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I looked forward to being able to babywear #2. I hadn’t really cared to wear my first and later wished he’d gotten used to it. You know, it’s hard to cook dinner with a 20 pound toddler who insists on being held on your hip grabbing everything!
When a 39-day NICU stay ended in my baby being able to come home fed only through his g-tube, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to wear him. I didn’t know how I would be able to do anything with a toddler and a tiny baby who needed so much extra attention. I asked the NICU nurses if I could wear him. They had no idea what I was talking about, but they said that if it was like tummy time and put pressure on his stomach, it should be avoided.
I met with the surgeon a few weeks after discharge, and he gave me the go-ahead to do tummy time and to wear him! I was so excited to try out my new wrap, and my baby loved it! It put him right to sleep. He slept really well and after an initial cry when I took him out, he seemed so well rested.
However, I struggled because unlike with my first, who I fed when he woke up hungry, I had to fed my baby on a schedule. He would often be happily sleeping away on my chest when it came time to eat. I would put off feeding him 15 or 20 minutes and wake him up to attach his tube. Then the feeding took an hour and the pump was a pain to deal with when babywearing. I was a bit discouraged, but wearing him was worth the frustration.
At first I walked around the house wearing my baby in the wrap and dragging the IV pole his tube was attached to along with me. Thank goodness the tubing is long! Then I started putting the pump in the little backpack it came with. I tried hanging the backpack from the wrap with a carabiner, but it pulled the wrap down and flopped around. I tried hanging it from my belt loop but it made my pants sag. Sometimes I just carried the backpack around and set it near me when I wasn’t moving.
I was thrilled when I saw that Tula came out with the Free To Grow carrier
Quick tip: roll up the extra tubing like you would a hose or extension cord and tuck it into the backpack. Then it won’t hang down for you to trip on.
This has given me so much freedom. One of the benefits of having a baby on a g-tube is not having to stop what you are doing while he eats. I hook up the feeding and take my toddler to the park, go grocery shopping, wash the dishes, fold clothes, play in the yard, go for a walk… the list is endless.
It may seem like a daunting task to babywear when the circumstances aren’t perfect (but are they ever really?), but it is totally worth figuring out what works for you. You may need to try a different type of carrier or a different bag or way of hooking the pump or whatever else your baby needs to you. You may need to find the best time of day to wear your baby. Try different combinations of whatever you can think of until you find what works for you.
I love my baby wrap, but I tend to use it around the house between feedings. My Free-to-Grow carrier is best for tube feedings. For me, babywearing my g-tube baby is as easy as having the right kind of carrier. What have you found helps you to wear a child on a g-tube?
