Use baby sling a lot. Am I starting a bad habit?

[dandycandyjellybean]

My ds is 6.5 weeks old, and mixed fed. Since we introduced a dream feed a couple of weeks ago he seems to be sleeping pretty well in the night, which is wonderful as you can imagine, but obviously the downside is that he has a lot of more wakey / restless time during the day. After each feed he has about an hour when he is content and interactive, then he becomes tired and fretful. But, he tends to only nap in increments of 10 minutes or so, and then wakes and is fretful again. Someone gave me one of these baby sling thingys, and so I tend to put him in it every morning and most afternoons in that hinterland when he's a bit fretful. It means that he can either be awake or asleep as he needs to be, but is much more settled because he is close to me iyswim. Of course it also means that I can get on with things if I need to (or post on mn, as I'm doing now with him napping up front!!) But of course, I have been worrying that I'm creating a monster - i.e. he will turn into a clingy baby who will only nap in the day if being held. Should I be worried about this, or is he still a bit young yet for 'bad habits'?

Much too young for bad habits IMO (and IME!) - he was being carried by you every minute of the day fewer than 7 weeks ago.

Babies who are carried around in a sling sleep more and cry less. That sounds like a good habit to me!

Read Dr. Sears if you're worried about it, he is very reassuring.

no such thing as a bad habit for a young baby .. they need love and cuddles

when he gets to the second half of his first year you can start thinking about habits

but you are really doing the best thing for him atm .. as long as its right for you too

My babes live in the sling.. makes them more secure, happier and quieter.

Keep it up!!!!

Slings never create bad habits... diversity is the spice of life and teaches a baby much about sleep. OUr western brains always tell us to get the baby away, but that is another form of molly coddling - turn up the radio, lets the kids yell... your baby will learn to sleep through anything, whilst being in the honoured postion of sleeping upright next to his MUm.

Phew! Coz it's dead useful, and I love it, I get to break off from some grotty bit of housework and stroke his lovely face...or jig around to some music and sing at the top of my voice if he's just woken up and is feeling a bit grumpy!

See you LOVE it... and he feels that vibe... and the singing bit is fabulous too!!!

All the best

I am going to start a sling course thread soon... so keep your eyes open if you are interested.

Will probably be in the Parenting board section

bad habits my a**e
good on you cubby
where does this nonsense come from , really, that we mustn't cuddle our babies?? it makes me cross really that mothers are discouraged from doing the most natural thing in the world
I blame Gina Ford...

I loooove slings! DD often lives in it all day, have to be careful to remember to change her nappy she's so happy in there though!

Must admit I let DS get some terrible napping habits he still comes to me looking demanding and falls asleep on my knee or in my arms at nap time at 21 months... (but I quite like it that way!)

Lucky cubby baby

Think you are setting a fab example - I intend to do this a lot when dd2 comes in Jan/Feb.

I started a link asking for recommendations for a sling to use to breastfeed - essential as dd1 will be nearly 16 months - so which sling do you use - or anyone else for that matter.

In other cultures babies are carried in sling things next to mum all the time. It is drummed into us that babies must sleep on their own! But he is still so tiny.... I agree, if you like it and he likes it carry on. If it does cause 'bad habits' then you can tackle that later on if you want to I say. ENJOY

He's totally oblivious to noise too, I've just dried my hair with him in the sling, and he slept through it all. And I hoover etc. I even pop over the shop, just zip an enormous fleece (that fit me aeons ago!!) over both of us, right up over his head, and off i go, with just the tips of his toes dangling out of the bottom!!! Get a few funny looks though, although all the old biddies at the shop just love to bill and coo over him, not that I like to show him off or anything ....

PS. Apparently babies go through a particularly unsettled stage at about 6 - 8 weeks for some reason. And some babies need more cuddles than others. Some are just happy to lay and coo, some are not!

FastasleepInAManger's husband:
I also take out 8 week old DD in sling and wander round town for hours at a time.. she loves it. Although the constant having to show her to people gets a bit wearing (best seats on the bus though).

keep it up dd 6m plenty carried, not a cranky baby good sleeper relaxed baby.
also becoming ever more confident and independent[for her age]

I swear by them, used a Maya wrap with all 3 . My eldest is a very confident independant little boy of 4 It's hard to get cuddles out of him now !! Keep it up !

I think it's a great habit. It was a life saver for me. I carried my babies around in the sling, then later the back pack, and carried on with the housework while they watched. I found it much easier than listening to them crying or stopping what I was doing to attend to them.

no dont worry about it, use the sling as much as possible. He will develop and change his preferences as he gets older. dd1 was a holy terror for not sleeping on her own until she was around 1 year old, she is the first one to drop off in the evening now!
If you have the sort of sling where you can slide out without waking him up, thats a great help too!