BABYWEARING DURING TRAVELLING

(All these happened in late July)


It was a last minute notice for a meeting in Langkawi.....after checking a couple of airlines tickets and my bank account, I knew we have to do these all by ourselves.
We have to limit our luggage and after much consideration I took 1 ring sling (RS) , my vatanai wrap and 1 chunei just in case my hubby decided to wear it (he never go near other stash)

So my hubby drove way up north (with all of us of course) started around 10pm at night and reached Kuala Kedah at 5.30am (few times sleeping in the RnR)

It was very challenging to bring 3 growing girls, 1 tot and 1 baby for a holiday particularly when you have to take ferry across the ocean.
Alhamdulillah, after one and half hour, we all reached there safely without any 'messy' incident inside the cruise.



The meeting was on Saturday and Sunday but we decided to stay a day longer to explore Langkawi.

OK...back to babywearing ....

I wrapped most of the time....and I mostly did back carry.....

So here are some tips that I want to share :

1. Be brave and confident on yourself.Backcarry is not hard after all particularly if you got familiar with it beforehand.

2.Be prepared to wrap at any odd place.I have wrapped in the toilet - the dry area with my daughter have to hold the tail for me, on the back (?bonet) of the car - make sure it is not hot and spread your wrap properly , on the bench at the jetty before we took into the boat for a 2 hour ride to explore the Kilim Geoforest park.

3.Wear a proper attire....I found that two pieces attire, particularly with pants is the most appropriate attire for back carry eventhough I did wrap when I was in my jubah...a handful of times without much difficulty.



And also wear a proper hijab ... you dont want to compromise your aurat due to babywearing and actually you dont have to...
As for me, I found that a simple "sarung' hijab is the best - without the brooch to be on my way of wrapping and it covers well too.But I only have a couple of that , if I have to put on the hijab with brooch, I pinned it to be a 'sarung' hijab .

Personally, (solely personal opinion) , I think that back carry is more 'aurat-friendly' than front carry, as during back carry, with proper hijab , the prominent front part is fully covered.
Eventhough with tibetan tie, I did not feel weird with my hijab on.And I can somehow placed the 'shoulder part' of my hijab to cover the shouldre strap, so the covering was perfect.

For front carry, sometime I felt uncomfy because when I strap my baby onto my chest, the B somehow get compressed to the side and it did not look nice...(If you know what I mean ..he..he..)....so sometime I need to spread the shoulder wing to cover it and it did look weird sometime.

Care to give me any tips on that?

4. Watch your steps and take a very good care of yourself.
Just because your baby is with you....so whenever you are hiking of jungle tracking take extra precaution because if you fall , your baby will fall too.
But this is a general reminder, babywearing or not ....at any point of time, whenever your are holding your baby...you must take care of yourself.

5. Please always check your wrap work after you done with it before you take a walk.
You can check thru mirror if it's available or else ask other person such as your hubby or children to make sure that you have done it right.

On and off recheck again whenever you felt uncomfy.
If you dont get it right the first time, dont give up...untie and retry...most of the time you seldom need to do it more than twice.

6. If you dont find a proper place for unwrap your baby from the back, ask your hubby to hold your baby while you unwrap your work.
If not, find a proper place preferably one with sofa so you can seat and untie your baby.

7..Don't hesitate to wear your baby because it is a life saver during travelling and holiday and particularly if you have small baby that need holding all the time, as stroller is out of question.
Like many moms said - BABYWEARING IS FREEDOM and I will add BABYWEARING IS FREEDOM AND ACT OF LOVE.


So I backcarried (BC) Wafa during our trip to the peak of Gunung Mat ...(forgot the name) , via cable car.
Wafa seemed to enjoy the sceneries from my back.


My baby was comfy , happy and sleepy too.
Besides, I have both of my hands free to hold my other kids or taking photo

I did not have problem sight seeing with my baby on my back...but OF COURSE I received curious stares....

I can climbed up and down the slopy track between the top cable station to the bridge safely as I can hold on to the rails whenever I was tired.



And my hands and arms were not tired from holding baby if I dont BW.

But the tracking were not easy for the kids...esp the younger ones..

So thank goodness my hubby brought the chunei and back carry my 2 year old Zulfa.

To make things more dramatic, my 5 year old Fairuz also getting tired and refused to walk, so my dearest hubby have to hand-held her in front while Zulfa was at his back.

My hubby is not a body builder but his loves for his children made him strong, I think .

Hopefully my daughters will remember their dad when he is old and frail and dont mind to carry him in whatever way he is comfy ...Insya allah (but hopefully we dont have to be in that phase - weak and frail and be a burden to everybody)

One Arabic couple felt so amazed looking at my hubby and offered to carry Fairuz, but as expected she cried and then my hubby have to carry her again.

The Arabic man said " Masya Allah...masya Allah.." repeatedly.

Our trip to the Underwater World was also an enjoyable ones...

With Wafa on my back, I practically could enjoy the visit and took photos.



Again, she fallen asleep in no time at my back.
The an hour tour was just like a breeze.



