How a baby sling can help you lose baby weight

During all the years I spent carrying my 5 children during their younger years in the sling, I managed to return to my pre pregnancy weight.

I was always on the go. Maybe that was it.
I put it down to our lifestyle, all that healthy eating, out & aboutness, pounding the pavement seeking new clients, running from not so willing prospective clients, chasing the parking- pick up the kids-get to uni deadline and the markets.

All with a baby in the sling, a suitcase and filled to the brim mother's bag.
All that accessory weight I was carrying around.
Other mums were going to the gym.
But I was never far from my size 8 jeans.


Shape? well maybe not so much... the boobs got bigger!

Almost 20 consecutive years of breastfeeding probably added to their size, but really, I have my mother's & grandmother's genetics to thank for that....Good on ya Mum!

When I inherited the nickname of Dolly Parton, I cut off my long blonde hair and dyed the last little bit red.
The strangest thing happened - my husband didn't notice that 12 inches of hair was missing, or that it was a completely different colour, but he did ask, "Are you wearing a new bra honey?"
He never did live that one down.

As much as no one, least of all my appreciative hubby, complains about the size of my voluptuous set of kahoonas, except for me, I'm proud of them & my tiger stripes (stretch marks) of courage too.
They've done some awesome work, truly awesome work.

Just as the kids are growing older, my body parts are sagging south too.

Whilst I've discovered the strangulating joys of shapewear, my size 8 jeans have been packed away.
For some time.

Its been a few years since I carried any of the kids around in the sling for hours on end daily.
Kids have this rather annoyingly bad habit of growing up.

Though I walk every morning, getting back before the family wakes up, which gives me my daily  pep boost, so that I can jiggy jig the Harlem Shake to an audience of none when making the families lunches in the kitchen.
But it hasn't stopped the weight from sneaking on like an uninvited party quest; no one likes those.

I know that going to the gym is like Brussels Sprouts; both are good for me
I don't like either, but I was doing both.
Until I had an accident that damaged my shoulder.

The type of accident you have when you stand on your husband's desk to install a new curtain rail.

An Ikea desk that hubby put together with a 'Mweh I don't need to connect the stabliser bar, it'll be right' after thought.
.
My life flashed before my eyes as the 2 computer monitors, printers, hard drives & all his other shiz coming crashing down on top of me at a furiously fast speed.
One chipped tooth, more bruises than Muhammed Ali after a few rounds and a left arm dangling uselessly later, I still managed to right hand text him 'You didn't put on the f%$King stabliser bar!"

My hubby had an idea once to make T-shirts that read "I can do anything, I survived Ikea instructions"
I'll add to that "I didn't survive my husband's Ikea project"

There went the daily gym visits, and much to my family's relief so did the awful  Brussels Sprout pie.

I had plenty of time to fill with extra bread, a Choc Top or few, a lot of sitting around and not much moving.

Summer hit and my size 12 shorts wouldn't do up.
I used up 2 boxes of tissues that morning.
My husband paled at every sob.

After 4 weeks of dieting, some weight started to shift, but not a lot.
I needed to do a type of exercise that my still recovering shoulder could handle.

Enter a personal trainer trainee from down the road who was dying to get in some experience & the hospital physiotherapist, they have me sorted.
But the weight wasn't showing much interest in budging, until I told the PT about my skinny years with the babes in the sling.

Her eyes struck open so wide I thought they'd pop.
"Of course, of course! the oldest weight loss trick in the book! carry the extra weight. The body works harder, burns more calories without the extra stress"

Since the beginning of February, PT has had me carrying a 10 kilo bag of potatoes in one of our discarded demo slings on my daily morning walks.

There's not a morning that goes past that I fear that one of the other regular walkers will want to stop to look at my 'baby'.
Its an odd thought I know, but there you have it.

But I did lose 7 kilos during February by using this technique, more than triple what I was losing before. My size 10 skinny jeans are little lose this morning, so I'm dancing the happy dance.
Actually I'm pirouetting between paragraphs.

Having spoken to PT further about this & our local Weight Watcher's team leader. By carrying around extra weight such as a baby/toddler in a sling or strapping on exercise weights and walking for at least 40- 45 minutes daily, will help you lose weight.
As long as your diet is a healthy eating one of course.

So get out & about, like our couple in the photo, or use the sling at home for the daily things that you do!

I'm off to find the trunk that holds my old favourite size 8 jeans.
I have a sneaking suspicion that it might be in the attic, and I haven't been in the attic since I watched The Grudge.......
Then again, there's always retail therapy to help with that!

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.