Back to the Beginning - Babywearing Basics

Happy Sunday, Midlands Babywearers!

BotM at the Midlands Baby and Kids Expo

As always, there's a ton of things to do in Columbia on the weekends in the summer, and I am honored that so many of you chose to stop by our booth at the Midlands Baby, Kid, and Family Expo on Saturday. I enjoyed seeing some familiar faces as well as meeting many new people - some of whom aren't even from Columbia - I only wish I had enough time to have spent a few minutes with everyone; alas I have no clone. I hope one of us leaders or a few of our awesome volunteers were able to help everyone that stopped by. It was a busy day and I'm thankful for the opportunity to have helped so many. My favorite moment was getting to wrap a mom-to-be and her mom with one of the lending library's new Wrapsody Hybrid Stretch wraps. They were both pleasantly surprised with how easy and supportive wrapping with a simple piece of cloth can be. Many moms, dads, and kids (yes, we even helped a big brother and sister pair wear their younger siblings!) enjoyed trying out the SSC/Buckle carriers in the lending library. The day was truly a success.

Our group has grown to nearly 350 members in a short time, and I thought, especially after the success of the Expo, that we might could use a re-introduction to our leaders (including the leadership team's newest addition!), and an overview of different carriers. 

A word about our leaders in general: these are women that have years of experience babywearing in all sorts of carriers, with all ages of babies and toddlers. Collectively, we know a lot, and each of us has her strengths and weaknesses (I, for one, have yet to master a rebozo knot) - and there is more out there each of could learn. We never stop learning! We don't consider ourselves experts in babywearing, but we are expert mamas with lots of experience and knowledge to share. That's true for most of our members, too. Each of you has experience and knowledge that is worth sharing and we love hearing and seeing you help each other at meetings and in our Facebook group. What separates the Leaders in the group from you members? A title. A desire and passion to help others learn and time to devote to that. A willingness and ability to work with others well - the leadership team is really that. We are a team of mamas that work well together and can support each other's strengths and bolster one another's weaknesses. We are so glad that the midlands has so many awesome parents out there that babywear! I hope my fellow leaders don't mind that I took the liberty of showing some outtakes from the Expo as introduction :) .

Minde - our newest leader - "I'm Minde, and I recently left a career in healthcare to be a SAHM to my 15 month old son. I came to babywearing out of necessity. Serious post partum complications and a colicky newborn left me feeling like I couldn't care for my son. Luckily my OB knew the value of wearing and directed me to a local group, part of which is now known as Babywearers of the Midlands. I love this area and look forward to raising my son in this wonderful community!"

Katrina - that's me, your weekly blogger -  I'm a Work at Home Mom of three, ages 4, 2, and 1.  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, and another girl on the way. 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- (who is deserting us for a move to Italy, but who we won't let leave our virtual admin/leader team) - I’m a stay at home mom to one active little dude - 2 years 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. 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.

Now on to carriers:

Stretchy Wraps:

Amber in a DIY stretchy

A lot of families start with a stretchy wrap, like a Moby or Sleepy/Boba Wrap. These are really long pieces of jersey fabric that are knit (not woven). I'm sure ya'll buy clothes. Knit is like a t-shirt. It stretches, it's soft, but doesn't hold its shape well. Woven is like a blouse or button down shirt. A little stiffer, not as soft, but holds its shape and structure well. You can even make a DIY stretchy wrap from fabric you buy at Joann's or Hobby Lobby. A store bought stretchy will run you between $40 and $50 brand new. This a great option for small babies during the cooler months. It's honestly not an option I'd suggest for babies born in summer; these poly-blend jersey knits are on the thicker side and don't breathe well. In addition, when you wear it properly, you and your baby are covered in an additional 3 layers of thick fabric; not very comfortable in South Carolina heat.  We have both a Moby Wrap and a Sleepy Wrap in the Lending Library.

Nursing in a K'tan

Baby K'tan - it's like a Moby, only you don't have to tie it. It also comes in a lighter weight "breeze" option. You can also DIY using 3 snug fitting t-shirts. It's very important when buying a k-tan to buy one that fits you well. It needs to be snug like a very tight fitting t-shirt in order to be supportive of your baby.

Both a regular stretchy wrap and a K'tan are good for babies up to about 15 lbs. I know the box says they are supportive much longer, but in real life experience, not so much. As your baby gets heavier and bigger, the fabric sags more, pulling your baby's weight down and away from your center of gravity, and this is not comfortable for you, the wearer.

