Babywearing Gets The Job Done May 20 2012

I didn't get around to writing a blog post for last week. Babywearing didn't get us there, that's for sure. But with a toddler firmly wielding the sharp end of the independence stick, wrappy cuddles are something that usually happen when we're trying to get somewhere (or trying to get to sleep). Shopping and travelling mostly. Navigating the big wide world with a four year old with autism and feet with wings attached, plus fiesty toddler, the only way to get there safely is with one (or both) of them attached to a parent. Babywearing got our son safely through the stress of an interstate trip last January, he spent the entire time at the airport snuggled up to his dad in a very big kid sized carrier. It got my daughter and I down to Sydney for the babywearing masterclass; I arrived with a small suitcase filled with wraps, a couple of changes of clothes, and our toothbrushes. Too easy. 

This week's theme isn't really a big one for us. Babywearing Gets The Job Done. It defies belief the number of times I've attempted to cook dinner or put the washing on the line with  my daughter on my back, only to have her scream blue murder in my ears and demand to get down. Usually I turn to other sources of distraction for these jobs. Whatever works, right? But there's one job, especially if I time it around nap time, that I can always convince her to come up for a cuddle for - vacuuming. The combination of walking constantly and white noise... she loves it. If she's tired, she'll be out in minutes. And if not, she'll hang out peacefully until I'm done. I've even been known to vacuum just to lull her to sleep, vacuuming over the same patch of floor as she nods off. And now that she's getting more and more independent, I often drag the vacuum cleaner out of the cupboard just so that I can get a lovely cuddle. It's not really getting the job done, but shhh, don't anyone tell her...