Babywearing 101: How to bend safely in a baby carrier

Sometimes, during your babywearing adventures, you drop something (hey, it’s all good. We all get butterfingers sometimes!). Or you might need to reach down to get something that requires you to bend down low. The safest way to bend down while carrying your baby in your baby carrier is by keeping your back straight and bending at the knees, like a squat, rather than bending at your waist. By keeping your back straight and squatting to reach lower, you’ll ensure that your baby’s body stays upright – the way she should be in the carrier – and minimizes any risk of her head becoming unsupported or, at worst, falling out of the top of the carrier as a result of a very deep bend.

Squatting to lower yourself down also helps you keep an eye on your baby’s position. It allows you to continue to be at the same level as your baby, i.e., baby’s head close enough to kiss, no matter where you are in the bend. Squatting also makes it easier for you to keep one hand on baby’s head for support, since your balance is dependent upon your core muscles and not your back, the latter of which is not as stable. It’s much easier to keep your balance when engaging your core muscles – working with gravity and the strength of your legs  – and squatting than it is folding over at the waist and leaning far forward. It’s easy enough to see how much more stable squatting is from the photo above. Oh, and hey! Squatting is actually really good for you! There are added benefits to squatting aside from its stability while babywearing. What’s not to love about that? Huzzah!

So, always remember:

Bend at your knees and not your at waist.
Keep yourself stable, keep baby safe.

Happy Babywearing!