 

Woven Wraps:

the Linen LLwrap

A piece of cloth. That's all a woven wrap is. They range in size from 2-5 meters, and in price from about $70 for a budget friendly brand like Little Frog, to over $300 for handwoven or other limited edition varieties. Woven wraps offer the greatest versatility for wearing. They can be worn on the front, back, or hip, for all ages and weights of baby and toddler. They are made of various fiber blends, including cotton, linen, hemp, silk (both wild and cultivated), bamboo, modal, Repreve (a recycled plastic product), camel hair (I am so not kidding about that), and wool. Each fiber has its pro's and cons. Some fibers are easier to care for than others. There are new woven wrap brands popping on the market every day. Some brands worth Googling are: Didymos (the oldest wrap maker - Classic German design), Kokadi (also German, fun and fresh designs and colors), Girasol (known for stripes and rainbows, budget friendly), Natibaby (sturdy wraps, many unique desings), Ellevill (a Norwegian company, classic design and colors) , Little Frog (very budget friendly stripes), Ochsa (an Irish company known for beautiful limited edition designs), Tekni (a new American company with both budget friendly design and a modern twist), Lenny Lamb (Fun, Fresh designs) . . . Really, the list goes on, and on, and on. These are all excellent companies that strive to put forth an excellent quality product. Nearly all of their materials are organic and ethically sourced and produced, using baby-safe dyes and materials. That's why these simple pieces of cloth cost more than 5 yards of cotton at the local fabric store. That said, Yes, you can DIY a woven wrap using Osnaburg cotton or some commercially available linen and cotton fabric blends. In the Lending Library, we have Didymos cotton, a Natibaby wool and a linen, an Ellevill cotton, and Hoppediz cotton.

Brady and
LL Wrapsody GMBB

Gauze wraps - you'll find many of these on Etsy. Are they safe? Yes, they are. They are a good option for small babies and hot weather. If you are having a summer baby, gauze might be a better option than a stretchy wrap. They are not very soft, the fabric tends to be on the scratchy side, but it's very breathable and more comfortable than jersey. This is a sturdy, not stretchy fabric, so it's safe even for back carries. You'll find as your baby gets bigger you need to wrap more carefully as this lightweight, thin fabric can start to dig in your shoulders. My favorite brand of gauze wrap (both for it's beauty and it's sturdiness) is Wrapsody's Gypsy Mama Bali Breeze. Any gauze wrap should be very affordable, Wrapsody's are in the $70-$90 range, and you can try one from the lending library.



Hybrid Stretch - Also by Wrapsody - this is a soft knit fabric that's far more breathable than most jersey fabrics, but not as stretchy as a Moby, and much softer than gauze. It's even safe for back carriers, because it has enough structure to be supportive without too much give. We have two in the lending library available to try.

Ring Slings:

Emily and the LL SBP RS

This is by far my favorite carrier for a newborn, but they are not just for newborns! Ring slings are a one shouldered, easy to use carrier that are lightweight for summer and pack nicely in a diaper bag. They range in price from about $50, to a little over a $100 for ones made from a woven wrap. For more on Ring Slings in general (and in much more detail) check out the blog post HERE. I also like ring slings for toddlers that want up and down frequently, as it's quick, easy, and not a cumbersome thing to carry in your purse or diaper bag. We have two ring slings in our Lending Library available to try.

Mei Tai

one of the LL MT

A Mei Tai is an Asian style carrier that can also be worn newborn to toddler. Basically, it's a rectangular piece of fabric with four long straps - one at each corner - that tie around your waist and shoulders. A budget friendly option is the Infantino Sash, which runs about $30, but they can get high end as well, with custom carriers made from woven wraps that can cost upwards of $300. These are a popular option for parents that want something quick that can be worn on the front, back, or hip, that is buckle-free. Our Lending Library has a couple Mei Tai available to try, including the Infantino, a Babyhawk, a Kozy Mei Tai, and one by EllaRoo.

SSC (Soft Structured Carrier)/Buckle Carrier

the SSC display at the Expo

These are similar to a Mei Tai, in that it's a rectangular piece of fabric with straps at each corner, but instead of tying, buckles are used to fasten it. I have a more detailed blog post on this popular carrier option HERE. Our Lending Library now contains both a standard size and a toddler size Tula, an Ergobaby Original, and Ergobaby Sport, an Angelpack, and a Standard/Standard Kinderpack. While all SSC can be adapted for use with newborns, most parents find them to be most comfortable/useful starting around 4-5 months and continue to use them through toddler years and beyond into preschool.

Upcoming Events:

Want to get your hands on, and babies in, some of these carriers? We will help you find what works best for you at one of our meetings or play dates. Meetings are held twice a month - one on Thursday, one on Saturday.

Saturday, July 12th at 10:00 a.m. - Come join us for babywearing yoga. Our Thursday meeting was a great success and I can't wait to join the fun at the Saturday meeting. This short session is suitable for all fitness levels and ages. There will be ample time after for discussion and questions. You will find us at the LDS Institute of Religion, 610 Assembly St, Columbia, SC 29201

 

Thursday, July 24th at 10:00 a.m. - Intro to wrapping.  - We'll be leading the grown ups through basic front, hip, and back carries, and our Junior leaders (the daughters of Chris and Jackie) will be showing any children that want to learn how to wrap, too. Check out how to make, and where to buy, kid carriers HERE. You will find us at the LDS church on 7449 Broad River Rd, Columbia, SC

Every Wednesday night, at 8:30, is our live chat. We get online to catch up with each other and see what's going on - both babywearing and not-babywearing related.  

