In her book "Babies Want To Be Carried: Everything you need to know about baby carriers and the benefits of babywearing, Dr. Evelin Kirkilionis explains in detail her research into the optimal position for infants in baby carriers.

Her research defeated the common opinion in the nineties in Germany, that babies shouldn’t be carried upright before an age they could sit by themselves. She proved that babies are adapted to be carried in an upright posture with a straddled and squatted leg position.

Before independence must come dependence.

In our western society, there seems to be fear around the need of babies and young children to be close to their primary caregivers. Caution against babies becoming "used to that" are hangovers from the Victorian era and have no scientific basis.

One dubious parenting guide in the past recommended against cuddling babies, advising a firm handshake was sufficient! While we have (hopefully) moved beyond that kind of nonsense, its shadow has cast long into our own times.

Facing you, your baby can maintain eye contact when needed. They can check in for reassurance. They can watch your mouth as you speak and smile. When you turn your head, they will mirror you to see what is interesting. And when sights, sounds or people are overwhelming, you baby will seek the "white space" of your familiar chest, screening out stimuli until they are ready to reconnect with the outside world. They might doze off to sleep - no need to move them: it is safe to sleep here.

Babywearing is a relationship between a child and the most important people in their life. These are the people babies want to see most.

Around 4-6 months, infant brain development reaches a stage where babies are extremely distracted by activity around them. They can become hard to feed as noise and movement interupt their focus. Sleep can be disturbed by their own drive to roll or crawl, even when asleep. And babies in carriers are constantly tracking sound and visual distractions, twisting their head and straining to look around.

@southeasternbabywearinggroup is part of @sthnnaturalparentingnetwork .

We offer in-person connections for like-minded parents in Melbourne's south-east suburbs but we welcome members from all over the world in this covid-normal world.

We meet regularly - weather permitting - in playgrounds around our community, guided and inspired by @mammaknowssouth . Our extensive collection of tester carriers includes #softstructuredcarriers #wovenwraps #ringslings #mehdais #stretchywraps and more. We offer a non-retail environment of experienced #babywearing parents sharing their knowledge with those just starting out.

We have expanded our support with our website, bringing information and support to those unable to attend our meets in person.

Come and join our Facebook community.

Visible and Kissable:

One of the T.I.C.K.S. guidelines for safe baby wearing is

CLOSE ENOUGH TO KISS. This not, as you might imagine, about giving you extra opportunities to bond with your baby. It is about having their body high enough on your chest that you can maintain frequent observations.

Young babies can be vulnerable in baby carriers. Their narrow airways and heavy heads mean we must supervise them to reduce risk of accidents. You should always be able to see your baby’s face and chin. The chin should be tilting up rather than tucked down.

There's a winter feel to the weather forecast for the coming days here in Melbourne. Time to get the woollies out!

If this is your first experience of winter with a baby you might be wondering what you need to do to protect them. #babywearing is a wonderful start as you each warm the other. You can top that up with hats, mittens and booties but go easy with coats and suits. Rather than thick single garments, add an extra layer or two. Avoid bulky hoods which can restrict free head movement.

The chest strap on a soft-structured carrier is the most common area we help parents get right for comfort and support.

This adjustable strap connects the two shoulder straps and prevents them sliding off the shoulders.

Too many people end up with it uncomfortably up on their neck, not realising the pieces can slide vertically to place them over the shoulder blades. This allows large muscles and bone to carry the load, rather than the more sensitive neck area.

"There are too many choices - it's overwhelming!"

We understand.

There seem to be new baby carriers entering the market every month. Sometimes we struggle to keep up! So for parents it can be too much.

Our goal is to support safe and comfortable babywearing. We don't sell anything. We are not affiliated with any brand. We just do one thing.

Would our lives as human mothers be more simple if our body were still covered in thick hair for our babies to cling to, enabling the constant access to the breast nature intended?

It's fascinating to consider how this significant part of human evolution had such an impact on how we care for our infants. There must have been a generation which tipped the balance, where mothers found their infants trying to cling but there was little to cling to.

How long did they muddle along trying to hold babies in arms and gather roots and berries, leaves and seeds. Who was the one, lost in time, who announced: "so I made this thing to hold my child".

Throughout human history, on (almost) every continent, babies and young children have been carried by their mother and other members of their extended family.

In some cultures, the tools developed to carry children are very simple, designed to maximise airflow in humid climates. But in colder parts of the globe, extreme cold Is a danger and children are protected with layers of fur, wool and other materials. Some of these, used by nomadic people who follow food sources through the seasons, are so structured that they create a portable cradle.

As the weather cools down and the days get shorter, it can be tempting to stay home - but we did more than enough of that last winter!

#babywearing keeps babies close and means you can get outdoors without lugging muddy pram wheels back into the car! You can move beyond concrete footpaths and explore parks, reserves and bushland. Stroll along the beach or walk the dog. Or hit the farmers market and outdoor events.

ometimes it must be very hard being a small child. The world is full of strange things you are experiencing for the first time. Unexpected noises. Bright lights. New faces.

#babywearing keeps babies close to the people who reassure them with their voices and facial expressions. Young children look to us when they feel uncertain and how we react helps them learn how they should react.

Keeping babies close and able to see our familiar faces helps them make sense of the world around them.

I fell in love with this book the very first time I saw it, years before my grandchildren were born! I recall purchasing a copy for the library at the @ozbreastfeeding breastfeeding centre I ran and the pleasure it gave the families who visited.

The centre services one of the most multicultural communities in Australia, with nearly 200 countries of origin and 80 spoken languages. To see so many cultures featuring the connection of #babywearing was wonderful!

Touch is an often overlooked sense, yet one which is incredibly powerful in the bonding between parent and child. Ashley Montagu wrote about this in his acclaimed book "Touching: the Human Significance of the Skin" in 1971.

In the 1990s Nils Bergman, a Swedish specialist in perinatal neuroscience, studied skin to skin contact between mother and baby in the neonatal period and introduced the concept of "Kangaroo Care" into neonatal intensive care units (NICU) to complement or even replace incubation for preterm infants. He had observed the practice in South American communities who could not afford this expensive equipment yet kept their most vulnerable babies alive and thriving.

Come along to our meets or say hello at @bumblebeemarkets. You will find all the details at SNPN Events

Whether are starting from scratch or levelling up, we are here to help. No cost, all welcome.

That feeling. There should be a word for it.

So different from a baby falling asleep in arms and weighing up the risk/benefit of attempting to transfer to the cot so you can make some lunch, get the washing on or put the shopping away.

That little sigh of breath against your skin.

The warm heaviness of sleep.

That feeling of peace and comfort.

#babywearing freedom

I love seeing the progression of our members on their #babywearing journey. From nervous, confused and overwhelmed when they arrive at their first meet to confident and reassuring to newcomers a few meets later. As their babies grow they explore and try different options and gain new skills and techniques and eventually you hear them saying:

"I remember feeling like that when I started, too."

Even before the pandemic, a sea of extended family and friends with arms stretched out demanding their "turn" to hold your precious child, fresh from the womb, was enough to make you turn and run!

Playing "pass the parcel" with a new baby seems innocuous to some people and your hesitancy can be interpreted with a whole range of negative connotations.