Cold Weather Babywearing

Happy Saturday, Midlands Babywearers!

It was great seeing many of you on Thursday at our first official meeting. We hope you learned something, shared something, and most of all, had a good time. It is really important to us, as a group, that our knowledge and experiences be shared so that we can all benefit from what each person knows. That way we grow stronger as individuals and as a group, especially as we continue to grow. We welcome any input, feedback, and even criticism - it is what will help us continue to grow as a community.

Thursday, Chris went over several cold weather babywearing options. She began by describing typical Amauti, worn by the Inuit American Indians in Alaska.

Here is an excellent blog post about amauti as it is worn today.
Here is another article on this fascinating traditional babywearing practice

There are many options for cold weather babywearing, depending on what you are willing to spend, and your comfort level in crafting/sewing.

Coats that you can buy - these coats are wonderful if you are out in the cold often or live in a cold climate. The price tag may come as a bit of a shock. You can sometimes find good deals shopping end of season sales or looking for one second hand in one of the Facebook babywearing swap groups:
Suse's Kindercoat
Ergo babywearing coat (demo'd at the meeting)
The M coat
Peekaru vest (demo'd at the meeting)
And there are always many options on Etsy.

In the photo above, Emily is wearing the Peekaru vest. It zips up the side and is more easily worn with a baby on your front.

If you want to combine your existing coat with a warm cover just for the baby - this is a more affordable option, especially for the less crafty among us, and also good if perhaps you are not as cold natured or easily overheat:

Ergo-

Rain or Shine Kids (RoSK)

Infantino-

Catbird baby

In this photo, Katrina is demonstrating an all-weather cover. the outside is a waterproof material and the inside is a soft, warm minky fabrib. It has a pouch at the bottom for baby's feet and ties on to your carrier.
 

Now, if you have just a smidge, or more, of crafty ability, there are some great DIY tutorials.

The pictures below are of Emily demonstrating a DIY zip up fleece that would take you about 5 minutes to create. You put your carrier on your back, then the coat, and have someone measure from the inside of each strap (using pins or you can draw a line) and simply cut along that line. You may want to cut a little extra length to prevent tearing. You can also add snaps or buttons along this flap to close it when not wearing.

This tutorial is how to convert an existing coat into a babywearing coat.

How to make a no sew poncho

No sew poncho with fringe

Different style of poncho that can be tied around you and baby-

DIY-carrier cover-

 

If you have not logged on to www.thebabywearer.com - you need to! It is a vast and sometimes overwhelming fount of information on all things babywearing. There is of, course, a great thread in their forums on this topic here.
 

 

Katrina (left) nursing her youngest who is keeping warm with a hat and baby legs under his pants. Baby legs, leg warmers, or tights, are a great option for keeping little legs warm under pants that tend to ride up when wearing.

Jackie (right) is wearing her youngest in a woven wrap that is made of wool, a great option for keeping babies warm in cold weather. Wool wraps are cozy, soft, and require a little special care due to the fiber blend.



We hope all of the information we have provided is helpful. If you have any questions, concerns, or just want to show off your cold weather babywearing fabulous selves, visit us at our Facebook page.

We hope to see you at our play date next Saturday, February 1st, at North Springs Park. It begins at 3:00 p.m. This is a playdate, and while one or more leaders will be present, and will be happy to help you with any questions, there is no formal agenda. It's meant as time to just get to each other and enjoy like-minded company. And get the kids good and tired, of course!

Our next official meeting is Saturday, February 8th at Expecting Well on Gervais Street. It starts at 10:00 a.m. The focus of this meeting is The Ergonomics of Babywearing.

photos  are courtesy of the talented Melissa Tooley.
.

Front Wrap Cross Carry and Happy First Week, Babywearers of the Midlands!

Happy Saturday, Midlands Babywearers!

Our little group has expanded to over 100 members in the first week it's been live, and that, friends, is such an amazing thing. We could not be happier with the growth, support, and positive feedback we have received already. We are beyond grateful that all of you have chosen to be part of this community. We will continue to strive to make this a supportive, positive, and welcoming environment, since our goal is to encourage parents and children to grow closer together through babywearing.

In our first week, we have loved seeing all of your pictures: the funny ones, the sweet ones, wearing newborn babies and wearing toddlers. We can't wait to see more!

Today we want to talk a little more about our Carry of the Week, introduced on Monday. Front Wrap Cross Carry, commonly abbreviated as FWCC. This carry requires a longer wrap, often at size 6 (4.6 meters) or a size 7 (5.0 meters) if you are a fluffier mama or perhaps wrapping a larger baby or toddler. More petite parents could possibly use a size 5 (4.2 meters).  This is often the first carry that you learn as a babywearer, and it's great for many reasons. You can practice, and even tie this carry without a baby (called pre-tying), you can nurse in it, it has more than one layer and therefore is fairly supportive, and there are several variations you can try. If you haven't tried it yet, or want to explore some options, we have provided videos below.

These are only a small sampling of the videos available out there. Search YouTube for even more options. Often you will find one video makes no sense to you whatsoever, but another one will "click" for you, and you'll understand right away, or a step might be explained in such a way as to make it much easier to figure out.

Don't forget to visit us on Facebook if you have any other questions, want to share a picture, or just connect with other local Babywearers.

