So two weeks ago I flew over to Sicily to see my sister, her husband and their 4 week old daughter.
Firstly on the flight we got talking to an Italian woman who was wearing a Baby Bjorn carrier (with a baby obviously). She said it was very comfy and handy to move around in. Another recommendation for them, so that's on my list.
Then I met my niece for the first time.
I forgot how small babies are !
And she's very cute !
I was planning on having a go changing a nappy, but after watching my sister have fun with her daughters bum farting out diarrhoea , I thought I'd leave her too it.
I do think I can manage it if I can hold the legs up though, so I'm going to see if I can get some of the leg ties that some guy invented. They sound like cable ties, but elastic and Velcro to hold the legs together. So you put your arm through and hold the legs with the wrist, whilst wiping the bum, with your hand.
A harness or something to hold the baby down would be useful because babies like to wriggle !. A friend recommends putting a leg over (when on the floor) but I'm slightly worried doing that with a new born.
I did though hold her several ways, (without dropper her, much to my sister's delight.)
One way I tried was to have her laying on the length of my arm with my hand supporting her head. This was easy and felt fairly stable and totally one handed. Although I think I'll need to improve my arm muscles more if I'm going to do this for long periods of time.
Also as you can see I did hold her using a cushion to support her, which those C shaped doughnuts are ideal for, amazingly my stomach isn't big enough for her to sit on !
I didn't try picking her up from laying as my sister looked a bit nervous, so was handed her all the time. This though, is something I do need to practice, whether using a device or along my arm.
Although to be honest, I'll have plenty of time to practice in a few months !
Funnily I did manage things that my wife couldn't do, such as putting on her socks (the babies - not my wife's) with one hand. This is probably down to my usual way that I have adapted to life generally, so tasks like that just come natural to me.
Overall in the short 4 days I was in Sicily, apart from seeing my sister, hubby and all his family (which I can't really talk to, as I don't speak any Italian...yet) and my beautiful niece, the trip did give me more confidence that I'll be able to cope with things when my little one arrives.
29th week now, so just over 10 weeks left !
