Carolee said about the criticism of using "baby buckets": There are times
when women who are past the infant/toddler years give advice/criticism to
the mothers of young
children and it sounds like they are out of touch with what parenting a
small baby is like.  I think as people in service to said mothers, it is
important that we don't over simplify the demands of caring for a baby
and to not be so quick to criticized the way in which some choose to
manage.


I agree that people whose children are older forget what it's like.  (Mine
are 13, 8 and 22 months.) But I also think that the baby carriers are
overused in this country in general. When my second child (9.5 lbs at birth
so he was not delicate looking) was a week old my husband and I took him in
for a check-up. Afterwards, we got on the elevator with a man.  I was
carrying Nicholas, who was asleep, facing me on my chest with both of my
hands on him.  The man on the elevator said "How old is your baby?"  I said
"He's one week old."  The man hesitated a minute, then said "Shouldn't he
be in something?"  It took me a minute to realize what he meant.  He was
uncomfortable seeing a baby being held in its mother's arms!  I assured him
that I wouldn't drop him and he was safe.  This was one of the incidents
that got me interested in baby seats and swings and other paraphernalia
that we seem to think babies should be kept in.

-Lucy Towbin, MSW,IBCLC
Still carrying #3 a lot in Little Rock

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