We also have play dates scheduled on an as requested basis, stay tuned in our Facebook Group for more details. 

Get your Group On - a Babywearer's Guide to Facebook Groups

Happy Sunday, Midlands Babywearers!

It is scorching outside this weekend - I hope you all are either enjoying the air conditioning or have your "toes in the water, a** in the sand" somewhere. It's too hot for anything else! At least you get to put our Hot Weather Babywearing tips to good use. If you have, please hop on over to our Facebook group and tell us how they are working for you. We'd love to see pictures of  your water/mesh baby carriers, what woven wraps you prefer in the heat, and which brands/styles of Mei Tai and SSC/Buckle carriers work the best in the South Carolina weather for you and your little ones.


It's no secret that I'm on Facebook a LOT. And I'm in a LOT of groups, many of the them having something to do with babywearing. I love babywearing. In real life, if I spot a babywearer, it's like I know immediately we have something in common and we can be friends. As a former military brat, I don't like wasting time on friendships that won't work. If you babywear, chances are we already have something to talk about, and we probably have lots of other things in common, too, like cloth diapering, co-sleeping, breastfeeding (and chances are, if the babywearer doesn't breast feed it's not because she didn't want to, and I can sympathize with that), homeschooling, online shopping, and lots of other things. I mean, not all Babywearers do ALL of these things, but chances are good that a fellow babywearer does at least one of them. Or is curious about it. Call babywearing a gateway into Crunchy-ville or Attachment Parenting/Natural Parenting-land if you will - I don't know why, but it is.

In fact, I found my current mama tribe through babywearing, because I asked my doula about natural parenting groups in the area, and she pointed me to the Babywearers, which led to the awesomeness that became Babywearers of the Midlands. Babywearers are just awesome. Especially the local ones!

Now, out in the wider world, there are lots and lots of other babywearing groups on Facebook. There are more every day, and I thought it would be helpful to give you the rundown on the ones I'm familiar with, so you know where to go to get advice, where to Buy/Sell/Trade, where to go for a laugh, and groups that you might want a few pointers on before joining or posting.

 

Babywearing Advice/Support Groups

Babywearing 102

This group got off and running not too long ago, as a better, friendlier place than Babywearing Love and Support (which you will see abbreviated elsewhere as BLS). At first, the group was awesome. The admins were fantastic, it really was an open, drama free environment to share stashes, ask questions, and share knowledge. It's grown exponentially since it's opening, and as a result, it sometimes gets out of hand. The Good: it's huge, most questions get answered. The files section is FANTASTIC. Join there just to check out the files. Much of my advice and knowledge here comes from reading their files. How to ship internationally, to how to nurse in carriers, to what wraps are best for what carries, they've got it covered. They have great Tumblrs, and used to have informative blog posts - all of which are archived under the Files. Check. It. Out. The Bad: it's huge, it moves very, very quickly, and due to it's size, I (and those that admin it. I'm NOT an admin over there), can't always stay on top of all the posts. Which leads me to The Ugly: The advice and comments over there *can* get nasty and rude and downright mean. I consider myself a seasoned babywearer, and I rarely post pics of wrap jobs over there, because everyone is a critic, even if you are not asking for advice. Many of the members forget that they are talking to REAL people over there and forget their filter somewhere along the way. Bottom Line: it's worth joining, mostly for the body of knowledge found under the files. If you have questions or need advice, I'd ask elsewhere though.

Related: 102 Off Topic

A place to ask questions of your Babywearing 102 friends that have nothing to do with babywearing. Sometimes this is just things like, "how to wash cloth diapers" or "what color should I dye my hair next", sometimes it is deliberate internet bashing. (which the admins, to their credit do their best to quash.) This is their pinned post:

"**ADMIN*** The rule is "no personal attacks." It is not "no name calling." If you don't want to be called a jerk, don't act like one. You guys are adults, stop tattling to us every time someone disagrees with you or your friend. Cut it out before we delete this whole group because you guys can't handle yourselves. The rule says admin discretion, this is an unpaid and unappreciated job. Trolling will not be tolerated. Tighten up and carry on."

Join in the fun, but tread with care.

 

Everyday Babywearing

 

Created as the chatter group for Babywearing on a Budget, this is a friendly group that welcomes beginner questions, has specific topics every day (like Technique Tuesday and Guru Friday). They ask new members to introduce themselves, and instead of having a completely separate OT group, any OT chatter is directed to the daily Coffee Talk threads.

