time means their legs are tightly bound and straight. This can hinder their ball and socket joint and even lead to hip dysplasia! Make sure the wrap is fairly loose, the hip is flexed, and the knees are closer to the head than the hips. Read this guide on the right way to swaddle your baby.
2. Not Supporting Their Legs
Cute and chubby as they are, your baby’s legs are still very underdeveloped. While carrying your angel, it is essential to give their legs the necessary support. This is a prime reason why many experts support babywearing. When you have attached your baby to yourself in this fashion, your baby assumes a seated straddling position. This encourages normal growth of their legs and hips. To make sure you are doing this right, do this test: the fabric of the baby wear should either extend to the back of your baby’s knee or have adjustable foot straps.
3. Choosing The Wrong Breastfeeding Position
How have you been holding your baby during breastfeeding? You should never let your baby’s body and head go in different directions, or his body be too far away from the breast. Also, ensure that you don’t force or hunch him in any way to make the breast more accessible. The idea is to support his head and neck while ensuring he has a fulfilling feed. Check out these breastfeeding positions recommended by experts.
4. Using Inappropriate Baby Carriers
After your arms, carriers are the next most popular option for baby travel. Does the baby carrier you use have a hardback? Does it encourage their spine to tilt inwards? You may encounter trouble. A rigid back can cause severe stress to your baby that may eventually lead to a painful condition called spondylolysis. Also, please make sure your baby’s spine curves outwards as that is the normal spinal curvature for children under the age of 6 months.
5. Holding Them in Forward-Facing Position
This one has met with some debate over the years, but the general consensus is negative. When your baby faces forward, his legs, spine and hips are unsupported. There is also excessive pressure on his groin and thighs. Plus, when he looks away from you, there’s so much that can affect him without your knowledge and response. By the time you reach home, you may end up with a cranky, over-stimulated and stressed out baby!
6. Not Following Baby Car Seat Practices
While using car seats for long durations isn’t recommended, sometimes you have no choice. But please remember that it is important to pick a car seat that has leg support, is soft, has adjustable straps and retainer clips, and is not hard on your child’s back. Also, make sure they always face the rear of the car while your baby is still below 2 years of age. It is a good idea to space out your travel so you can have intervals of holding the baby in your arms.
7. Not Carrying Your Baby Enough
Finally, what’s probably even worse than making a carrying mistake is not carrying enough! Research has proven that keeping babies flat on their back for long periods of time can stress their spine and lead to a condition called plagiocephaly. This causes serious consequences like skull deformity and poor muscle tone in children. Make sure to carry your baby in an upright position plenty of times through the day.
Carrying your baby close to you creates a beautiful bonding opportunity that you shouldn’t miss out on. After all, this is going to be a short-lived phase. Your bundle of joy is growing up fast and will soon be too heavy to lift.
Just ensure that you steer clear of these harmful carrying positions and also instruct your family and friends accordingly. Babies can be very particular about the quality of the ride they are getting in your arms!
