Who am I Wearing? (Reverie. Sometimes Bo.)

The following post is part of a sponsored partnership with ErgoBaby. I originally got the idea for #whoareyouwearing watching red carpet footage and thinking, well, I'm wearing an actual human, I wonder how many are doing the same on the various carpets and floors, sidewalks and trails, paths and fields all over the world? 

...And then I spoke to my friends at Ergobaby and they agreed to partner with me on a sort of storytelling series featuring parents and caretakers and their babywearing stories and photos. I announced the kick-off a few weeks ago on IG and have so enjoyed looking at your photos and reading your words since. Today's post includes my story as well as the first five winners of the #whoareyouwearing Instagram contest. (To enter to win one of the ten additional carriers I'll be giving away over the next two months, post a babywearing photo & story and tag #whoareyouwearing.)

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Babywearing has been a huge source of joy (and relief) for me since Archer was born but it wasn't until the twins entered stage left that I became the president of The Babywearing Fan Club. Babywearing enabled me to have one on one time with my babes. Not that it was a very fair/balanced 50/50 split... Bo needed constant holding/squeezing or else she would scream... for hours. (I wore her for the first six months of her life because otherwise she would scream without stopping. It was... not an easy time.)

Revi was the world's easiest infant/best sport and now, it's her turn to burrow in my chest/back/shoulders. I wear Revi daily, around the house, on walks, to pick the big kids up from school...  She brings me the Ergo and says "your back!" and then we do this dance where I get down and she hops on and straps go flying and lickety split, we're in business.

Occasionally Revi falls asleep or plays with my hair or whispers "hi, mama" in my ear... sometimes she wants to be held because she's tired or needs a break from Bo.  (I wear Bo occasionally, too, but only for a few minutes at a time and then she's like DOWN! PUT ME DOWN! I WALK NOW!)

Where Bo is light, Revi is peace (we middle-named them backwards) and holding her puts me at ease like nothing else at the moment. Revi is my Namaste. She is where I go when I need to exist in the moment.

All children are different, of course. Archer and Fable had no desire to be worn at this age but for Revi, it's comforting and for me, well, I could carry her all day. I love feeling like I still have a baby who wants to be close.

Having all of this special time with Revi feels like the scale has tipped after spending our early days of twinfancy with Bo's face in my chest, sweat soup down my cleav. (Also it is FAR easier chasing Bo with Revi on my back/front than it is with Revi not on my back.)

My love for Ergo knows no bounds and I am thrilled to be joining forces with Ergobaby and my fellow babywearing humans for this campaign. Congrats to the following five #whoareyouwearing winners: mamas, papas and grandmas who wear their humans with love and light.

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Brandy Luangrath

"Who am I wearing? That is my sweet baby boy. I have a serious addiction to cuddling,snuggling, baby wearing my babies. After we decided to begin the journey to become parents it took longer than we expected. We were so happy and excited when we finally became pregnant. Once he was born I didn't want to put him down....as well as he always wanted to be in our arms... We decided it was time to add to our family again and we were prepared to struggle with it... We were happy to see a positive and our little one became a big brother. Baby wearing took on a whole new purpose. It allowed our youngest to still have all the time with us that a newborn should and we still were able to have free hands for our first little guy who needed mom and dad just as much. Baby wearing feels natural, it feels right. Our little ones are happy and so are we. No bulky baby gear needed, just a carrier and our little one on our chest and we are ready for the day. We are hoping to be blessed with another sweet baby in 2014 and I'm sure baby wearing will be very important with three little ones." - @brandyluangrath

Sherisa De Groot: 

