How to wear your baby to work
nature.com
How to wear your baby to work
1–10 of 44 posts
Re: How to wear your baby to work
#2> Fast forward three years to the birth of my second child earlier this year, and I am a senior postdoc and the president of our local babywearing group. I started wearing number 2 to the lab two weeks after she was born, because I was planning to apply for faculty jobs, and I was worried that taking time off would weaken my applications.
Nothing to do with baby wearing (which I am a huge proponent of) but this sounds miserable. Still a postdoc after three years and going in to the lab two weeks after giving birth? We are producing way too many grad students.
Re: How to wear your baby to work
#3Being a father I cannot comment too much on wearing baby to work. (I would be inclined to say that mothers, even scientist mothers, should be given sufficient parental leave, and that this should be adjusted for in all hiring processes.)
But I did frequently wear both our babies in a sling during lots of other activities. Hiking, cross country skiing, strolling around town, doing small projects around the house, or just sitting down to read a book, are all really nice activities to do while wearing baby. All parents should try it. It's a closeness to your baby that is hard to convey if you haven't experienced it.
Re: How to wear your baby to work
#4> Fast forward three years to the birth of my second child earlier this year, and I am a senior postdoc and the president of our local babywearing group. I started wearing number 2 to the lab two weeks after she was born, because I was planning to apply for faculty jobs, and I was worried that taking time off would weaken my applications. Nothing to do with baby wearing (which I am a huge proponent of) but this sound…
Maybe she is delaying applying for a position because she has to literally wear a baby all day? It's difficult to have a job and an infant, so why try and get an even more demanding job when you are in that stage of your life.
Re: How to wear your baby to work
#5I think it's great her work allowed this and to the degree that it is not distracting for others, more workplaces should do so. I've done a lot of coding in 2020 during WFH with my son on my lap and I must say it's very pleasant
Re: How to wear your baby to work
#6Baby wearing is also a good way for dads to find their place in baby care. Take the time to learn a couple sling knots. Having the skiing with you is as essentiel as having a towel with you... It is a towel, blanket, picnic blanket, carpet, bed, curtain and sun screen. No single takers allowed!
Re: How to wear your baby to work
#7I have thought about how it would be societally healthy for parents to bring their babies and infants to work. In modern times we treat child-rearing as a private matter to be hidden from public adult life, but it’s long been a communal matter.
Admittedly, I’m not great with kids: I don’t have the instincts yet. But I can recognize that childcare isn’t something that someone can schedule as a 4-hour bloc to be one-and-done in the evening (if they can’t or don’t want to hand their child to some hired service): it’s interwoven throughout a parent’s day. Sure, there will be crying and other noises, but I can deal with that. It seems to me artificial to make the 9am-5pm workday so sterile and devoid of organic human activity.
I’m young and was a child of a single working mother not very long ago. I remember it being difficult for her. But I am now grown and — in a nod to my mother and other parents like her — favor a parent-friendly work culture.
Re: How to wear your baby to work
#8> Fast forward three years to the birth of my second child earlier this year, and I am a senior postdoc and the president of our local babywearing group. I started wearing number 2 to the lab two weeks after she was born, because I was planning to apply for faculty jobs, and I was worried that taking time off would weaken my applications. Nothing to do with baby wearing (which I am a huge proponent of) but this sound…
> Still a postdoc after three years and going in to the lab two weeks after giving birth? We are producing way too many grad students.
No, you're lacking adequate protection for fresh parents, mothers and fathers alike.
At the moment career market forces have the upper hand - they can select for those who are willing to go back to the lab two weeks postpartum. If it were mandatory that all new parents had six months postpartum time off, the situation would be different.
Re: How to wear your baby to work
#9> Fast forward three years to the birth of my second child earlier this year, and I am a senior postdoc and the president of our local babywearing group. I started wearing number 2 to the lab two weeks after she was born, because I was planning to apply for faculty jobs, and I was worried that taking time off would weaken my applications. Nothing to do with baby wearing (which I am a huge proponent of) but this sound…
> Still a postdoc after three years and going in to the lab two weeks after giving birth? We are producing way too many grad students. No, you're lacking adequate protection for fresh parents, mothers and fathers alike. At the moment career market forces have the upper hand - they can select for those who are willing to go back to the lab two weeks postpartum. If it were mandatory that all new parents had six months…
> No, you're lacking adequate protection for fresh parents, mothers and fathers alike.
Clearly. And universities are not pressured to extend those protections to postdocs because of the oversupply Ph.Ds.
Re: How to wear your baby to work
#10I loved baby wearing. It kept both my hands free. In the first few months, it was perfect because I could reach around her and still type on the keyboard. It also makes traveling with the baby a lot easier because you have your hands free for luggage and whatnot.
It was also great exercise to wear the baby while doing physical activity. I once carried her through the streets and museums of Paris for an entire day, and was barely sore.
If you're a mom or dad I highly encourage it. In fact, it's a great way for dad to help out while mom's body recovers from birth.