Two things that I haven't seen mentioned in regard to the current baby
bucket/constantly on back discussions.

One, many kids don't *like* to be on their tummies!  Mine hated it, as
did every one of the kids in my mom's group.  Perhaps part of
approaching moms about the benefits of back to sleep/front to play needs
to acknowledge that the baby may resist.  It took all of us a while to
decide that the kids *needed* tummy time and to develop the skills to
keep them happy in that position for longer and longer periods of time.

Two, baby buckets and bouncy chairs may be objectionable for lots of
reasons, BUT they saved my sorry soul in the early months!  My son, one
hundred percent breastfed for 6 months, very slow introduction of solids
after that, had a horrific problem with gas or some such thing that made
the upright position his much preferred option.  He HATED the sling and
I didn't get to use that much till he was "hip-worthy" and could be
slung on a hip. (He tolerated upright positions in sling or front pack
for short periods as an infant.)  He spent a lot of time, probably 8-10
hours waking time at least each day, in my (or my husband's) arms but
constantly fussing for a new position.  WHen I needed my hands I had no
choice but to try to get him to sleep or to put him in the bouncy chair,
from which he would watch me happily for short periods of time, and
often fall asleep. He didn't sleep well and there were nights when it
seemed that the only position that worked for him was to be in the
bucket seat... parked between us in the bed!  He was never diagnosed
with GER and I honestly don't think he had it. He wasn't in severe pain,
just discomfort.  My ped recommended the use of the bucket seat/bouncy
chair, as did more than one LLL contact.  My point is that people using
the bucket seats may be doing so for reasons that aren't related to not
wanting to hold their kids, etc., and also that even in the absence of
full-blown GER the upright position may be a baby's most comfortable
position.  I completely agree kids need to be in loving arms, not
plastic ones, but in some cases those plastic arms are moms' only
break.  Maligning them without offering some other solution would
devastate some moms.

Just a couple of thoughts that I haven't seen spoken.

Best wishes,
Karen Lowell

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