Babwearing for the Plus Size Mama

Self exlplanatory: this is welcoming group for women who want to wear their babies but are curvier than average.

Wrapper's Delight: Beyond the Basics

This is a community that focuses on woven wraps. It's smaller than Babywearing 102, and the majority of the members here are well-seasoned Babywearers. They have great advice, and beautiful stashes. This is where wrappers go to "geek out" so to speak. The good: the advice here can be trusted, and it's usually delivered tactfully. If you want to learn more about GSM (grams per square meter), handwoven woven wrap lines, upcoming releases, limited editions, etc, this is the place to go. The bad: This group can seem a little exclusive, due to the geekery and terminology a novice wrapper may be unfamiliar with. But, give it time, and they'll either grow on you, or you'll find a better fitting group elsewhere. The ugly: The Stash Shot Saturday's here will have you green with envy. They are seriously amazing collections, which is wonderful for collectors, but a bit hard to look at for some.

related: these brand specific groups often have news about upcoming releases, exclusives, action shots of wraps, and most allow b/s/t.

Didymos love and appreciation
Kokadi addicts - US
Natibaby FSOT
Natibaby Love
Little Frog Exclusive Wraps
The Pavo Society
Artipoppe Slings
Oscha Slings

This is not an exhaustive list. Virtually every wrap maker has its own fan page and b/s/t group now. I've listed the ones I know about, and ones that are closed, but searchable. I know for a fact there are other "secret" Facebook groups, that you have to know someone in order to be added.

Buckle Up! SSC and Buckle Carrier Users Of All Kinds Unite!

*full disclosure* This is a group I personally created, to discuss and "geek out" over buckle carriers. Most of the SSCs out there have individual fan pages, but there was not a good place to compare them. You *can* do that sort of thing in Babywearing 102, but it gets overrun by people using other sorts of carriers (not that there is anything wrong with that), and it's nearly impossible to get an honest answer about other carriers on fan pages. This group is a fledgling, but hopefully will continue to grow as a resource.

Related: Kinderpack Chatter and B/S/T

Go here to ask questions about which size KP to buy, whether you like solar veil, comfort mesh, or kool knit better, and buy, sell, and trade used kinderpacks. This is not the place to go to ask if Tula is better than KP. (which is why I created the above group). This group is relatively drama free, and the owner of KP is a member of the page, which I think helps keep drama and bickering down to a minimum.

Related: Tula Love

This is the chatter forum for Tula SSC. I've heard rumors about drama in this group, but haven't seen much. (drama seems mostly related to b/s/t transactions gone awry). Same deal here, ask questions about sizing, exclusive releases, and share pictures of your cuties in your Tula. Tula B/S/T is here. and here and here and here.

Related: Madame GooGoo b/s/t

This is the mostly b/s/t group for Madame GooGoo baby carriers. She's a Polish seamstress that makes gorgeous canvas and wrap conversion carriers with amazing attention to detail and that are high quality. This group includes some chatter, but is mostly b/s/t.

Put a Ring on It

Also a new group - a place to discuss different styles, shoulders, and makers of ring slings, and b/s/t.
Check it out and help it grow, by sharing it with your friends.

 

General Buy/Sell/Trade groups.

General commentary on these groups, and b/s/t in any of the groups that permit it: Feedback is a must. Most groups accept feedback links (to an album you create and others comment on) for The Babyearing Swap Feedback. Some groups have their own feedback groups. When a group requires a feedback link, please be mindful in ALL of your transactions to leave honest feedback, both as a buyer and a seller. This feedback is how we stay accountable for these transactions. It's how you can sometimes find carriers you've sold (by tracing b/s/t feedback) in the event you ever want to track down a carrier that you loved. Feedback is important!  Paypal. Always, always, pay goods/services. Yes, the seller will incur fees. They are minimal, and they should be pricing their items with the fees in mind. If you as a buyer offer less than what is listed, the seller, if they accept your offer, should still be mindful that fees will be charged. If I recall correctly, Paypal fees are like 3%. When you buy as goods/services, it offers you protection through paypal should the transaction go badly or if you don't receive your item. If you buy as friends/family/gifted, there are no fees, and no protection. This is essentially b/s/t at your own risk, and not worth it (in my very humble opinion) - the only exception to this is when you buy something on a payment plan, as each payment is only insured through paypal for that amount. In that case, often you will do one payment as goods, and the rest as gifted, but that is really up to the parties involved in the transaction. Bottom Line:  I say all of this not to scare you away from buying in these groups, but just to make sure you go in with a clear mind and know what to expect. If a buyer or seller asks you to do something fishy, it probably is. Trust your instincts!

The Babywearing Swap

See my blog post detailing it, and how to navigate it here. It's so serious it needed its own post. Seriously.

