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.
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
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