Babywearing is the age-old practice of using a carrier to hold your baby close to your body. Parents and caregivers throughout history and across cultures have practiced babywearing as a way of life. More recently, the Western world has become increasingly aware of the many ways babywearing can benefit child, caregiver, and family unit.
My goal is to help you find a way to comfortably and safely wear your baby. I know that babies' needs and schedules are unpredictable, and I am happy to meet with you in your home or another location convenient to you.
I have been wearing my own children since 2009. For my family, wearing brought comfort and connection to my older daughter. She wanted to be held constantly, and wearing helped meet that need. I worked full time outside the home and wearing also helped us reconnect on evenings and weekends. I felt able to build a strong relationship with my daughter even though I was away from her much of the day. For my younger daughter, wearing was convenient so that I could keep up with my older daughter and manage the household. Wearing allowed me to meet her needs and deepen our attachment despite our busy environment.
Babywearing has been such a benefit to my family that I have dedicated much of my time since then to helping other families wear their babies by volunteering at local babywearing group meetings, establishing a local babywearing group and learning library in Jacksonville, and answering countless questions about babywearing for friends and family and in online group forums. Prior to becoming a mother, I worked as a counselor with new moms and babies to promote healthy attachment and mental wellness. Witnessing parents and babies have those "aha" moments of bonding is a beautiful privilege.
all content copyright 2016 Beth Secrist All photos used under the Creative Commons license through Flickr. Photography by: littletuesday12, claudia, Miriam Pepper, seethefam, Keren Murphy, Nichole, Suzanne Shahar, Islas McGhee Family, cathredfern, PJ Souders, Vasile Cotovanu, Dan Kuhs/Orchard View Photography, Colter McCorkindale, and Kristi Hayes-Devlin