May | 2015 | BabyWearing Journey

Month: May 2015

Babywearing article: 10 Things Babywearing Parents Get Tired Of Hearing (from BellyBelly)

May 30, 2015 / babywearingjourney / 0 Comments

bellybelly.com.au published a great article entitled “10 Things Babywearing Parents Get Tired Of Hearing” here. It is a great list of questions that some babywearing parents hear all too often.

I’ve heard from other babywearing parents that they hear snarky comments about babywearing, and I guess I’ve been lucky so far. People smile and wave at my little one when I wear her and generally seem pretty nice.

I have been asked about whether wearing the little one in a wrap hurts my back (which was the first comment on the list). I’ve just explained that it does bother my back when I carry her in my arms, but when I wrap her the wrap distributes her weight and I can carry her a lot longer. I recently took her on a walking tour – we were out over three hours. I was tired when I got back to our hotel, but no more tired than if I had been walking without her! (The only time this question has bothered me is when the person kept asking about it hurting my back even once I explained it didn’t!)

I’ve had people comment that wrapping looks complicated (#3 on the list). In fact, just today I was in the veterinarian’s office with my cat and wrapped my little one after we got signed in. A couple of people watched me and one woman asked how long it took me to learn to wrap. I laughed and said it took me a while for the first few wraps and that I still can’t manage a good back wrap, but I do have several that I can do pretty well now. Others have asked about it, too, and the questions don’t bother me because I think it IS complicated to learn to wrap at first (and like I said, I still can’t get a successful back wrap!).

I get questions about how the wrap works, what it is called, and where I learned to wrap. None of the questions have been sarcastic or ugly, though – they’ve been from people who are genuinely interested. When we were at the airport recently, a woman came up to me and asked how I did the wrap because her daughter wraps but she hadn’t seen one like I was wearing (it was a FCC). I showed her and chatted for a minute.

Babywearing isn’t mainstream, so I think when I’m out with my little one in public I’m an ambassador for babywearing. I love it so much and it has helped me with my little one so much. I get so much joy from this, and I love to share the joy!

I know one day I might get some snarky comments. I just hope I manage to handle them gracefully.

Fleurville Soft Stretch Carrier: My “gateway” carrier

May 29, 2015 / babywearingjourney / 0 Comments

We live on a small farm with six horses of our own. I also run Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society, a horse rescue that helps abused, abandoned, and starved horses through Texas. We often have between 1-3, sometimes more, horses here for the rescue as well. My wonderful husband took care of the horses for the last few weeks of my pregnancy and the first several weeks after the little one was born, but the horses are ‘my thing’ and I wanted to get out to the barn. Normally I feed in the morning before he left for work and in the evenings once he got home, and he takes care of the little one – it is daddy-daughter time. But sometimes his days run long and occasionally he has to travel. At first, I would take her with me to the barn in her carseat carrier and set her in a wagon. But I eventually realized it would be easier to carry her with me. I didn’t want to use the Ergo carrier because I 20141203_164712 didn’t like having to readjust it after DH wore it, and I also didn’t want to get it dirty with hay, horse hair, cat hair, and the other barn hazards. So I went looking for a cheaper carrier that I wouldn’t mind getting dirty.

I had received a half off coupon for one item at Baby Depot (which is located at Burlington Coat Factory). You can normally find these coupons online, and they give you 50% off of one item. I went looking for a carrier there and found the Fleurville Soft Stretch Carrier. It was listed for $40, which meant I only paid $20. I figured that if I didn’t like it or if it got ruined in the barn, it was no big deal as it was pretty cheap.

The carrier is two parts. The main part fits over your body kind of like a shirt with two pieces of fabric in front that makes a cross. You slide your baby into it kind of like a front cross carry wrap. The second piece of the carrier is a sash that helps secure the baby in place.

My little one was just a few months old when I started using this, and it fit her well. While the carrier lists multiple positions that are possible, I only carried her facing towards me (again, like she was in a front cross carry wrap). She loved being snuggled up close to me, and I liked having her where I could see her and keep her with me.

The carrier is comfortable, inexpensive, and easy to use. It is also easy to wash (throw it into the washing machine with wrap-safe detergent). The instructions say you can use it with a baby up to 35 pounds, but once she was 15-16 pounds, I felt like the carrier was sagging. She’s a long but thin baby, so she was about six months when I started to feel uncomfortable with her in the carrier.

