Babywearing at the Olympic Games

About a year ago I made a phone call to an old friend from my short life as a mountaneer. She didn’t know I’d become a mom, so when she asked if I was still climbing mountains, my response was something like:

“well, I changed the backpack for my son. Literally, because I’ve carried him so much since he was a baby.”

I don’t know what kind of babywearing mom I’d have been if I wouldn’t have had some experience backpacking and climbing with heavy luggage. Maybe I’d have seen the whole babywearing idea as a mothering task, who knows?

Back to my reality, I can say I have experienced our almost 4 years long babywearing journey as the most rewarding sport I’ve ever practiced. For the first time in my life I was receiving unconditional love and instant feedback on my performance. Isn’t it the perfect environment for practicing a sport?

From the first time I carried my baby inside an improvised cloth with a knot, I felt I wanted to achieve perfection, learn new techniques and try different “gear”. I kept learning. We kept learning until we became experts.

Soon we became a team when my little monkey got the hang of it. He’s always loved to ride a sling, and even enjoyed playing with me to invent new positions. We didn’t do this out of necessity, or in order to have him entertained. We played slinging because we enjoyed so much.

Back to the title of this post, I’m not suggesting that babywearing should be considered as a new olympic sport – Not that I think anyone would even find it worth considering.

What I mean is that we moms and dads, and all members of the big babywearing family, can choose to *enjoy* wearing our babies and even feel like elite sportsmen and women when doing so.

Want some after birth fun? Go get your gear (hey, it could be a bedsheet), learn good techniques, practice with safety and get your team partner comfortably attached to you. See you in London 2010!

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