When you walk down any street you will see that babies travel in all sorts of strollers these days. Baby strollers is a huge industry and it is no easy task for new parents to select something that is functional, looks good, is safe, and yet does not cost an arm and a leg. Well, the solution might be easier than you think.

To convince myself about this I drove to a small grocery store in Medford, some 10 miles outside Boston. In the store’s community room there was a gathering of mothers in their 20s and 30s. All of whom had one thing in common; they are all so-called baby wearers. The term baby wearer means that you wear your baby just as all women did generations ago. This old tradition has started to gain popularity recently. And it is very addictive. Lynn, mother to 3 month old Lukas, started practicing this art when Lukas was one month old. “It saved my sanity” Lynn says. Lukas had colic and nothing Lynn tried could calm him down. One day, however, Lynn pulled out a 5 meter piece of cloth and wrapped Lukas to her body and before the knot was tied, Lukas had calmed. This was the day the addiction began for Lynn.

Lukas is now a happy owner of a German made Didymos wrap and Lynn is on a constant hunt for new wraps for him. She says with a big laugh that “wraps are like shoes, you don’t leave the house without them, and you need one to match every outfit”. Even her husband Mikael is now in on the idea of wearing Lukas. He finds that he can have his son close to him and still have his hands free to do things. “At first I said the wrap looked like a curtain” but now Mikael knows when to keep his mouth shut. “Even if it is a curtain it works great and that is what matters”, Mikael adds with a big smile.

Lynn