Why don't heimeishe ladies use baby slings to schlep babies?

Home Forums Family Matters Why don't heimeishe ladies use baby slings to schlep babies?

Viewing 46 posts - 1 through 46 (of 46 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #592351
    frumladygit
    Member

    Is it because no one has done such a thing before? I would like to carry my babies this way but no one else does. Maybe its just for practical reasons like why put an extra load on when we’re already tired enough. But fact is, babies love it and it soothes them. Or does it actually spoil them?

    #696169
    Sacrilege
    Member

    I’ve seen frum woman wearing slings… and who cares what other people do?

    My guess would be they dont want to ruin their outfit… live in Brooklyn by any chance?

    #696170
    SJSinNYC
    Member

    I use an Ergo Baby carrier and I absolutely love it. Its amazing. I wear my 11 month old and my 2.5 year old (it has a 35 lb weight limit). I even nurse discreetly in it if I am wearing the right clothing (you need layers).

    A few people in my shul wear their kids also. I highly recommend it.

    #696171
    apushatayid
    Participant

    I’m not a frum woman, but would like to offer several posibilities, if I may.

    . Its easier to shlep around a baby in a carriage.

    . Their pocketbooks are filled with enough junk and are already heavy enough. The extra weight just isn’t possible.

    . When slings are sold in stores named “Le Snobbe Baby Gear”, or can be advertised as “100% pure Italian fabric” or have a Dolce and Gabana monogram on them, everyone will wear one. Even those with no kids to shlep around will tie one on and put in a watermelon.

    . Our heilige bubbes didn’t do it in “der alte heim”.

    . Slings sounds like a medical device and they want to avoid ayin hara. Call it a sash and people will buy it.

    . The tznius police don’t like it. I’m not sure why, but I’m sure they don’t.

    #696172
    smartcookie
    Member

    Depends when. For shopping? Carriages are a lot more convenient.

    When I went on vacation and we had a lot of hiking tand cruises to do, I used it.

    If it’s good for you, then don’t care what others do.

    #696173
    d a
    Member

    apushatayid said:

    – I’m not a frum woman

    – shlep

    – heilige bubbes

    – “der alte heim”

    – ayin hara

    – tznius

    Your first line doesn’t really fit in together with your other ones. Am I not seeing a joke or are you a very knowledgeable non-frum person?

    #696174
    txgirl
    Member

    Women in Eretz Yisroel wear them!

    #696175
    smartcookie
    Member

    D a- he’s a frum man. (I hate answering for someone else!)

    #696176
    eclipse
    Member

    tznius–it can make you look interesting…and height—short people feel off-balance sometimes,especially when the baby is not tiny anymore.but as with anything else:if it works for you and does not look inappropriate on you–do as you feel comfortable!

    #696177
    apushatayid
    Participant

    Thanks for having my back Cookie 🙂

    DA. “Frum woman” was not an attempt an a joke or an answer, rather an introduction.

    #696178
    SJSinNYC
    Member

    Grocery shopping wearing a baby is so much easier. You can fit groceries in the cart.

    The only shopping that isn’t easier is clothing shopping.

    Its also a lot easier to navigate around.

    I wear my baby all the time. Its so much more convenient than using a stroller.

    #696179
    apushatayid
    Participant

    SJS. It also gets you into all the “no strollers please” stores.

    Just curious. Have you ever encountered a situation in those buildings that check bags, that you were asked to show that all you had in the sling was a baby? I once saw security at a Manhattan building ask a woman to remove the sling and “shake it out” to prove all it held was a baby.it was a “home made” deal, a bunch of cloth the woman magically tied into a baby carrier (I still can’t figure out how she did it).

    #696180
    SJSinNYC
    Member

    APY, at the airport I had to take the baby off and put the carrier through the x-ray machine.

    The home made baby wraps are basically a piece of fabric tied with cool knots. Look up “how to wrap a moby” and “how to make a moby” – its really interesting.

    #696181
    bpt
    Participant

    Pushita yid – Very funny! (esoecially the Le Snobbe store!)

    We used a Gerry backback, but its not so practical in the metro area. The stroller give little junior a buffer zone; very important on crowded sidewalks.

    #696182
    Chosson
    Member

    d a:

    There was a story with one of the late Gerrer Rebbes, The Imrei Emes ZT’L, who once said that he has a few thousand chassidim who don’t wear teffilin, (He meant children), the analogy being: He might be a frum man

    #696183
    Poster
    Member

    I tried wearing it with my oldest son and he was very uncomfotable and so was I. So since then I have it stored away. I like a stroller better, just feels lighter.

    apushatayid, thanks for a good laugh.