Babywearing on a Budget

All carriers here are $100 or less, it's a great place to find a bargain on any carrier, or sell one, especially if you are selling a less sought after brand, like infantino (which does make great, budget friendly ergonomic options), DIY carriers, etc, that may not sell as well on The Babywearing Swap. This group has its own feedback group, Babywearing on a Budget Feedback.

Local Groups that you may find carriers in:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LexingtonMoms3/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/123062517859720/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Lexingonmomsnorules/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ColaSC/

High End Babywearing Swap

To be perfectly honest, I'm only in this group to ogle the pretties, and to find out how much the hand wovens and highly sought after things go for. To post here, the wraps (and wrap conversions) are priced at AT LEAST $375 PPD, and often for hundreds more.


I think that's the general gist of all the babywearing groups - If you aren't already in some of these, I highly suggest joining the fun. Like all things babywearing, it's addictive, and should come with an appropriate disclaimer. Consider this your warning.

Upcoming Events:

Babywearing Yoga. Yes, we will be babywearing. And doing Yoga. AT THE SAME TIME. This will be a class for all skill levels, including children that want to participate, Led by our very own Emily Thompson, who also teaches yoga classes at Expecting Well. Dress comfortably, bring kids of all ages, and don't forget your sense of humor. This should be a fun class. Like all meetings, we will open the floor to questions and carrier trouble shooting after the main portion of the meeting.  Please remember this is a peanut-free facility.
Thursday, June 26th at the LDS Church on Broad River Rd, from 10:00 a.m. to  . . .

Midlands Baby, Kid, and Family Expo. This is a huge event, with tons of vendors, including US! We will be giving a live demonstration at 11:30, and we will also have a booth for answering questions, displaying the lending library, and troubleshooting carriers.
Saturday, June 28th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Convention Center, Downtown Columbia

A walk down memory lane, a look at where we are now, and a glimpse of the future

Happy Monday, Midlands Babywearers!

What better way to perk up your Monday than with a blog post? I hope everyone's weekend was as busy and fun-filled as ours was. We had a great meeting on Saturday, birthday party after, and then our family spent the night at the Big Mo watching How to Train Your Dragon 2. If you've not been to the Big Mo with your family, it's worth the drive. There is no more family friendly movie viewing venue than this landmark drive-in. There is playground equipment for the kids to scramble on while you wait for the movie to start, reasonably priced concessions if you don't bring your own food, and the price can't be beat ($8 per adult for a double feature, $4 for kids 4 and up, 3 and under are free). I spotted at least one other fellow babywearer out there, using a ring sling. My only caveat is that you should bring bug spray. But that's the South, right?

 

Memory Lane . . .

Chris,
at one of the earliest meetings

Back to business - you all may or may not know, but Sunday, June 15th marked our six month anniversary! On one hand, I can't believe it's been only 6 months! We've grown to well over 300 members in a very short time frame, and I think we feel so much more established than that 6 month time frame implies. It wasn't too long ago a group of us met at Saluda Shoals and began planning this group. There was a babywearing community already in existence, but it seemed stagnant at the time, and we wanted to get more involved and make it more dynamic, and grow!

So, we gathered again, and again, and through a lot of discussion, thought, and prayer, Babywearers of the Midlands was born January 15th, 2014. We couldn't be more proud of this open, welcoming, and positive group of parents that form our local babywearing community. We are awesome because YOU are awesome. The generosity and kindness we see everyday in the Facebook group astounds me. We love you guys!

This blog has been my personal pet project - In the last six months we've covered different carrier types, like Ring Slings, and SSC/Buckle Carriers. We've talked about how to wear in all types of weather (Hot and Cold), Babywearing basics, including where to buy both online and locally (and how to afford it), how to care for your carrier, why we wear (both ergonomically and emotionally.) We've covered babywearing for newborns and for toddlers, babywearing for dads and plus size moms. We've shown you front carries and back carries. And yet! this is only the tip of the iceberg! There is so much we can talk about when it comes to babywearing. We could talk about it all day long - I almost feel like I'm writing a babywearing version of Green Eggs and Ham. (I could wear him here or there, I could wear him anywhere!)

Katrina, wearing T at the Zoo

I've gotten personal and I would really love if some of you would, too. There is something so fascinating about hearing someone else's journey. If any one of you want to talk about your babywearing journey (whether you've been wearing for 6 months, 6 years, or 16 years), we would really love it if you'd want to do a guest post and share it with us.

 

Where we are now . . .

Especially for those new to the group, this is what we do. We have two Official meetings each month.  Each meeting has a specific topic which we spend about 30 minutes covering, then the meeting opens up for questions, carrier troubleshooting, and lending library rentals. Meetings generally last about 90 minutes total, but have known to both go longer and shorter than that.

Our Saturday meeting is held at the LDS Institute of Religion located at 610 Assembly St, Columbia, SC. There is ample parking, we bring toys for the toddlers to play with, and there is really no time limit on our use of the building.

