The Wrap. 2-25-12

My student and his wife came by yesterday morning. She was dressed in a burka and head scarf. I remember in my Middle East classes in college, there was so much push back about the meaning of being a liberated woman. Folks in the West think that wearing a burka is so repressive, but women in the Middle East often see it as liberating. Head scarf=no worries about how your hair looks. Burka=no worries about your clothes underneath. As his wife stepped up the stair to enter my house, her jeaned leg peeped out. What type of jeans? It doesn’t matter. Very easy. And so I totally get the liberation of a burka.

Outfit from my student and his wife
This one goes out to my peeps in da 'hood

And so it is with babies being swaddled. Being swaddled means freedom from flailing arms and worries about being unsupported. Talking to my middle/high school friend, M, on the phone about FMLA, she mentioned how her middle son didn’t want to be put down. She was also concerned about the Bjorn for newborns and suggested a Moby. I figured it was worth a shot, and I found one on craiglist.com. For $20, it was half what they are in the stores and in very good shape. Having small children, the seller and I both agreed to meet at Starbucks and made a quick exchange in the freezing parking lot. It kinda felt like making a drug deal. I hear that all sorts of deals go down at the Starbucks these days.

After a good wash and dry and after viewing the videos for the Moby multiple times, I decided to dig in. Basically, the Moby is a long piece of fabric about 20 feet long, but the trick is in the tying. When I first put her partially in, Boop wasn’t thrilled. So, I gave her some formula in the Moby, took her out, and changed her diaper. Then, I put her back in little by little, and eventually, I got her all the way in. I know I’m feeling liberated, being able to use both arms! Boop is sound asleep, and I feel like I should be wandering through a village carrying a jug of water on my head, or something.