Baby Wearing Q&A

Here's a typical question we get at One Hot Mama:

I have a 2 month old who I am trying to put in my hotsling, but it always seems that her chin is pressing to her chest, no matter how I put her in there. Is there a way to correct this problem?

And here's the answer:

First of all -- congratulations on the birth of your baby! You've survived the first two months, which I remember passing in a total fog! Now, on to the Hotsling. A 2-month-old baby is still really floppy, and has spent more of her life (in utero) completely folded in on herself. So her chin touching her chest isn't really a cause for concern, unless you think she's cutting off her air supply! But I'm willing to bet that when you look at the Hotslings wearing videos all the babies you see holding their heads up will actually be old enough to sit up unassisted. If you scootch her butt forward so she's in a prone position, her head will fall away from her chest. But if you hip carry her, that heavy head has nowhere to go but forward. Now you can happily purchase your hip Hotsling at our website.

Why is this worthy of a post, you may ask? One point bears repeating: Just as most maternity designers use women who are only 5 or 6 months pregnant to model their clothes -- because it looks better -- infant manufacturers use babies who are 4-6 months old. They aren't as slack-jawed and floppy as newborns. Now, you may think your newborn is different. I certainly did. And guess what? When I look back at his pictures (from ELEVEN years ago! ) and those of his three sisters, I see four kids who grew up to be cute, but whose photos I wouldn't use to sell half-priced poopy diapers! So don't compare your newborn to the images you see everywhere of non-newborn babies. Lastly, and this is what really gets my goat, don't expect things to happen before their time. Babies are not developmentally able to sit until around 6 months, and even great, steady head control doesn't happen until around the 4th month, so enjoy your rag doll while you can. :)

Have a great day -- oh, and we're clearing out a lot of our great maternity and nursing clothes to make room for new stuff. Check it out!