Nostalgia

I have a friend who is interested in babywearing and so I have been sharing with her my personal experiences from wearing Liam. She wanted to see some pictures of our wrap in action and so I have been flipping through old photos today. I am dying over how cute my little Liam boy was as a little baby. I can't help but think about our newest baby boy and wonder what he will look like. From his ultrasounds he looks almost identical to Liam and so I am assuming they will look very similar to one another with their own variations. I am also reeling by how much my life has changed and improved over the past six years. Liam has brought so much joy and life changes into my life and I am eternally grateful for these blessings. I thought I would include some pics of us babywearing and a short video of baby Liam as I marvel at the joy and happiness the past six years have brought in being Liam's mama.

Bill's graduation day May 2007. Moana wearing Liam with a storchenwiege wrap under a Suze Kinder Coat.

Cleaning the house with 3 1/2 year old Liam along for a ride on mama's back.

Liam loved to ride on my back and would often bring the wrap to me and say, "Up." From this, I knew he wanted to be on his mama in the wrappy.

My younger sister wearing her six month old Camiley while I wear 2 year old Liam. We are at our sister Ana's wedding in 2007 at the Salt Lake Temple.

I love this little face! Seeing young pictures of little Liam makes me sad and happy all at the same time. I miss this little boy so much and yet I love the six year old dude that he is today and I am so lucky and blessed to be his mama.

Feeling The Love

I have been babywearing Liam since he was about 6 weeks old. He was a small 8 lbs and only 20 inches at that age. He was so small I felt like he was lost in the fabric of our then New Native Sling. But now at 2 1/2 and weighing in at 30 lbs and more then 30 inches tall, it takes every inch of our storchenwiege wrap to hold him. He really is quite old to be worn on the front and yet we both love it so much. His head is in perfect range for me to kiss on him, talk to him face to face, I am also able to have eye contact with him and my favorite part is that I am able to feel him cuddle down into my chest as he falls to sleep and I love to sniff his hair as I am going about my daily tasks. I really love to have him on my back when I am cleanining, shopping, or in a huge hurry and need to get him where I need to go faster. But there is a wonderful and nurturing power in wearing him on my front. I know that he wont be able to ride on the front for more then probably 6 months but I am still enjoying him there on my front so much. It will be a sad day for both of us when he can only fit on my back!

My Inspriation

I have a deep passion for something that is called, "babywearing." But many people dont know the background story of why I am so passionate about this seemingly new and even hip way of carrying a child. My beloved namesake and maternal grandmother wore all 14 of her children. My mother has fond memories of being worn on her mothers back while her mother tended the garden, cleaned the house, and went fishing. My mom remembers her younger sister being worn on my grandmothers front at the same time she was on her moms back and this was the norm for my grandmother, she wore her children until they were about 3-4 years old. I also remember looking at old photos and pictures of Maori women wearing their children and grandchildren on their backs underneath their cloaks. This photo hung in our home while I was growing up and I loved it then as I do now, it truly inspired me. These images and stories stuck with me into adulthood. Then when I became a mother my son had really bad colic. In desperation I seached for help in many different places but the most satisfying help came from a Dr. William Sears in his book, "The High Needs and Fussy Child" he suggests wearing a colicky baby. Well, I tried it out and guess what, he was right! Not only did wearing Liam help with the colic but it made our bond stronger in addition to freeing up my hands and making it possible for me to do many things like fold laundry, grocery shop, make dinner, go for walks, etc. All while holding him close to me, I have even been able to nurse him walking through a grocery store with no one knowing what I was doing!! It was great, I didnt have to stop and find a spot, I could keep shopping while he leisurely nursed! Liam is now 30 lbs and 2 1/2 years old and our babywearing days arent over yet in fact I am wearing him just as much as I ever did! We both enjoy this mode of transportation so much! Recently he has had the flu and I have been able to wrap him and wear him to comfort him to sleep. I would be totally lost without babywearing! I rely upon it so very much and am grateful for the women who have inspired me in my own culture and past. My younger sister is a mother of 3 and has been wearing her youngest child from birth. She gushes over it as much as I do and our even younger sister that is expecting is also going to wear her child. We have been inspired by our ancestors and can see the wisdom in how they chose to parent their own children. I am happy to know that my generation and some of my siblings are returning to the ways of our ancestors! I love babywearing it inspires me each and every day to do better for my son and to focus on nurturing him in a healthy and positive way. This picture is one of my most favorites, I was walking in the rain with Liam on my back in our stochenwiege wrap and I am wearing a Suze Kindercoat that is made especially for babywearing families. I can wear my child on the front or back or two children at once--one on the back and one on the front. Any how, I love how Liam fell asleep on my back despite the fact that it was raining really hard not to mention it was freezing!! This was taken on the day Bill graduated from College, Liam was happy and content to be on my back on such a busy and overwhelming day. I love it!!