Our Thursday meeting is held at the LDS Church located at 7449 Broad River Rd, Columbia, SC. We have use of the large gymnasium area, and all of the church nursery toys are available for our use, and again, we don't really have a limit on the time we use the building.

Both buildings are peanut-free facilities, so we always ask that you choose any snacks and drinks you bring with your children carefully. Both meetings start roughly at 10:00 a.m. and last as long as needed to make sure everyone is helped. It is our goal that no one walks away from a meeting with questions unanswered. That's one reason why we have as many admins/leaders as we do, and why we encourage peer-to-peer help. Don't be afraid to ask questions, and don't think that you are unqualified to answer. We are all Babywearers with experience and knowledge to share. As leaders, myself, Jackie, Chris, Emily, and Ashleigh, feel it's our responsibility to bring structure to the group, to maintain a harmonious vibe, and generally oversee things.

Melissa, Chris, and Emily at a play date

We also schedule play dates as often as we can, sometimes as much as once or twice a week. These are opportunities to socialize, get informal help, and try out carries and carriers outside of the formal meeting structure. There's usually at least one or two leaders present at play dates, and we try to vary the locations, to cover the wide area that is the midlands, including the Northeast, Irmo, and in the future we'd love to schedule some play dates further afield to meet the Babywearers who live on the outskirts of Columbia.

Every Wednesday evening, around 8:30 p.m., we have a live chat where we talk about everything going on with us, babywearing or not. It's a fun time to catch up with friends that sometimes have a hard time making it to meetings, due to work or family logistics, and or just talk with some other adults.

If you ever want to schedule a play date, post on the wall in the Facebook group, and we will work it out. This also goes for things like "Hey, I'm headed to the Zoo! anybody want to join?" type things. We love things like this - it helps us get to know each other better, builds friendships and community. All good things!

 

A Glimpse in the Future



A peek at our promotional flyer

As we grow, we are developing a more public presence. This is both exciting and terrifying for us, as we join the public stage. It's great that we are being asked to have a voice in the local community, and it's even better that we are seeing babywearing become more common in the Midlands. We love babywearing (obviously), and we love to share it, too! To this end, we've been asked to join the Midlands Baby and Kids Expo later this month (June 28th). We'll have a table and do a live demonstration on babywearing. It looks to be a huge event, with lots of vendors and attendees. We hope to see many of you there, and possibly meet some new Babywearers. We did a smaller event in April, in conjunction with the Great Cloth Diaper Change, and this looks to be at least double in size. We are very excited to participate, and looking forward to doing many more events like this in the future.

Come check us out!

Babies Wearing Babies

Happy Blog Day, Midlands Babywearers!

This summer is chock full of activities in the Midlands that I hope you are planning on taking advantage of. There are Farmer's Markets - Irmo has one the first and third Saturdays each month, Lexington's opens this weekend, Soda City in Downtown Columbia is every Saturday, rain or shine, and these are just the three I'm most familiar with, off the top of my head. I linked each of their Facebook pages  - go check them out, and I hope you run into another babywearer there! Yard Sales, including a huge, 23 mile one starting in Batesburg - the Peachtree 23 - you might not want to trek the whole thing on foot, babywearing, but you could, I suppose. There are movies in the park, festivals, fairs, and other, less scheduled outdoor activities like parks, barbeques, and reunions. Babywearing is a handy tool when you're doing any outdoor activity, especially over uneven ground that's difficult for strollers.

Your little one, who loves being worn, is sure to want to imitate you when you all are at home, wearing his stuffed animals, or her dolls, or anything else he comes across that he determines needs a little extra TLC. You can use any handy scrap of fabric, scarf, or muslin blanket that you have lying around as a make-shift wrap. But maybe your toddler wants a special baby carrier all his or her own, and you would like something a little more straightforward for them to use, that's designed for doll-wearing.

If you are not crafty, that's ok.

You can buy doll carriers. Many woven wrap companies offer doll wraps, including Kokadi - on their website, choose the wrap you want, and the smallest size available is "doll wrap"-  and Didymos who has a whole tab dedicated to doll wraps. You can buy child sized buckle carriers from Ergo and Boba. Doll sized Mei Tai and Ring Slings abound on Etsy. These all range in price from around $20 for handmade things on Etsy, on up to about $40 for a doll wrap from Kokadi, and the child size buckle carriers fall in between. All in all, it's actually a pretty affordable option, if your little one wants a carrier just like yours.

 

If you are crafty, that's ok, too!



T - my first model,
was unhappy with the results

G was thrilled to wear his froggy

There are tons of doll carrier tutorials out there. TONS. You can make a
DIY stretchy wrap, woven wrap, mei tai, or buckle carrier - if you have a little bit of time and materials. I consider myself only moderately crafty. I have no sewing machine, but I *can* sew.  I made a doll wrap in about the amount time it took a load of cloth diapers to go through a cycle in my washing machine. I cut up a flannel pillowcase (because I figure it's less likely to fray, and couldn't find a jersey one), and some spare woven cotton fabric I had leftover from an unfinished project (yes, I'm that sort of crafter - tons of projects started or materials bought for, few finished). The finished project is far from perfect, but it's serviceable enough for my kids to carry around their loved ones.