The carrier held up well to frequent visits to the barn and our nearly daily walks down the road, and I ended up selling it on the Budget Swap on Facebook. I thought it was a great buy for the money and worked perfect for what I needed at the time. It might not stand up well to daily/hard use, though.

I would recommend this carrier as a starting carrier – but only if you use the farrier in the position that has the baby facing you.

Day 9: Crunchy Mama’s 30 Day Wrap Challenge – Robin’s Hip Carry

May 23, 2015 / babywearingjourney / 0 Comments

Robin’s Hip Carry wasn’t a new one for me; it was one of the first hip carries I learned. I like hip carries a lot. I haven’t learned how to back carry yet, although that’s going to happen sometime during this challenge, and hip carries let my little one look out at the world better than a front carry.

I also think this carry just looks pretty cool, so I use it a lot. I especially like this carry with a wrap that’s got a cool-looking ‘wrong’ or reverse side.

I’ve tied Robin’s with a size 4 Lenny Lamb Tangata Rainbow (which I’ll be selling soon – only so I can get a new wrap to play with).

BabyWearing Faith has a good tutorial on YouTube.

Day 7 and 8: Crunchy Mama’s 30 Day Wrap Challenge – Simple Hip Carry and Rebozo

May 22, 2015 / babywearingjourney / 0 Comments

Days 7 and 8 were both new carries to me, and they gave me an excuse to use a new wrap in a size I haven’t gotten to use before. The size 3 I tried them out in was really a little too big, though, so now this gives me an excuse to buy a size 2 to add to my stash.

The Simple Hip Carry was day 7, and it is definitely going to be added to my list of useful carries. I used a size 3 for this as it was the smallest size I have, but I could definitely used a size 2. The one challenge with this carry is that once you tie it and put your baby in, you can’t really adjust it since the knot is in the middle of your back. For me, this meant I had to tie it a couple of times and experiment to see how much slack I needed to add. Once I had the hang of it, though, it took me just a minute or two to tie it and put the little one in – even DH commented on how quickly I could do it. I’m not a huge fan of my ring sling, so this carry my replace the ring sling for getting the little one up in a wrap when I’m traveling and just need to stop for a few minutes.

Vicki Galvin has a good tutorial on tying this carry on YouTube.

The Rebozo carry is very similar to the simple hip carry (which is why I combined the two carries in this one post). The advantage over the Simple Hip Carry is that you can adjust some, thanks to the slip knot. The disadvantage is that many people struggle to tie a slip knot, and while I can tie one it does take me a little bit longer than the simple double knot of the hip carry. I think the slip knot would more easily allow you to take your baby in and out multiple times and readjust/tighten as needed, so this carry might be good for running errands.

Babywearing Faith has a good tutorial on tying a rebozo carry you YouTube.

I used a Pavo Jaipur size 3 for both of these carries.

Day 6: Crunchy Mama’s 30 Day Wrap Challenge – Front Torso Carry

May 20, 2015 / babywearingjourney / 0 Comments

Day 6 was yet another new carry for me, the Front Torso Carry. This one wasn’t like any carry I had tried before as it didn’t go over the shoulders. I thought this would be a good carry for me as some of the others get diggy and pinch my shoulders. I DID like not having the wrap over my shoulders and I felt like I had greater range of movement for my arms (no wrap getting in the way). But I kept feeling like she was going to slip down or fall out of this carry so I’m not a fan. I will try it a few more times, though, and see if I change my mind.

I’m using a Lenny Lamb Tangata Rainbow size 4 for this carry.

Vicki Galvin has a nice tutorial for the Front Torso Carry on YouTube.

Day 5: Crunchy Mama’s 30 Day Wrap Challenge – Kangaroo Carry

May 20, 2015 / babywearingjourney / 2 Comments

Day 5 of the wrap challenge was another new one for me, the Kangaroo carry. The first time I watched this video, I was a bit confused and thought this was the same as a FWCC. However, it isn’t. The FWCC and Kangaroo carry both start in the same place, with the middle marker on the front of your chest. But the FWCC then takes the wrap around your back, crossing to the other side, and over the opposite shoulder. The Kangaroo carry takes the wrap directly over your shoulder and then crosses in back and comes around to the front to tie under the baby’s bum.

I thought this would feel less secure and comfortable, but I discovered I liked it. I did have a bit of trouble tightening this carry as there’s no good place to pull against and you really do need to tighten as you go. I bet this would be a great carry for a tiny baby – I just need one to practice with now!