    #696184
    tzippi
    Member

    SJS, wearing a baby is great (though some people may automatically assume you’re the “crunchy” sort)(not that there’s anything wrong with that) but as far as shopping goes, if you’re living in a car oriented society, it’s a mechaya to be able to take the car seat out and put it, with sleeping baby, straight into the wagon.

    #696185
    emoticon613
    Member

    what, may i ask, is cruchy? is this another term like greasy and harry? i hope not, cuz i’m having trouble keeping track of the old ones; don’t need any new ones around…

    #696186
    SJSinNYC
    Member

    Crunchy is generally the “natural” parenting group. They may do some or all of the following:

    1) Avoid epidurals or pain meds during birth

    2) Nurse exclusively

    3) Cloth diaper

    4) Serve whole grains, cut out chemicals etc

    5) Avoid/limit/delay vaccinations

    6) Homeschool

    7) Babywear 🙂

    8) Co-sleep

    9) Follow attachment parenting

    Obviously this is a stereotypical list and not all applies to everyone. I have done a bit of everything except homeschool.

    #696187
    emoticon613
    Member

    oh boy, well you are talking to one CRUNCHY lady!!! go natural birth!!

    #696188
    SJSinNYC
    Member

    Woohoo Emoticon!

    #696189
    EzratHashem
    Member

    Slings are useful for colicky or fussy infants. I think they find the tight fit soothing.

    And just for the record, according to the above definitions, I am proud to be a crunch. Please don’t forget the homebirth mothers on that list!!!

    #696190
    emoticon613
    Member

    i know this is really off-topic, but i can’t tell you how disappointed i was when i found out that in e”y they discourage home birth to such an extent that they won’t pay you the regular social security or wtvr they call it here that you get paid for having a baby. they consider it majorly irresponsible, etc. i was soooooo upset!! that now i’ll have to go the hospital, hate hospitals…

    #696191
    not I
    Member

    They are great when travelling. In airports shleeping suit cases, carry-ons, hat boxes they are great! Who said there is something not tznius about it. More likely there is a problem with pushing around a RED carriage!!

    You must be pretty thick not to undertand that not a frum woman could be a frum man! I guess you think only women are looking here!

    #696192
    d a
    Member

    I got it! I wasn’t thinking that he was a frum man! Thanks for the explanation!

    #696193

    I don’t live in the N.y area but have used a sling with all of my children as do most of my friends. They are great for soothing kvetchy little ones( I’ve also used it hiking with a 3yr old).If you’ve tried it and have not been comfortable ask someone with experience if you were wearing correctly. My NOJO baby sling is 20 yrs old and still in use.

    #696194
    haifagirl
    Participant

    i know this is really off-topic, but i can’t tell you how disappointed i was when i found out that in e”y they discourage home birth to such an extent that they won’t pay you the regular social security or wtvr they call it here that you get paid for having a baby. they consider it majorly irresponsible, etc. i was soooooo upset!! that now i’ll have to go the hospital, hate hospitals…

    I remember a woman I met in a class I took in college. She had had seven uneventful pregnancies and seven uneventful deliveries. She was still young and about as low-risk as you could get with child #8.

    A problem came up suddenly during delivery. Had she not been in the hospital, both she and the baby would probably have died.

    #696195
    tomim tihye
    Member

    Rocky: And how will you determine that it’s no longer usable?

    #696196
    tomim tihye
    Member

    My only hesitation about using a sling is fear of it suddenly snapping.

    #696197

    As long as the fabric remains sturdy looking,no thin/worn spots and obviously no tears,it’s safe(mine is made of heavy duty denim.) I prefer one that has a padded shoulder area and plastic rings that the fabric doubles back thru so there is no fear of slippage.Yes you can just “tie one on” but there is more of a slippage issue till you practice the knots.

    #696198
    mybat
    Member

    Wow sjs! Can I be a crunchy too? (I just do #1 and 2)

    As for the baby sling, someone gave me an infanti one when my baby was born and I changed it because I really wouldnt use it simply because I am in a very car oriented society. Although if I see I would need it I can always go out and buy one.

    #696199
    anon for this
    Participant

    SJS, another “crunchy” characteristic is extended nursing, with or without tandem nursing.

    Keep in mind, too, that many “crunchy” parents are against circumcision.

    #696200
    oomis
    Participant

    APY is a guy – this is like that old joke where a child was injured and brought in for emergency surgery and the doctor

    said, “I cannot operate on this boy; he is my son.”But the surgeon wasn’t his father, so how do you explain this?

    (Answer: the doctor was the boy’s mother).

    There is nothing wrong with a sling. If it is tzniusdig to carry one’s baby in her arms, it is no less tzniusdig in a sling. And how do we know our Bubbas did not use them in the alteh heim? I think they did! Only in those days they were shawls and big kerchiefs or aprons, not Baby Bjorns.

