Babies on the back!

It has been a while since I have posted, time gets away from me sometimes. I have gone on a few adventures and there have been some big things that have happened. Since I am winding down my trip and I still have a lot to share about my experience I plan on posting when I return home about my experiences.
I don't know if everyone knows this but I became an aunt to a beautiful little girl this last month. And I have been wondering if my sister would let me try to carry her around like the women do here. On their backs. It is amazing! I think it is wonderful, but I think some foreigners think it is crazy. When I first got here I thought that the babies would suffocate or they could slip out easily. But, then it must not be an issue if the moms keep doing it. One reason I really like this practice is because it allows the woman to continue doing normal things with her hands tied up hanging on to the baby or trying to push a stroller through these impossible streets. They will carry newborn babies to toddlers in this manner.

How they do it is they bend over so their back is flat and place the baby or toddler on their back. They then use a cotton cloth and wrap it around their chest above their breasts and make sure it is under the baby and tie the bottom in a not under their breasts. My explanation is pretty bad but in the pictures you can sort of see how it works.

This is one reason I believe Ghanaians can sleep anywhere. Because when they were a baby they were hauled around everywhere and slept no matter if it was noisy or quiet and most likely it was very noisy.

I did see some crazy things though when I was in the Tamale the capital of the Northern Region. There were ladies even riding motor bikes with their babies on their backs. This might not be the safest thing, but they don't have rules like we do, but they also don't have vehicular accidents like we do. They don't drive as fast and pedestrians outnumber cars so there is much more awareness when driving. Not saying that accidents don't happen, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
This is one custom I could see myself practicing when I have a baby, my friends say I first have to practice with a pillow or stuffed animal just like they did when they were little girls.