We look forward to seeing many of you at our first meeting, Thursday, January 23rd, at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Broad River Road. The meeting will start at 10:00 a.m, focus on Cold Weather Babywearing, and there will also be time for questions and demonstrations of our growing lending library.

We have a playdate scheduled in the Northeast on Saturday, February 1st, at 3:00 pm at Northsprings Park.
The next official meeting is Saturday, February 8th at Expecting Well on Gervais Street. It begins at 10:00 am and focuses on the Ergonomics of Babywearing.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/babywearersofthemidlands/?ref=br_tf

Here is the basic version with a newborn:

Here is a longer video showing some variations for the cross passes:



 

If you have a shorter wrap (like a size 4 ) these are some helpful variations that might be a bit quicker than the original version:

 

Welcome to Babywearers of the Midlands!  We strive to have a friendly, welcoming group where people can come to learn, explore, and share their interest in babywearing.

We have two educational meetings a month, a weekday meeting and a weekend meeting with rotating topics. We will have additional meet-ups and play dates at least once a month.  We'll be using this blog as a place to spotlight carriers, share educational information about babywearing, and follow up after meetings with what we discussed as well as pictures and more.

Our first meeting will be held on Thursday, January 23^rd, 2014. Meet us at the Church of Latter Day Saints on Broad River Road at 10:00 a. m. The topic will be cold weather babywearing. Join us to learn how to wear your baby, stay warm, and save money doing it!

Find us on Facebook for links to events, questions, and discussions.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/385538544923566/

 We have 5 leaders who each have different favorite carriers and wearing styles.  For more on our fearless leaders, see below:

  

Katrina- I'm a Work at Home Mom of three, ages 4, 2, and 10 months. I started with a Moby (stretchy wrap) and an Ergo, and now mostly use woven wraps and soft structured carriers. I also love ring slings, especially for newborns and nursing. I still wear my 2 year old almost daily for naps, and often need to wear two of my three at the same time. Babywearing is a skill I love having in my parenting toolbox - I believe it’s something valuable enough that every parent should have it in his or her toolbox. My husband uses Soft Structured Carriers also. I look forward to sharing my experiences, meeting new people, and learning even more about a topic dear to my heart.

 Ashleigh- I am a special education teacher and mom to a spunky 2.5 year old daughter. My first carrier was a baby k'tan and I used it until my back couldn't take it anymore! I then branched out to Soft Structured Carriers and ring slings. Wrapping seemed so intimidating so I didn't try it for a long time. Now I encourage everyone to try it! Each carrier has a different purpose for me, and I have honed my stash down to one SSC, one ring sling, and one wrap. With an independent toddler, I have to make the most of my remaining babywearing days! I'd love to help you find what meets your needs the best!:)

 Chris-I am a stay at home mom of 4, ranging in ages from 8 months to 11 yrs.  I love to read and I am a car seat safety nut!  I started my babywearing journey with a narrow seated carrier, added a Nojo padded ring sling and a frame style backpack carrier.  I eventually retired the padded ring sling (could never figure it out) and added a pouch and was gifted a Moby.  I really broke into the world of babywearing because I needed to travel with three kids by myself and needed something that could allow me to get through airports with a one year old runner and still have enough hands to hang onto my preschooler and drag luggage.  I now love my soft structured carriers for longer wearing stretches, a ring sling for quick up and downs and new baby snuggles, and wraps for sweet baby cuddles and wearing to sleep.  The Daddy in our house likes his Mei Tai and has started rocking Momma’s flowery SSC!   

 

Jackie- I am a stay at home homeschooling mom of 5 between the ages of 12 and 1, 4 boys and a girl. I have been babywearing for almost 12 years. I started with a ringsling with my first. With my second I picked up a mei tai and soft structured carrier, my third I added a moby and learned how to wear two babies at once. I really got into babywearing after I had my fourth. I met up with some awesome mamas who have become great friends and found a whole world of baby carriers. I now love and have a collection of medium and long woven wraps and some soft structured carriers. Babywearing is a necessity for me having so many children, as well as a fun hobby I love to share.

Emily- I’m a stay at home mom to one active little dude - 20 months old. I love cooking, am a birth doula and a Prenatal Yoga Instructor. Before moving to Columbia in the last year, I was very active in the birthing community in Louisville, KY. During one of our many mama events, I wandered by the local Babywearing booth and was drawn in by a gorgeous piece of fabric – later to be identified as a Girasol Amitola Yellow Weft. That was it – I was hooked. Problem was I didn’t have a baby to wear . . . yet. We became pregnant through IVF later that year and I attended several of their meetings before little man arrived. I was given a Moby, made my first Ring Sling and bought a Zanytoes (local for us) Mei Tai when baby was 6 weeks old. That was my stash for 9 months until I bought my first woven (Girasol Snow Rainbow DW) and the addiction began. I love shorties, hemp and linen blends and learning new carries. Early on I tried out Soft Structure Carriers but couldn’t find one that fit both me and hubby (who wears too). Through a wonderfully helpful babywearing friend’s generous lending, I entered the SSC world and love it! Thanks to Jackie, Babywearing helped me with a very colicky baby who had a really hard time transitioning to sleep. It totally saved us. I’m still pretty new in this sometimes overwhelming babywearing world and love helping mamas navigate their way and discover their confidence in their own babywearing journey.