    #696201
    frumladygit
    Member

    Wow , I am so glad I posted this question, up there origninally! I have had not only entertainment, laughs but informative answers into all ways of life, also including the new meaning of “crunchy”. I just discovered I am a bit crunchy, too, as I make my own granola from scratch, and believe in homebirth, no epidural. I also crunch the granola when I eat it.

    Thanks everyone. By the way, you can see on Youtube, how demonstrations /instructions for making that sling with only a piece of fabric.

    #696202
    emoticon613
    Member

    haifagirl: of course that’s why you have to have a responsible midwife who can recognize problems the second they come up so you can get to a hospital on time. it’s also the best if you live close to a hospital or freestanding birth center with medical equipment (hospital better of course). things like what you’re saying happen in hospitals too, where intervention takes place that was totally unnecessary or much worse, the wrong intervention takes place, and yes it happens. also, often, complications in birth stem from undue stress and discomfort at being away from comfortable setting, or from being exposed, or wtvr the person’s stressed about, and that stress level is much reduced in a home setting. i’ll reiterate that anyone having a home birth must be responsible and hire a midwife who knows what she’s doing. (a doula’s also good, both in hospital and at home.)

    anon for this: well, probaby the cruchy parents of the coffee room are not agains circumcision, right?

    #696203
    haifagirl
    Participant

    haifagirl: of course that’s why you have to have a responsible midwife who can recognize problems the second they come up so you can get to a hospital on time.

    Absolutely right. Although in her case it came up very suddenly and was very serious. She wouldn’t have made it to the hospital.

    #696204
    emoticon613
    Member

    ok, i hear it. that’s the risk you run at a home birth. anyone opting for a home birth must be well aware of the possible ramifications. everyone can hear that. i guess that point that i really want to make is – ANYONE OPTING FOR A HOSPITAL BIRTH MUST BE WELL AWARE OF THE POSSIBLE RAMIFICATIONS!!

    #696205
    SJSinNYC
    Member

    I’m not “pro” circumcision. It does bother me, especially after my last son’s circumcision. He was in so much pain.

    But we do it anyway.

    #696206

    I guess I’m a little crunchy because I have natural births (in hospital) and exclusively nurse, but I have had no success with a sling. I got one as a gift for my 7th and tried it several times but was so uncomfortable in it that I gave up. Anyone who wants to buy a very slightly used uncomfortable sling can let me know.

    #696207
    basmelech
    Participant

    Hey, I’m a frum lady and I used to carry my babies in a backpack over 25 years ago. In certain situations a backpack or a sling is the preferable choice over a stroller, like when hiking in Eretz Yisroel, or if you have a baby and a toddler and don’t have a double stroller. I used to put my baby in the backpack and my toddler in the stroller when I traveled by train or bus. It was easier than a klutzy double stroller. As for being “crunchy” I guess I meet some of the requirements (natural birth,nursed for more than a year, health food etc.)But, actually, I look as conventional as everyone else.

    #696208
    apushatayid
    Participant

    Oomis. Not a single suggested reason was meant to be taken seriously. Perhaps I should use a symbol such as 🙂 to indicate humor (is there a symbol for sarcasim yet?)

    #696209
    sms007
    Member

    oo I’m not crunchy lol. I’m very pro-epidoral (and not cause I have a low pain tolerance!) lol. to each his own! In labor, i was given a diluted solution of epidoral and when it wasn’t enough, i asked for more (as the anesthesiologist or however you spell it, said I should)and the nurse looked at me and said well you cant’ expect to go through labor and not feel anything! b”h shifts switched right then….. Just a note to all the natural births out there: I’ve received some really nasty and hurtful comments from natural birth moms (not saying that you guys would do this) how they think they’re better than me cuz they go for natural births, and how labor must be a sinch for you, so why should you be scared about it? (which isn’t true! may be easier of course, but believe me i felt a whole lot before and after)…….My point- please be careful when talking about this with epidoral moms!

    #696210
    sms007
    Member

    but i do nurse exculsively 🙂

    #696211
    mybat
    Member

    Dont worry sms, i have had all non epidural deliveries, but during my first i definitly should have had an epidural. The Dr was a little nuts and he had me with oxytocin dripping in the IV for 10 hrs! It was really terrible. For my next pregnancies I changed Drs. I had natural deliveries in the hospital without any IV.

    #696212
    oomis
    Participant

    Oomis. Not a single suggested reason was meant to be taken seriously. Perhaps I should use a symbol such as 🙂 to indicate humor (is there a symbol for sarcasim yet?) “

    Why not? They made sense…

    #696213
    anon for this
    Participant

    emoticon, I know that CR posters are not against male circumcision, but just mentioned that point because it’s almost a touchstone of natural parenting.

Viewing 46 posts - 1 through 46 (of 46 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.