During my last pregnancy, I caught a virus. It came on slowly. The first symptom was a vague interest in a passing stranger wearing a Baby Bjorn. I thought it looked interesting but I wasn’t sold on how comfortable it might be. Before I knew it, I found myself looking up baby carriers and slingson eBay.

There were so many! I couldn’t make a purchase- I didn’t know enough. What to do? I thought I’d just forget about it- too hard to figure out, right? But that’s not how this bug works. I found myself idly reading blogs and forum threads about which carriers were best, which were safest, which were easiest to use.

Somehow, I found myself standing at the front door of a stranger, ready to hand over $80 for a second hand Ergobaby carrier. Soon after, the postman delivered a red cotton ring sling and a pouch sling. I felt I was all set.

Baby B arrived and I soon mastered the ring sling. I tried the pouch a few times but couldn’t work it out. Google lead me to the TICKS guidelines:

Image source

So the pouch went by the wayside and virus really took root. I had worked out the Ergo but it was….well… black and…plain. Which is totally fine and was not an issue at all…Until the virus had really taken hold! You see, the Babywearing Bug likes pretties. It’s not very often that the Babywearing Bug strikes in it’s mildest form, limiting the host to one or two simple carriers.

It escalates. Quickly.

One thing to watch out for if you do become infected is that it can be very contagious. Your family aren’t safe. Before you know it, your partner will be using your slings and carriers.

If you have older children, they aren’t immune.

Even the child you’re usually wearing might start displaying signs of infection.

Then there are your friends. They aren’t around you nearly as much as your family, right? So they should be pretty safe, right? Wrong. Even if they chuckle at you while you hang out your new your selendang to dry after washing and call you a crazy hippy, they can still catch the bug.  Even if they never really used a carrier before except a brief foray with a Bjorn- once the infection hits, there is nothing you can do but ride it out. Even if they were one of the lucky ones, who only had a mild case before and was perfectly satisfied with the one or two carriers they had- be warned- exposure can reignite the dormant bug. Here’s the story of how I unwittingly infected 3 friends.

Excuse the grainy shot!

Take the first friend I mentioned.

We’ll call her Friend 1. Mum of a primary school kiddo, a toddler and now a newborn. Also now the proud owner of a woven ring sling, woven wrap, mei tai and an Ergo who has a wrap conversion structured carrier on the way.

The next one mentioned? Let’s call her Friend 2. She never really got into the idea. One day she mentioned how frustrating it was having to carry her petite little miss when dropping off her older child at school. I gave her a ring sling and a 5 minute tutorial. She has a mei tai now as well.

The third one, Friend 3, was pretty happy with her Ergo for a long time. Then she tried on my Tula Carrier…

Really, it’s been the Tula that did it. Seems this virus can force the host to fixate on a certain type of carrier, wrap or sling and even that fixation can be caught.

Case in point being myself and the three lovely ladies I’ve been telling you about. Take lovely Friend 3, for example. She tried on my Tula and saw immediately how much more comfortable it was for a bigger child and ordered her own…with custom accessories of course. Before too long she was avidly figuring out how the stockings work and scored herself a beautiful full wrap conversion of which I am insanely jealous. So now she has two!

Tandem Tula-ing!

Except, here’s the thing. This other one she really wanted came up in a stocking…so Tula #3 is it’s on the way from the U.S of A!.

In the same week, I decided I really needed this Tula, because unicorns!!! …am I right?

Also in that same week, the other two friends I mentioned? Friend 1 ordered this Tula– called ‘Float Away’ and Friend 2? She had ordered the beautiful ‘Oasis’ Tula. So all of us. Independently. In the same week.

This is how insidious and contagious the Babywearing Bug can be. You, your family, your friends… no one is safe!

Have you caught the bug?