Babies Lie Flat

Ever since we took the Bugaboo to Silverwood, I've been thinking about how crazy it is that we hardly ever use it living here! In Zurich, I couldn't have survived a week without it. It was a member of our family! But here months will go by and we won't use it once. In fact, it has been floating about our house, taking up ridiculous amounts of precious space in our living room or kitchen for the past week. It may be time to break it down and take it back to the storage unit. Sniff. Which brings me to the topic of today's post.

In Switzerland, babies lie flat.

In Switzerland, midwives, doctors and old women on the street will all tell you that babies must lie flat. For the first six months, it is crucial! It is good for their backs and spines and it allows their organs to move into their proper places after being all curled up in the womb. In order to make sure your baby is lying flat, every parent has what, to my American eyes, looked like an old-fashioned pram. Except prams aren't something people used to use a long time ago. Most people are still using them in most places today! Just not here in the USA. ;)

Like any nesting and hormonal first-time mother, I researched all of the options and immediately fell in love with the one: The Bugaboo Cameleon. Its clean lines were so attractive. It was a stroller that could safely carry around the baby without looking like utilitarian, cluttered or unrefined. It was also very expensive. But, I made one of those vision boards and put it on there, and then, I kid you not, a mom in my class gave me one! She said she didn't need it anymore and asked if I would like to have it. Um, yes. I had to buy the bassinet attachment, which had gone missing somehow. I also ordered new handlebar covers as the old ones had ripped. And, being a nesting and hormonal first-time mother, I went ahead and got a new fabric set, but otherwise, it was all there!

Coco loved the Bugaboo so much. When we were getting ready to leave the house, I would get her all dressed and ready and then put her in there so I could get ready. She was instantly content and quiet inside. More often than not, she would fall asleep. One night in early winter, when Coco was just a few months old, we walked from our house down to Bellevue and she fell asleep about halfway there. Then we let her sleep while we ordered sausages at Sternen and chatted over beers for an hour. So easy!

Day to day, Coco's back was aligning just as it should, and I was free to do errands and go about my business without interruption while she slept happily or looked around. These days, since Theo was born and we use the car for absolutely everything, my plans are constantly being derailed by his falling asleep. Worst of all, he won't transfer. It's so bad that the other day, I finally just took his entire car seat out of the car (with him sleeping in it!) and hauled it inside and let him nap in it in his bedroom! So not good for his back - even at two years old!

I'm curious if this is something that is encouraged and talked about for babies born in more urban areas in the US. When we took Theo home from the hospital, they wouldn't let us leave until they saw him properly strapped in his car seat! But no one ever said a word about not letting him be in the car seat for extended periods of time. Honestly, I think it's just a given that babies whose lives are car-based will spend extended periods of time in their car seat. With Coco, they discouraged us from having her in the car seat for more than an hour per day or something, which was fine because we didn't even have a car seat until she was three or four months old!

Did your baby lie flat? Does (or did) your doctor ever mention it? What about books - have any expectant mothers come across anything about lying flat?