At what age did you start letting your babies cry a bit without picking them up right away?

Apparently 35 or something. I always picked them up right away. It was easier on all of us that way. They stopped the crying thing on their own.

And I'm totally clueless about these things, so I just keep my mouth shut, which then seems to frustrate my brother, because he seems to think I'm judging them or something, which I'm not. I just don't know what to say. So, I want to be supportive in a knowledgeable way, I guess.

Honestly, as a former nanny who has seen a number of new parents with kids, I don't think there is much you can do since it seems that they have both already made the choice that they prefer holding to crying. In my experience, there is usually one parent who forces the issue but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Why have they been pointed away from the Bjorn?

They were told in their breastfeeding class that the Bjorn, and those like the Bjorn, cause hip displacement or something, because they're not really designed for infants. Or something like that.

I have to jump into the baby carrying discussion!

I used the Bjorn and a Maya wrap sling with Ellie (Bjorn from about 2 weeks and the Maya wrap from about 3 months). I *love* the sling because I could do almost anything, include nurse, hands free, or maybe with one hand just because I liked to feel her.

For this baby I bought a Peanut Shell (a pouch not a sling) and two other ring slings. Ring slings are very adjustable and can be used in a zillion different ways (I used mine with Ellie until she was about 2 and we only quit because it's so hot here). I got the pouch because it looks like it might be quicker to put the baby into and maybe cooler.

(I should add that, as a toddler, I let her fuss if she's just being fussy. If she's actually upset, she gets picked up and comforted. It's pretty easy to tell the difference between whinging and sorrow.)

This is me too. I pretty much always pick her up if she's upset, unless it's a temper tantrum thing, but that doesn't happen with babies.

{{Ginger}}

the Bjorn, and those like the Bjorn, cause hip displacement or something

all I can really say to that is that Iris is fine. But I hated it - it's not for the wee parent. Liked our sling, but once I got our ergo, nothing else mattered.

VW, they may also want to look into one of these - [link] which was nothing short of a miracle a couple times.

but I'm seconding Plei - work was near impossible until we got a sitter.

Some kind of bouncy swing always seems to be the miracle solution. I wonder why?

I was able to work at home some when Dillo was 2-4 months old. Little stretches, often with him lying on the floor on his back with a balloon tied to one ankle. Or typing one-handed with him asleep in my arm. But he was a very easy baby, and I was only trying to work 2 hours a day, and actually working less than that.

I don't think most people can do work from home that requires any kind of concentration with a baby.

Ginger, I got your e-mail, and thank you thank you thank you, in advance.

Some kind of bouncy swing always seems to be the miracle solution.

We got them a swing at Thanksgiving, and he doesn't really like it. Only stays in it for about 3-5 minutes at a time before he starts crying again.

They were told in their breastfeeding class that the Bjorn, and those like the Bjorn, cause hip displacement or something, because they're not really designed for infants. Or something like that.

Sling propaganda! I think they claim spine compression or something. Of course, if your large chest gets in the way of the sling, and your kid doesn't like it, it doesn't matter what the sling people claim, a sling is not the best option. (I spent a lot of time reading Mothering.com's boards. But then I realized that my eyes were in a constant state of rolling out of my head, so I quit.)

OH! You know what REALLY helped?

The Neglect-O-Matic.

The Empress and Empire gifted me with a Graco swing, because Aimee is AWESOME. Lillian totally dug it. I could put her in it, and she'd be happy as a clam for long enough for me to turn back into a human.