The Fussy Baby Book: Parenting your high-need child from birth to five. Martha Sears

a duck takes to water; others may initially find the sling awkward. Also, some babies at first have difficulty settling in the sling. Perhaps they find it too confining. For the best long-term results, get your baby used to being worn in the first week, so that she soon realizes that the sling is where she belongs. It takes some practice, but the sling will soon become your norm of infant care. Take lessons from veteran parents who have logged many miles wearing their babies in a sling in various carrying positions and in many circumstances. Find one of these experts to show you how to wear the sling so it’s most comfortable for you and most settling for baby. Keep experimenting with various positions until you find one that works; the favourite position may change with baby’s moods and motor development. Most high-need babies prefer to be carried in the forward-facing position (see figure opposite).

      For a busy parent of a fussy infant, a baby sling will be one of your most indispensable infant-care items. You won’t get dressed without it.

      

       I thought I would definitely have a baby who slept through the night, in his cot, in his room, and that he would awake only to feed and for nappy changes. How naive! Jason knew what kind of parenting he needed right from the start. He was truly a fussy baby, and we nicknamed him “More”. He screamed if I put him down even to get dressed. He seemed to nurse constantly, and he rarely slept. As long as he was in my arms or nestled on my husband’s chest, he was content, happy, and alert. Any deviation from that was a disaster for everyone. A friend of mine recommended a baby sling so that I could have my hands free to do other things and not begin to feel resentful of all the time a baby takes up. The sling was our saviour! I loved carrying him, and it allowed me to get other things done. The sling ended the pass-the-baby-around sport that so many parents have accepted as just the way things are. There is no way Jason would have stood for being bounced around from person to person for an entire day. An added benefit of the sling was that he was able to feed anywhere and everywhere while in the sling. We went everywhere with him – weddings, funerals, dinners, grocery shopping, doctor visits, vacations, everywhere. Christmas shopping with Jason in the sling was a breeze. I can’t imagine how mothers can manoeuvre buggies through the narrow aisles in most shops. Everywhere we went people remarked how wonderful my baby was. I always pointed out that since my child felt right and was getting his needs met, he really had no reason to be upset.