Baby Wearing

As Eli gets bigger and bigger these days, it is virtually impossible to carry him in any of the baby wearing devices (such as the Baby Bjorn or Moby Wrap) because you basically just get pulled over by the weight. But, I'm constantly surprised when I look outside around Accra and see so many women carrying their toddlers on their back with a simple piece of cloth. They not only carry the toddler but simultaneously walk around in the hot sun carrying a big bowl of mangos on their head! This is quite a difficult stage with Eli because he's not yet walking comfortably (but he is walking some) but he is so heavy to carry (a whopping 24 pounds!) so going around with him in my arms is exhausting. I've always thought it seemed like a great idea to carry him on my back but have been too scared to try it for fear he'll fall straight down on the floor. Luckily he at leasts likes riding in the grocery cart at the supermarket

The other day, I got home from running errands and Rita told me that she put Eli on her back for a while as she cleaned and he loved it! I had told her that she could try it some day with him if he didn't seem to want to play and she needed to get some housework done. So she showed me how she tied him on and he did seem pretty content up there, probably because he can see so much more of what she's doing than from the floor.


I wanted to get in on the action thinking this would be a great technique from time to time. We decided it would be best to get him tied on over something soft so we sat over our bed. I watched as Rita gracefully transferred Eli from her hip to her back by leaning over and he just balanced there while she got the fabric in place. This is the trickiest part if you ask me because you wouldn't think a baby would just lay still sprawled on your back but he did. Of course when I tried it, he squirmed and wiggled his way out of the fabric before I could even tie it around me! We gave it a second try but the same thing happened. So I think I'll leave that idea for a while but it was fun to at least try.