Understanding and Managing Sensory Overload in Babywearing Education

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For many new parents, learning to babywear isn’t just about positioning and straps — it’s an entire sensory experience.

They’re processing layers of tactile feedback, warmth, body movement, and emotion all at once. Add in exhaustion, postpartum hormones, and the physical demands of holding a baby, and it’s easy to see how a babywearing consult can tip from “challenging” to overwhelming.

As educators, our job is to create a space where learning feels safe and manageable for the nervous system.

Sensory overload happens when the brain receives more input than it can effectively process.
In babywearing, that can come from:

• Tactile input: fabric rubbing against skin, shifting temperature, carrier compression, bunched clothing.
• Auditory input: your instructions, baby sounds, background noise or music.
• Visual input: mirrors, cluttered environments, patterned material, trying to track your movements and theirs.
• Internal input: fatigue, emotional tension, anxiety, hormonal changes, pain, or physical discomfort, hunger or thirst.

Clients may not say, “I’m overstimulated.” Instead, you’ll likely see subtle cues: shallow breathing, furrowed brows, hands tightening on fabric, rushing and fumbling, eye-darting, or the familiar “laugh-apology” when they say they’re “just not getting it.”

Recognizing these moments early and then making adjustments can prevent shutdown or frustration and turn a difficult session into a confidence-building one.

From a neurobiological perspective, the postpartum nervous system is primed for hypervigilance and sensory sensitivity.
Estrogen and oxytocin elevate emotional attunement, but they can also heighten reactivity. Add lack of sleep, increased body heat from babywearing, and physical proximity to another moving body, and the system quickly reaches sensory saturation.

Understanding this helps you frame your teaching pace as a reflection of the caregiver’s nervous system load rather than as a reflection of their competence.

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1. Slow down…even slower than you think.
Even when it feels too slow, it probably isn’t. Break teaching into micro-steps and pause frequently. Use short, clear sentences. Silence is your ally; it gives the brain time to integrate. Encourage your client to slow down, too…sometimes we encounter a mentality of rushing to “get the baby in”, which often only adds to the stress.

2. Provide clear expectations from the start.
Let your clients know what to expect before you get started (or even before you arrive, if possible) - providing guidance on clothing choices, an outline of how the session, class or workshop will go, and any other relevant details can help set the stage for focus and calm. Normalizing the possibility of feeling overwhelmed helps caregivers interpret their sensations as part of the process, not a sign of failure.

3. Clothing makes a difference.
Encourage snug, minimal layers. Bulky or shifting fabrics can heighten tactile discomfort. Advise against silky materials, which slide against the skin and are often the “straw that broke the camel’s back" when it comes to sensory input. Read more on this topic in a dedicated blog post you can share with your clients.

4. Ditch the mirror (at first).
Visual feedback can overwhelm. When clients focus on “how it looks,” they lose touch with how it feels. Introduce mirrors later in the session or workshop for confidence and alignment checks, but not during initial practice.

5. Choose your sensory inputs wisely.
As an educator, minimize your own sensory footprint. Avoid strong perfumes, noisy jewelry, or carriers that feel stiff, dusty, or wrinkled. Every texture, scent, and sound adds to the sensory landscape your client must process. And remember - you don’t have to fill every silence.

6. Address the body, not just the technique.
Notice how your client’s breathing changes as they work. If tension builds, pause. Invite them to shake out their arms, stretch, or step away for a moment to take a sip of water. Releasing physical tension resets the nervous system far faster than repetition ever will.

Some clients will need to stop mid-session or practice. You know that’s not a sign of failure, but do they?

You can model this by saying things like:

“Let’s take a minute. That’s a lot of input at once…it’s okay to slow down.”

or

“You’re learning something new with both your body and your mind. It’s normal to need breaks.”

These phrases reframe rest as a skill, not avoidance.

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When you support parents through their sensory overload, you’re not just teaching them how to wear their baby.
You’re helping them learn how to stay present in moments of overwhelm, a skill they’ll draw on again and again in parenting.

It also fosters psychological safety, opening the door to deeper reflection and increased confidence. A parent who learns babywearing through calm and patience is more likely to continue to model those same qualities for their baby as they continue to wear them.

This kind of teaching, grounded in nervous system awareness, body literacy, and empathy, is at the heart of what we do at CBWS.

In Foundations, we prepare educators not only to teach safe and effective carrying, but also to read the subtle cues that indicate what a family truly needs in the moment, whether that’s a technical correction or simply space to breathe. And whether that’s in a private or group setting.

Sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do as a babywearing educator is to notice when it’s all just too much…and to help your client find calm again.

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