I keep my newborns with me everywhere I go. I used to carry them in a sling as this is what all my friends used. Now I use The Moby Wrap.
It took 11 babies before I started using The Moby. I saw a lot of other mothers using this wrap but I’m pretty cheap. I don’t like to spend money on things I don’t need or if I can use something I already have then I’d rather do that. Therefore, it wasn’t until baby #11 before I broke down and bought my first Moby.
It was a used black one from a local consignment shop for $19.99. I was thrilled! My son wasn’t even born yet but I knew I was going to love it because all the mother’s I have spoken with loved theirs. In this post I will break down the pro’s and con’s that I’ve experienced using this wrap.
Pro’s
Colors
There are so many color options to choose from! I love them all. I personally own an aqua one and a black one. I bought the black one thinking it would match anything.
Also, having just had a baby makes one feel ‘fluffy’. Black helps with this. The aqua one was a gift at a baby shower that was thrown for me. I realized that there is life after black and I should try to look past the ‘fluffy’ feeling. There are so many pretty colors out there!
Protectiveness
I’m very protective of my children, particularly my babies. I don’t want anyone touching them. Yes, babies are beautiful, innocent, precious, BUT keep your hands off of my babies. Period.
At the same time I can be timid, especially around people that aren’t malicious, like the passing little old lady at WalMart that wants to give your newborn a kiss on the cheek. Having your baby in The Moby can help you avoid any confrontation at all.
Everyone has their own little bubble around them. Most strangers won’t reach into someone else’s bubble and so therefore your baby is less likely to get touched. This means you need to bring your baby into your bubble to keep them safe from strangers. Few will attempt this with someone they don’t know, no matter how cute they may be!
Also, I just feel safer with my baby being close to me. I’ve always felt vulnerable putting my baby in the car seat in the shopping cart. I’ve always been worried someone would reach in and take my baby and run when I was getting a box of cereal or something.
I never am far from my baby and I always keep my baby buckled into the carseat just to make it more unlikely but it just really doesn’t matter. I am going to be nervous of this happening regardless of any precautions I can think to take.
Skin On Skin
A newborn is held up close and snug on your upper chest when worn right in the Moby. This is beneficial for the baby in many ways.
First off, they can hear your breathing. With a newborn it’s important to have baby close to you for quite some time so they can hear and feel your breathing patterns. This helps regulate their breathing and makes it easier for them to get the hang of breathing on their own. They’ve never had to do it on their own before! I’m sure it can take a little getting used to.
They also will be significantly warmer. They are contained in a little bundle of light blankets right up against you. Your body heat is all they’ll need. During cold weather I’ve actually had to take the light sweater off my baby before because they were sweating. Your body heat is held in quite well by the knit wrap and works well as a blanket. Sometimes I’ve held a blanket over all of the wrap and myself just to keep some breeze off but you can also just wear a jacket that’s a little on the baggy side and wrap it around yourself loosely.
Baby’s head is right at the level of your heart. They’ve spent nine months listening to your heart. Now that they are born they have so many new sounds around them that it can be a little scary for a little baby. Putting them up next to your heart will help them calm down and relax, because this is the safety they once knew.
Con’s
Material Length
There isn’t many con’s but there is two I feel I should mention.
When you are going shopping and don’t have the wrap already on you may find yourself putting the wrap on in the parking lot. With the wraps being 5 yards long they tend to drag on the ground while you’re putting it on. This isn’t nice as parking lots aren’t exactly the cleanest places. The material that’s dragged isn’t the material that is touching your baby, fortunately, but it still is not nice to drag the ends of your Moby in a greasy parking lot.
This problem can be solved by putting your Moby on while at home before getting in your car. The downfall with this (for me at least) is it can make you feel a little warm and/or claustrophobic. It’s strange as I don’t feel this way when my baby is in the wrap but it bothers me to be wrapped up for long without my baby.
Wrapping Older Babies
The second con is when wrapping older babies. This may be the way it is with all cloth wraps, I don’t know as this is the only cloth wrap I use, but the baby doesn’t feel as secured to me. I always keep my hand on her back when I have her in it.
The wrap is made out of knit so it tends to stretch. This is a nice benefit as you can make the baby feel nice and snug but it isn’t nice if the baby is bigger and stretches it. I tend to keep my hand on my baby’s back anyways but some people may not want to have to do this. For people like this I recommend a baby carrier that isn’t made from knit, like the Ergo.
In Conclusion
I love my Moby wrap. I always recommend new mothers getting one, at least for their newborns, so they can experience the closeness of holding their newborn so tight. It is a feeling I wish I was able to experience with all my newborns.
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