Next, was our 2 hour boat ride exploring the UNESCO-recognized world heritage geoforest.

We have to get on and off from the boat to visit few interesting sites such as the bat cave and the fish pond.

Again, babywearing is my life saver.I just concentrated to watch my steps and enjoyed the ride and my hubby took care the rest of my children.

Opss...beside watching my steps, I also have to watch my head when entering the darkness of the bat cave.Wafa was not crying though.


We also enjoyed the fish and eagle feeding demonstration by the tourist guide.


And again, Wafa dozed off.....thanks to the fresh-cause-us-sleepy ocean breeze.



Eventhough ,it was only a short trip for us but with babywearing, it had made my life much easier and the trip was enjoyable indeed.

We took ferry to Kuala Kedah late in the afternoon and I front carry Wafa this time because I did not want to make a scene of unwrap her inside the ferry.
Fortunately she slept all the way throughout the journey.
The air-cond was so cold and I wrap her tight to my body and she slept on my chest without any sound.I guess my heat gave such a comfort area for her to have a good sleep.
I need not to unwrap her along the way.

unfortunately, no photo for that.

So for mommies out there, you all should BW during travelling because it made your journey much much more easier.



p/s I dedicate this post to all moms and lovely friends in MBW.


Allahu'alam

Ummuzulfa
15 Sept 2009

NOTHING MUCH

Life has been busy lately,both at work and home but I don't have the heart to see my blog so outdated so it's just sharing session this time.

Wafa has been crying lately whenever she wants to sleep and every night I have to 'sling' her to sleep.Babywearing makes my tasks a lot easier.

At work, we got more 'work' from our neighbour , a win-win situation.We got to polish up our skills and they can clear up their trays much faster.

Weekend was family time, trying to entertain them according to our children's need.

Last Saturday was a long and tired day for all of us.

Early morning, rushed to our daughters' school for sports day, held at a nearby stadium (near to their school but not our home).
I guess kakak and Nurul were enjoying themselves, meeting their friends (again and again),teachers, participating in marching events (with very cheerful cheers from all the sport houses).

But,above all, I really respect their teachers for their hard work especially for those who involved in preparing all the events.They were sweating, busy carrying all the props and giving instruction to the kids.

May Allah grant them rahmah.








And I, busy carrying Wafa in my ring sling.She slept most of the time and I got both of my hands free for doing things such as reading the brochures, fanning Wafa and eating.

Babywearing is just great.








We had to escape early as my hubby was rushing to attend the special gathering in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
But we never forgot our lunch, so Mahbub Nasi Briyani in Bangsar was our next stop.

We digged in quite fast as we were hungry but knowing our children with their small appetite, one plate was more than enough for 3 of them.

Of course I can eat while holding Wafa.Wafa never woke up while we were there.



While my hubby went to Masjid Negara to join others, the rest of us were just 'lepaking' at the mosque next to Bangsar Village shopping complex.

We got some time to recharge ourselves.
But my kids were ever feeling fresh after took their short bath at the mosque and I did the same and tried to take a short nap but failed as Zulfa kept me awake all the way.

I managed to take few shots of hubby with kids.



My hubby is always the "last Malay man" (jejaka Melayu terakhir) for all of us :D




Then, airport was our next stop.

Most of my siblings were there, to say goodbye to my mom and my other sister who went to visit my other sister in India( there are 5 girls in my family....and 3 boys) .









This time around, my hubby voluntarily wearing Wafa in a Mei Tai.
Not bad for a first timer, I would say.
And Wafa just fall asleep in no time.
She likes being snuggled, as always

Inspired by it , my brother also wanted to try his Mei Tai (borrowed from yours truly) and not bad also even though Wardah cried and seemed perplexed being carried that way.
She just have to be worn more frequently and I'm quite sure she will like it up there , right at her daddy's heart.















A very long Saturday but very fulfilling.

Being close and spending time with your family is part of Allah's compassion.

Alhamdulillah, Thank you Allah for giving us this opportunity to be there along the way.



Allahu'alam



Ummuzulfa
11 March 2009

"SHE IS CLOSE TO YOUR HEART"

Hmm...today I think I am in my 40 days of confinement, and still counting...

With the help of my ever supportive mother, my helpful maid,my understanding husband and a boost of internet connection and a heavy laptop, my confinement days were not so bad.

Well, the first 2 weeks were quite challenging....to deal wih operation pain and to look after a wound, which was relatively a new experience for me.

Alhamdulillah....my post-op recovery was uneventful and my plan for babywearing only took place after the pain was significantly reduced.

It was not easy, I would say .... the main concern is how to deal with many weird remarks from people around me.

Words hurt....and sometimes it can be very demotivating.

I understand that babywearing is not new in older generation but now, with more household have maids and strollers are very important part of parenthood nowadays, babywearing will sure looks very weird and old fashion indeed...well for most people in Malaysia.

This time I am determine to do it.

I am willing to hear any negative remarks and try not keep any hard feelings toward those words.

And I am determine enough to start wearing my newborn.

Honestly I am not very confident but the resources are abundant for my reference.