I’m using an Oscha Sonora Cassia (which is a wool blend) in a size four for this carry. I barely had enough tails to tighten, but this wrap seems a little short for a size four and I think I’ll have a little more tail once I get better at getting this carry tight.

WrappingRachel has a great video for this carry on YouTube.

Day 4: Crunchy Mama’s 30 Day Wrap Challenge – Short Cross Carry

May 19, 2015 / babywearingjourney / 0 Comments

Day 4 of Crunchy Mama’s 30 Day Wrap Challenge was the Short Cross Carry. This was a new carry for us. I like that it can be done with a shorter wrap, and it is a quick wrap so it makes it easy to do in the parking lot right before heading into a store. Plus, it is a a carry that you can tie ahead of time and take your baby in and out of, so it is nice for running errands.

I had a hard time getting it tight enough at first. The position of the knot on the side made it difficult for me to untie, tighten and retie. Instead, I practiced getting the wrap right from the beginning so I didn’t have a lot of adjustment. The area on the back where the wrap loops through itself creates a bit knot of fabric, and that was uncomfortable on my back when I sat down. But it was a great carry while I was up moving around. This is one we’ll add to the repertoire.

I used a size 4 Didymos Emerald Turquoise Hemp Indio for this.

Wrapababy videos has a good tutorial on how to do this wrap on YouTube.

Day 3: Crunchy Mama’s 30 Day Wrap Challenge – FCC

May 18, 2015 / babywearingjourney / 0 Comments

Thanks to traveling, I got way behind on the Crunchy Mama’s 30 Day Wrap Challenge, but I’m tying hard to catch up! Day 3 was the Front Cross Carry (FCC). This was the second carry I learned, so I was ready for this one. I use this carry a lot, and I especially like that you can pre-tie it and then put your baby in and out of it. This makes it useful when you are running errands or traveling. For this photo, I’m using FCC to carry the little one through the airport as we traveled from Texas to Spain.

I often have to tie this one, wear her a few minutes, and then tighten the rails back up a bit before going on. This one works best for me when I fold the wrap in half length-wise, wrap, and then unfold the passes to make the pouch before sliding the little one in.

This is one of those carries you can pretty easily nurse in, and I did this on our trip. You ‘bounce’ the baby down a bit into position, retie the wrap, and then let her nurse. When she’s done, you bounce her back up, retie and go on. You can easily cover her while she’s nursing with the passes of the wrap, so you can nurse very discreetly.

I’m using a Lenny Lamb Bubo Owls in size 6 for this wrap.

Babywearing Faith has a good video of how to do this wrap on Youtube.

Day 2: Crunchy Mama’s 30 Day Wrap Challenge – Semi FWCC

May 6, 2015 / babywearingjourney / 0 Comments

I started this challenge to force myself to learn new carries, and Day 2 provided me the opportunity. The Semi Front Wrap Cross Carry is a variation of Day 1’s front wrap cross carry.

This carry has a few advantages over FWCC: because it has one less pass over the baby, it is cooler. You can also use a smaller wrap, and the slip knot makes it easy to adjust. Some women are able to nurse in this carry, but I haven’t gotten the hang of it yet!

The only downside I have found so far is that learning to tie a slip knot can be tough. I had to practice several times before getting it right.

After practicing this one just twice, I was comfortable wearing the little one out for about an hour to explore. We were rewarded by finding a gorgeous ancient church to explore.

I am using a Deep Blue and Gold Hemp Indio from Didymos in size 5 for this one (although I think I could easily have used a size 4).

Wrap Your Baby has a nice video on how to do this carry on Youtube.

Day 1: Crunchy Mama’s 30 Day Wrap Challenge – FWCC

May 3, 2015 / babywearingjourney / 2 Comments

May 1st kicked off the 30 day wrap challenge I hope to participate in. I will be traveling some in May so I may not get every carry done on the right day, but I am going to use this challenge to kick me in the behind to learn a lot of new carries. If you want to participate,‘ you can join the Crunchy Mama’s 30 Day Wrap Challenge on Facebook.

Day 1 is the Front Wrap Cross Carry (FWCC). This was the first carry I learned. The little one was about six months old when I learned it and we still use it. I like this one for days she wants to have an arm out as well as days that she wants to be snuggled close.

When I first learned this one, I had trouble getting the top of the wrap tight enough. I kept practicing and it got much easier. The passes across the back help distribute weight, and after I took this photo I ended up sandwiching the shoulders as it was getting a bit diggy. I wore this one for two hours and was comfortable.