can limit a mother's movement somewhat. I preferred the Mai-Tai (Figure 50b) for this age group and used one exclusively for the first few months of my last 3 babies. Slings like the Hug-a-Bub (Figure 50c and Figure 50d) can also be wrapped for head support.

   (a) Newborn Sling     (b) The Mai-Tai

 (c) Hug-a-Bub (Back)  (d) Hug-a-Bub (Front)

Figure 50 - Carrying Slings

   Carrying a baby in a sling provides them with a continuation of contact and movement which closely resembles their time in-utero. It also keeps a mother's hands free for her own needs, and does not strain the arms and back as much as carrying a baby in your arms or on your hip. Whether front, side or back, their head is always facing your body. Your smell is close to them, their eyes are protected from too much bright light. They are comforted by your movement, the pulse of your heart and sound of your voice.
   Beyond that stage, the next type of carriage I used was a light-framed baby backpack. (Figure 51).

Figure 51 - Baby in Back Pack

    Around this time they like to stretch their legs, bounce and kick. From behind they had a bird's eyes view of what I was doing from over my shoulder. When necessary that you be together, with a baby in a backpack, a mother can quite easily do all the usual domestic, as well as social, things. Should you want it off, a backpack can sit stably on the ground nearby, where your baby can watch you and yet still feel close. With these methods they always felt included, and when they were tired, they had no trouble grabbing a bit of sleep whilst in the backpack by resting their head against my back. Worn out from a busy session of watching me work (and presumably fulfilled of my company!), they could then be happily put down for a proper sleep without any separation anxiety.
   Some women might imagine that their backs are not strong enough to carry a child around for any length of time. But the fact is that if a baby is carried regularly from childbirth onwards, your strength will gradually build up in proportion to the weight of the growing baby. A newborn baby is no heavier than the one you were carrying in-utero, so really, there is no extra burden! And besides, the effort of sometimes carrying a baby outside of yourself is much, much less than carrying that same weight inside yourself, all of the time! From a mother's point of view, the use of prams and strollers do nothing to aid or save back strength, in fact they have the potential to exacerbate pre-existing back problems through the constant bending over to attend to the child, and the frequent folding and lifting of them in and out of cars.