Hi Mike and Carmen! Anna told us about your happy occasion, therefore our greetings earlier on... thought I'll quickly check out the progress, as I am very sad and unemployed these days and have no life. But couldn't resist giving you some advice about carrying (blame urself for asking, and feel free to ignore it!) as even though we are very childless at the moment, I do have 6 nieces and nephews and have worked in nurseries, and I could recommend 2 things that might just save your sanity and your back.
The first thing is: a baby sling. A good one is the Hug-a-Bug one, as so: http://www.hugabub.com/. It's very good especially if Nils has a tendency for colic, as you can sooth him at the same time when you're doing other stuff with ur hands like laundry etc, and also for taking buses etc, as it can be difficult getting prams in and out of them. It's better for your back than one of these rugsack things, and also more comfortable for the baby, as you adjust the way you tie the sling according to the baby's size, you can tie the baby at the back or especially for smaller babies in the front, so the baby feels closer to you (for newborns, they can hear your heartbeat).
Thing Two: Baby rocker/bouncer, or what ever each manufacturer calls them (some examples: http://www.lastenturva.fi/tuotevalikoima/sitterit.html). They are great because you don't have to carry the baby all the time, if you have visitors, if you're cooking etc, you just put the baby in the rocker, which you can leave on the floor, or lift on the sofa, on the kitchen table (provided the baby hasn't realised how to move it by itself yet) and so the baby is a bit upright and sees you all the time, which often is enough to keep it calm. If he gets a bit restless, you can give the bouncer a bit of a bounce to sooth the baby, also if the baby doesn't really let guest hold him, he'll usually be happy to play with them whilst in his bouncer. They're also great cos if you start the baby on some solids before he sits upright, the bouncer can be used for feeding, as it's damn hard trying to feed a wiggling baby whilst holding him.
There you go, but like I said to you earlier Carmen, you just need to decide for urself what's the best option for you and ur baby, as you know him best, these are just some things I know my sisters have found really useful. Hope all goes good and Little Nils keeps you busy :)!
Liisa
-- Anonymous 2006-08-24 08:19 UTC