My doll wrap, all laid out 

Here are some links for DIY stretchy wraps (these are the easiest. No sewing needed. Just material and scissors):

Baby Doll Wrap
DIY Moby-style wrap
Hybrid stretchy/woven and Mei Tai

Mei Tai (I consider these moderate crafty level. You will need a sewing machine, ability to use a pattern, etc, or enough chutzpah to wing it)

Mei Tai Instructions



Doll Slings and Pouches - sewn
Doll pouch - crochet


Children of all ages love to imitate their parents and recreate their favorite memories with their dolls and stuffed animals during pretend play. Doll carriers are a great addition to any toy box!


I hope you get a chance to make or buy one soon, or play around with that spare muslin blanket or left over winter scarf. Saturday, June 14th, is our next meeting and we encourage you to bring your older toddlers and children who might enjoy a lesson in babywearing, too. We'll do a doll carrier demonstrations and help troubleshoot even our youngest Babywearers. For the adults at the meeting, we will demonstrate and trouble shoot some basic front, hip, and back carries. This would be a great time to finesse or tweak your favorite carry or learn a new one, or pass on your knowledge to a newer babywearer.

I hope to see all of you, your little ones and baby carriers there, at 10 a.m. in the LDS building on Assembly Street!

The weekday meeting this month will be Babywearing Yoga, led by Emily, who currently teaches a yoga class at Expecting Well. This will be a fun time for all ages, and we hope to see many of you at the LDS Church on Broad River Road, at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 26th.

Have some friends you want to introduce to babywearing, but perhaps they aren't ready to come to a "babywearing" meeting yet? Come to the Midlands Baby and Kids Expo on Saturday, June 28th. We'll have a table, business cards, flyers, and the Lending Library available to look at and demonstrate carriers and carries or help troubleshoot a carrier you already own. This should be a great, fun, and FREE, event (that is air conditioned!), that the whole family will enjoy.

Come join the conversation on our Facebook page!

This is why we wear our babies (and toddlers, too)

It's Blog Day Midlands Babywearers!

Most blog posts start happily, but this morning's blog post doesn't. It isn't my story to share the details of, but a friend unexpectedly lost a child last night. My sadness for her family, my grief, is too pervasive to start this post up-beat. So why write today? Why not just wait until another, happier, day?

When a child passes, any child, whether the death is unexpected or at the end of a heartbreaking illness, all of us tend to hold our little ones closer. We snuggle them closer, smell each of their heads, and make note of all their tiny perfections, from the swirls in their hair to the dimple on each toe. That got me thinking about babywearing.

Why do we babywear? When you are out and about, I'm sure this comes up. Strangers will comment, "oh, you're going to spoil her!" or "You keep that up, that boy will never walk on his own!" or "Doesn't your back hurt?"  and depending on your personality, you either ignore them, shrug, talk about how practical it is, and how much you and your baby love it, or maybe your first language is sarcasm (like mine) and you throw back a funny retort.

These confrontations do serve as a good reminder about why we do this crazy thing called babywearing. There are those out there that despise the term "babywearing" because your baby is not an accessory, not an article of clothing. But no one has come up with a better term, so babywearing it is. When you first get into babywearing, it probably is about the practicality. It's so nice to be relatively hands-free, isn't it? No dragging a stroller everywhere out of necessity. No carrying that increasingly heavy child through the mall because they suddenly decided that they are unable to walk another step. No setting that tiny baby down (who doesn't want to be put down) while you chase your toddler at the park.

Jenna - snuggling a newborn
while corralling a toddler
babywearing WIN

And that's really when we get to the heart of it. Babies (and toddlers) love to be held. And as parents, we love to hold our babies close, and yes, even the toddlers sometimes (see above - I definitely will be holding my toddler and preschooler close today, whether they want it or not!). When you are a new parent holding your first baby, you could sit and rock and snuggle your little newborn all day. Gazing at the whorls of hair on the top of her head. Tickling her tiny toes. Giggling at her post feeding grins, and sighing as she falls asleep in your arms. But then she grows, and life goes on, and you just can't sit there and hold her all day long. Frankly, you don't want to sit there and hold her all. day. long. But your baby's desire to be held hasn't stopped just because you need to go the grocery store, or the mailbox, or even just cook dinner. That's when you start babywearing. To get things done, right? Maybe you started with a stretchy wrap, like a Moby or Boba wrap. Maybe you started with a narrow based carrier (like the Baby Bjorn). You might have started babywearing with buckle carrier like an Ergo, or perhaps a ring sling, because they looked easy. No matter where you started, you might have struggled at first. I hope you persevered. I hear from lots of parents who tried to wear their first baby, but the carrier or fit or something didn't work and neither parent or baby liked it. And now they are pregnant with baby number two and they KNOW how wonderfully practical babywearing can be, and they are determined to make it work the second time.  And most do, especially if they can find a group like this one, who can show them options and troubleshoot the carriers they do have. I firmly believe that there is a way for every baby to be worn that makes both baby and parent happy.

