A Conversation Starter

This week, we went to visit some friends who had just had a baby. I had seen my friend across church a few days earlier, wearing her little one in a stretchy. She was doing an amazing job! Though I could see a few ways in which her carry could be more comfortable and safer if she had a greater awareness of ‘TICKS’.

I’ve recently qualified as a babywearing consultant and so I planned to offer my friend a session, but I was thinking also how I might approach things if it was just more of a passing opportunity. This was a big motivation behind the book Carry You Close. Because it can be so hard to start the conversation with people when people are new to babywearing, doing their best, while dealing with hormones, sleep deprivation and all the demands of a new baby. Sometimes it feels even harder if it’s a friend! Giving a new parent a copy of Carry You Close, which walks them through the safe babywearing ‘TICKS’, can in itself help new parents to think about those important safety checks. It can also be the difficult conversation starter. Instead of immediately directing our attention at them and how they are wearing their baby, Carry You Close can ease us into the chat.

I’ve created this as a tool for our community. A tool for babywearing consultants, peer supporters and general babywearing enthusiasts, as well as for the new parents themselves. I hope it’s a useful book to have on your child’s bookshelf. An opening to chat more about safe babywearing with those we come in contact with, grabbing it off the shelf, popping it in the change bag, maybe gifting one to a friend. Starting the conversation from there.

It goes without saying that this is not the be-all-and-end-all. But hopefully it’s a useful tool for our belts. And hopefully you’ll find it a lovely read, too!