I studied the prime reference of babywearing, thebabywearer.com, memorizing every movement and technique I saw in youtube and asked a lot of question to more experienced moms.

Thanks a bunch to fellow local babywearers in our Malaysian forum.They are very supportive and understanding.How I wish I discovered babywearing and cloth diapering earlier, when I have my first child, but I guess , better late than never....

So my journey starts......not very easy to handle tiny, jelly-like human being, the ring and the long fabric.

My first experience with ring sling was not easy but manageable .My virtual friends in MBW did give comments and suggestions.

Let's see how well I fare...

For your information, I have 2 ring slings, 1 from oversea and 1 made by our local mom. I love the second one.

Then I started wrapping.

I never thought of wrapping before....who want to deal with a looooong fabric, 4-5 meters, but this video really gave me 'the inspiration'

Wrapping took a lot more courage and learning curve than ring sling.At first, every time I saw the fabric,my courage seemed to disappear.

I was worried on the technique, on my appearance with that bunch of fabric and of course on how the people around me looked at me.
But once I got the hang of it, my confidence level is up and the all the techniques and method seemed make more sense to me.

The wrapping is the most comfortable method of all babywearing choices.

I don't have any pains and aches and my baby can sleep for hours in it.
Being a regug baby, my baby prefers to sleep upright and wearing her can settle her at the most difficult times.



Babywearing gives me a new meaning of motherhood.

Being close to your baby most of the time is very rewarding.

Beside that, you have both hands free to do a lot of other things, at least comfy enough for browsing the net.

Recently, I went to see my paediatrican for monthly check-up for Wafa and I braved myself to wear her in the ring sling...first time in public.

Sure enough I got many curious stares which I can live with.

Well at least, I did not get any aching arms holding her while waiting for my turn..( more than one hour of waiting).

Then, one senior woman asked me on the age of my baby and gave a remark...

"SHE IS VERY CLOSE TO YOUR HEART"....I just smiled.

YES...SHE IS VERY CLOSE TO MY HEART.....both physically and emotionally.

That moment was very memorable and was like a wake-up call for me. It defines babywearing just right.

That wise aunty just gave me more reasons to continue babywearing.


Hopefully, the way I treat my children now will be regards as compassion and later Allah will have compassion on me in The Judgement Day

Hopefully my children will not forget to make dua for me as mention in His Holy Quran..

"Oh My Lord!, have compassion on them, as they brought me up (when I was ) little

(Al-Israa' 17 :24).

BABYWEARING....WE CARRY THE FUTURE.



Allahu'alam.




Ummuzulfa
2 Feb 2009

BABYWEARING....WE CARRY THE FUTURE

"Why did you carry your baby like that...like an indon maid". That was my aunty's remark.

"I wish I have one like yours ,you can carry your baby and doing housework in one go". My cousin with 8 children responded to my appearance.


That were 2 contradictory remarks I got whenever I wear my baby.

Yes....babywearing...not a new tradition but was given a new trademark.

What is baby wearing by the way?

From this site “Babywearing” simply means holding or carrying a baby or young child using a baby carrier.

And it is not an Indonesian trademark, I can say that with confidence.
And this babywearing thingy has been around in Europe and US for decades!

So please do not feel surprise when you see more and more Malaysians wear their babies in a piece of cloth or trendy baby carriers.

It just natural to hold your baby close to you. Besides you have both of your hands free to do a lot of things.



I can ensure you that many mothers will appreciate a chance to get their household chores done and their babies are not crying....just ask the housewives around particularly when you have a clingy baby.

And babywearing can be your life saver.




BUT...some people might say...now you have a stroller, why should you have to pamper your child, later he/she can be so 'spoiled'

I'm sorry, but I don't agree with that argument for few reasons :

1. Not everywhere have a stroller friendly area especially in Malaysia. Once, I got scolded by the KTM staff because bringing stroller inside the commuter.


2. Once a child, always a child, so they need their parents esp mothers most of the time so there's no reason for us to scare that we would spoil them. Some more we have only the first few years of their life to bond with them.

3.The closer we get to our children, hopefully the stronger the bond will be and hopefully they will love us forever, whenever they will be in the future.





4. With most of the mothers are working nowadays, a big proportion of the children's time are with the maids, grannies or babysitters so wearing your babies is one way to bond with them.

Other good reasons to wear your baby include it can calm fussy babies, reduce colic leading to happier and healthier babies and confident parents.

Still do not believe me ? Check our malaysian babywearer group, as well as international group.

And we do have international babywearing week's celebration around the globe as well as in Malaysia.



Want to know various types of carriers? Just to mention a few - pouch, ring sling, Mei Tai,wrap and soft structure carriers etc....

You just need to google any of them and you will get all the info you need.




And more great news are now we got more and more mothers in Malaysia are into making 'doing-it-yourself" carriers and some are for sale and check this one too if you want to win a free Mei Tai proudly created by our Malaysian mama.

Great news for parents who are in search of carriers with affordable price as imported ones can be very pricey !



So, parents out there, let us baby wearing because we carry the future.....



Ummuzulfa
6 Nov 2008



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