This is a friend of mine, at church with her baby on her back. Most Japanese women will sling a baby onto their back in a ombu himo and go about their housework or even drive with the baby sleeping peacefully papoose style. I suppose it is a warm place and offers a lot of soothing movement. Strapped to the back, a crying baby will be joggled into sleep, sometimes so soundly that its poor neck is lolling around behind! There are jackets and vests (like my friend has) that wrap around both baby and mother and it all looks very cozy.Actually I never used an ombu himo myself. It takes skill to swing a baby around to your back without catapulting it like a slingshot! And I liked to see what my baby was doing anyway (and I didn't like the lolling neck). What I DID use to carry my babies around was a dakko himo. (Ombu means "piggy back". Dakko means "carry". And himo means "strap".)
I made my own dakko himo and I could hang the baby in front of me kangaroo style but with its legs hanging down in front. We could smile at each other and I could point out things as we wandered... It seemed like an extension of "carrying" my baby after birth. And I had a great jacket that covered both of us. I got stopped a lot when I was visiting the States and everyone was interested in the strap and jacket. (The drawback however is that one can't cook with a baby hanging in front of you. And someone pointed out that if you fell with a baby strapped to your front that you landed on your baby....) I carried my babies in the dakko himo (and never fell) until they were nearly walking!
This week I made a dakko himo for my Filipino friend. This is the young woman who stumbled upon our church a few weeks back. Thank you for your prayers. She is much better now and every week she has been coming to church. Unfortunately she will be working on weekends from next week and I won't be seeing much of her anymore. It is hard for the Filipino women here in Japan because most of them have to work to send money back to their extended families in the Philippines. I wanted to give her something hand made that represented love enfolding both her and her baby. I wonder if she'll ever have a chance to use it...
Here I am demonstrating how to use a dakko himo with my Filipino friend's baby! I know... I know... Someone else already told me that I look like a proud grandmother. NOT YET! (Rats... It's the greying hair...)
9 comments:
You look like a proud Mom. I don't see any grey hair. Your kids need to be more cooperative and see to it that you and Tetsu have a grandchild. Love the dakko himo. Hopefully the lady will be able to come by the church during the week. Cute baby!
Oh what darling babies!!! I never did use a sling or anything, I was too uncoordinated. I just carried them - no wonder my back is so bad now, lol. Tanya, I don't see any grey hair!
Cute pictures!
BTW, I'm a grandma, and I have (almost) no grey hair.
;-)
What a great gift - practical and useful. I think your friend and baby will enjoy it.
Very sweet and how nice of you to make the dakko himo for your friend. Back when my children were small (I'm a granny now so that had to be the stone age!) we used a front sling, too. I, too, liked the idea of eye contact. And, by carrying the baby on your body (front or back), the Mom can sense when the little one is ready to nurse, cuddle, or be changed and respond before the child has worked up into a roaring cry to get attention from afar.
You are a very sweet lady,
Lois
When I first saw that picture of you with the baby, I thought it was one of your children when they were younger. I did buy a sling, but never did feel comfortable using it. I think I just didn't trust it to hold her.
I think your dakko himo is a wonderful invention! Grey hair has nothing to do with being a grandmother, by the way. My hair is almost completely white now, and I don't have a single grandchild to show for it.
I used a front carrier (a home made version of the Snuggli carrier) for all my children. I loved the contact! As I recall it had an inner carrier for babies and then converted to toddlers. I had my first two 16 months apart so I needed a carrier! My youngest daughter currently uses a sling for her infant and will switch to an "ergo" carrier when she is older.
I think it was a nice gesture (practical too!) for you to make the Filipino mother. God will bless you for your kindness.
What a neat gift. We used some kind of snuggli thing when the boys were babies.
I am having a hard time seeing any gray hair in that picture. I'm not a grandma yet either...but one of the preschoolers accidently called me "grandma" this week.
Post a Comment