Hands Off The Baby

Do you ever feel like putting an invisible force field around your baby when out & about?

In particular – The Supermarket!

Ah! The ‘My Baby has far too many Fans” situation.

The peril of every parent who has a beautiful, gorgeous baby that draws attention like a bee to honey, which makes around 99% of the entire baby population. No wonder celebrities get narky at times.

The other day, waiting in line at Michel’s Patisserie (who make the best shopping mall Chai Latte by the way) 

I was playing Peek-a-boo with a fractious baby while mum was trying to order a birthday cake and some other delectable items.

There she was, looking so sweet, so adorable, sitting in a grocery filled shopping trolley…. I just couldn’t help myself. 

Actually I thought I was helping her mum, while I was locked in waiting for my own Chai.

Well, she had stopped crying and started giggling so I thought I was doing mum a favour in those few seconds, till she scolded me 

“CAN YOU STOP TALKING TO MY BABY!”

Oops. Gulp.

Red faced, grab now finished Chai, exit promptly, baby returns to crying.

 I was one baby entertainer too many for her mum that day.

OK, as parents we do enjoy the ego boast that comes with the compliments and the attention, why not? don’t we love our children?

But when its every aisle, every stop to study products, at the register, it does get too much, especially when it involves staving off wondering hands.

Elderly shoppers tend to be the worst in my experience, followed close by clucky women and the ‘grandparents in waiting’ crowd.

‘It may take a couple to make a child but it takes a village to raise the child’ primal instinct going on here, but do they have to suck on my baby’s first, just because she is so delicious they could eat her! Ewwwwwww!

I warrant that type of experience is a little too ghastly for words!

I encountered this when my first daughter was 3 months old. There she was laying on the baby seat of a shopping trolley, looking all things perfectly angelic, a full mane of little black ringlets, a pristine white frilly dress, I was gushing with all the maternal pride & deep joy I’m totally entitled to, when an elderly man stopped us in the bread aisle.

Nothing unusual, she had already developed a fan club following from the previous 4 aisles.

She had curled her little fist around his finger, smiling up at him; he started to kiss her little fingers then by surprise, started to suck on her hand. Um, Um, Um……. Excuse me mister,…..um……could you let go of my baby please…um sir…mister please…

“HANDS OFF THE BABY” even with that outburst,  I still had to  literally wrench them apart!

Up until that point I admit, I enjoyed people complimenting me on my beautiful, darling, drop dead gorgeous baby girl. She was!

However, I did feel uncomfortable when strangers proceeded to pinch her cheeks, pull at her toes (I thought leather moccasins might have stopped this from happening), poke her chest, play with her ringlets, rub her head, tap her nose (sometimes a tad too hard) or kiss her adorable arms. I also wanted to get my groceries done.

There were times I felt I needed to add ‘personal bodyguard’ to the growing list of parenting duties.

There seems to be no personal space when it comes to children.

By the sounds of it, most parents I’ve spoken to, can recount at least an ‘odd moment or few’ from their experiences.

I remember one mum in a our playgroup wanted to pin a sign on her baby’s chest “Nice to Look, Not Nice to hold” or “Warning – Baby bites”

I stopped placing my babies in the shopping trolley seat, or the pram and used my Bubba Moe sling permanently out in public.

When it comes to the effectiveness of adult personal space, Slings take on a wonderful subliminal brilliance!

An invisible cocoon shoots up when babies are carried in a sling. Strangers very rarely cross the line of adult personal space, which stops the ’I must touchy-feely the irresistible baby’ habit dead in its tracks.

I’ve often noticed a finger head towards a baby then stop as if repelled by some unseen force field!  Works every time!

Basically, if you want to stop all that uninvited physical attention that your superstar baby draws, carry your precious cargo in a sling.

In managing your baby’s public appearances, positioning is very important also.

The 2 positions I recommend for baby’s public engagement is the Lap & Hip Position.

There are specific reasons why!

Babies from around 6 months and hitting a peak at around 9 months of age, babies become very aware of familiar & unfamiliar faces.

Having a baby locked in a full frontal forward position (like most upright carriers) can be very intimidating for baby at this stage. Your baby can feel you, but cant quite see you fully and this can cause quite a lot of distress. Babies will, when socially distressed, ‘push’ their backs to their parent’s chest, turn their heads and almost force their cheeks to their parents, like a vertical stiff plank, before they start to cry. Crying is the last resort emotional resort.

This is why the Lap & Hip positions shown here, is the most developmental ideal.

Babies can still be chest to chest with their parent, yet still look forward as their confidence allows them at their own pace. So in strange & unfamiliar places, baby will turn to their parent’s chest for comfort before facing forward again. 

They seek reassurance from mum or dad that everything is ok.

If baby becomes too distressed or overwhelmed, a quick slide from the Hip or Lap position will have baby in the Snuggle hold (chest to chest) within a few short seconds with out having to remove baby from the sling.

Snuggle hold is often called the ‘comfort hold’. Unfortunately this quick manoeuvring can’t be achieved at all with stagnant or stationary uprights such as the Baby Bjorn or Ergo carriers, which means parents should consider their lifestyle when choosing a baby carrier that will suit them best.

If parent’s lifestyle involves lots of people congestion, such regularly using public transport or many social events, the benefit of using a hammock sling such as a Bubba Moe Sling would be an ideal choice.

Enjoy!

all photos either gratefully sourced from the web or from Bubba Moe's own gallery.