As your baby grows into a toddler who can walk on his or her own (I promise, even if your baby is one who wants to be held 24 hours a day, they will learn to walk. Quite possibly sooner than you expect!) Many of us continue to wear our children. Why? Partly because it takes much longer than crossing the walking milestone for children to outgrow their need to be held. And I don't know about you, but my arms get really tired just after carrying my 22 lb 14 month old out to the car, let alone his 27 lb sister or 38 lb big brother! So we continue to wear, to satisfy our growing child's need for comfort and closeness, and to save our arms. Seriously. And also, quite honestly, because a parent never outgrows the desire to hold our little ones. Even when they cease to be little.

Me, snuggling my preschooler

For example, the other week we were at our favorite park, Irmo Community Park, which my four year old Spiderman wanna-be dubbed "The Web Park", when said Spiderman wanna-be fell off the monkey bars, hurting his arm. He was in pain, and sad, and wanted to be held, but didn't want to go home. After a few minutes of holding him in arms, I asked if he wanted to go on my back, because seriously, I couldn't hold him any longer in arms. So, on my back he went. (in a standard sized Kinderpack, by the way. He was fine. Yes, if I wore him often, all the time, I'd get a pre-school sized one for both our comfort. But since wearing him is a rare thing, the standard size worked just fine) He continued to whimper, and rested his head at the nape of my neck. I continued to walk around and keep tabs on my wild 2 year old girl, and fast crawling 1 year old. Win-win.

That fast crawling 1 year old? Well, he's learning to walk. It's not a fast process for him, but when we

He finally fell asleep!

are out and about that's all he wants. He doesn't want to be held. He doesn't want to ride in a cart, and he doesn't even much want to be worn. He insists on crawling and walking, falling down laying on the floor, and trying to walk some more. This is both amusing and frustrating for me as a parent, because I still need to GET STUFF DONE.  You know, like buy groceries and shoes. So, when he's finally worn out, I put him on my back and continue to walk and shop. Eventually I feel his head bounce once or twice before falling heavily asleep in the sweet spot - that space between my shoulder blades that makes the perfect resting places for my babies' bowling ball heads. And I tell you, feeling that damp heavy head resting there, and hearing his breath slow to a sleepy pace, THAT'S why I babywear. There is nothing more comforting to me than knowing my children find in me a place they trust to fall asleep.



Melissa's H found her sweet spot

I wore my first, but not as much as I wore his sister, born not quite 2 years later. Her, I wore in woven wraps from when she was only 8 weeks old, and I continue to wear her almost daily for nap time. Partly because IT WORKS.  Some days she falls asleep even before I finish wrapping her. Partly because I love how it feels to have her asleep on my back. I do it entirely because we both love it.






So, really, why do we babywear? Do we do it spoil our babies or prevent them from growing up? Not at all. I think with most people I've met that wear their babies, it's more about embracing the present than rushing ahead to the future and forcing independence on our kids when they are not yet ready for it. This song popped in my head when I was thinking about this blog post:

"So let them be little 'cause they're only that way for a while
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day
Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle
Oh just let them be little"
- Billy Dean

And it's perfect. We babywear because we know this season in life is short. We want to let our babies be babies, and still be able to offer comfort and a place to rest for our toddlers and preschoolers when they need it.  That's all.

Upcoming Events:

 

We've planned our summer events around, and to include, your toddlers and older children who will be out of school. Please feel welcome and even encouraged to bring them with you! Part of why we do what we do is to give these tools to the next generation of parents so they will not have the same struggles we did with babywearing and parenting.

June 14th: Our June Saturday meeting at the LDS building on Assembly street, we will be talking about and demonstrating how to make and use doll carriers - a great addition to the toy box for kids of all ages.

June 26th: Our June Weekday meeting at the LDS church on Broad River Rd, we will be multitasking! Babywearing Yoga, led by Emily, who is a yoga instructor at Expecting Well. This is a great opportunity for your little ones and bigger ones to take part.

June 28th: the Midlands Baby And Kids Expo at the Metropolitan Center downtown. This is a huge event with a  ton of vendors and activities for parents and kids. We will have a table with the lending library, flyers, and cards, and we will also be giving a demonstration at some point. Stay tuned for more details as the date gets closer.

As always, stay in touch via our Facebook group with any questions you have, share pictures and stories, or just come chat with us on Wednesday nights.