"Baby wearing has been one of many amazing parts of this past year. While it was physically difficult at first, once my back and hips were happy with me again baby wearing became a breeze. Still, I am glad I had different carriers that allowed me the opportunity to keep him close. I started using the Ergo when he was around 3 months old and haven't looked back. Both my husband and I carry little Seiji and it's incredibly convenient. The sweetest bit is right now Seiji doesn't know any other mode of transport. He's been in his stroller less than 5 times in his life. I don't know how many times people have said, "I wish I had someone to carry me around like that!" They are small for such a short time; I love keeping him close and feeling him rub my side as we walk all over Amsterdam together. I'm looking forward to at least another year of it. " - @sherisad

You can follow along with Sherisha on her blog, Baby the Great 

Amy Roberts: 

"After finding out I was pregnant, like most new moms the very first thing I did was figure out my due date. I began to have a small heart attack when I realized my sweet babe would only be 6 weeks old when my Holiday MRKT event (a vintage, handmade, and restored market with bi-annual events in the PHX area) rolled around. I had friends who said they didn't even leave the house for six weeks! How was I going to pull this off?! Enter the Ergo baby carrier. My Ergo allowed me to do everything I need to do to put on another successful event, while still spending close quality time with my new baby. I didn't have to worry about the mommy-gilt of leaving her, the fear of not having enough bonding time, or have to sacrifice further pursuing my dreams with MRKT. Baby wearing allows me to do it all..with my happy baby right by my side! " - @thisismrkt

You can follow Amy's MRKT shenanigans over at her blog, www.thisismrkt.com. 

Shelia Maia('s husband, Dan) 

"Who am I wearing? well I'm not wearing anyone because my pregnant body is achy. but my husband @cadovoluntas is a master babywearer in his @ergobaby sport. we had an original ergo that we got when our oldest daughter, Amelia, was born. but after Elsie was born, Danny really wanted a carrier that would fit him comfortably. he's 6'3", a tall and broad man. Elsie is 9 months and cozy as ever. it's been SUCH a blessing to have him so into#babywearing. he gets snuggle time after a long day at work. And I get to go to bed early." - @sheliamaia

You can follow along with Maia on her blog, here. 

Lara Hanlon and her mother, Ann

"Here I am (28 weeks pregnant!) and my mom (57 years old!) wearing my 2.5 year old daughter Carys while on a 4.5 hour hike... We brought my daughter with us on our hike but I was nervous, knowing she wouldn't be able to walk the whole way and I was too pregnant to carry her long distances. Sure enough, Carys fell asleep in the carrier and it was just as we were hitting the uphill portion of the return trail. The dead weight was a little too much for me and my mom insisted on taking her, so we transferred the sleeping toddler and the carrier to my mom's back and she carried her the rest of the way!  She's stronger than I am! My mom loves camping and hiking and biking and nature and isn't happy if she's not able to enjoy those things. Us kids joke about it, because so often we'll be going somewhere and she'll decide to walk there instead - we're talking places miles and miles away - so my dad will show up in the car and we'll ask, "Where's mom?" and the answer is always, "Oh, she decided to walk." She's the fastest walker I've ever met and we are constantly telling her to slow down when we walk with her because we, 30+ years younger, can't keep up. She nurtures that sense of wonder that all small children have - she never hesitates to sit down on the ground with Carys and be just as excited over the sparkly rock that Carys discovered. They read books. They cook. They take walks. Snowfall? Dead bird? Creek? She's happy to explore it all with Carys, with a matched sense of wonder and awe. My mom LIVES LIFE, in bold and italics and caps. Around her, life is something to experience and enjoy and take advantage of, not just something that happens to you. It makes total sense to me that she enjoys wearing the kids - I think baby wearing (she's worn my daughter a LOT) really helps you connect with the world AND your kid. 

My mom recently moved halfway across the country, so we try to meet halfway regularly. This was one of our camping trips. Seeing the bond between my mother and my daughter touches me deeply, and I love re-living the best parts of my childhood through their relationship. " - @largirl

You can follow along with Lara on her blog, here. 

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Thanks to everyone who has shared photos + stories so far. Love =  always in fashion. Carry on, Carriers!

GGC