sling bliss*


me and boho baby on the first day of sling bliss after
stacy showed me how to do it, taken with camera phone,
sorry for the crappy quality

When I imagined my baby before he came to be, I envisioned us walking everywhere, here and there with him wrapped up in a sling against my bosom. From birth until he was too big to fit, I always wanted to be able to share this experience together. Especially when we knew we were going to adopt, I thought the idea of carrying him close, would somehow make up for those months when I couldn't carry him in the womb.

Then the first time I put him in the gorgeous newborn Asian silk sling I got years ago, he screamed piercingly so. I tried again. More screaming. I tried another sling made for me by a dear blog reader friend (which is my fave, shown above). Not so much. Our little dude just didn't like to be confined. He would always wiggle his arms out of his Miracle Blanket and sleep with them stretched wide up above his head. He still does this. He's our little free spirit. So, I had to let go of cradling him in a sling against my bosom. I folded the three slings I had and put them away.

We found a few carriers that we love but it still didn't replace the yearning I had for the sling. I suppose it just felt more natural for me to do it this way as so many women have done before me for hundreds of years.

When Stacy came over last week and I saw her putting Bella in her sling sitting upright, I had forgotten that when he had head control, I could do this! This wasn't quite as confined...so perhaps he'll have a little more patience with it. Stacy showed me how to slip him in on my hip and voila, he was sitting up in the sling and was fully content. Funny how you feel more brave trying things when someone is near supporting every step of the way. Stacy witnessed a mushy momma moment. How very overcome with excitement I was. We decided to go on a walk with our babies on our hips. He didn't cry once. He clung to my bosom and rested his head on my shoulder. It was bliss. It felt natural and dreamy...for both of us.

Today I tried it again. My husband and I took our weekly trip to Target to stock up on formula and these AWESOME eco-friendly diapers (can't seem to find them anywhere else except Target and Babies R Us...weird). I decided to try it again and guess what? He fell asleep. I looked up at my husband and said "honey, we are living our dream" and Boho Boy bent down to kiss me tender and then we both sighed and kissed Cedar on his head. Delicious moment.


today...me & a sleeping boho baby, taken by boho boy with his camera phone