My Babywearing Adventure - So Far

If you have not heard of babywearing before, you should go research it, especially if you have young kids or will have kids eventually. One day (hopefully soon) I'll post some links to my favorite informative sites and the ones that are the best for safety and correct information. For now, just go browse thebabywearer.com or www.becomingmamas.com or http://momawraps.blogspot.com/.

I started looking into BWing (shortened because I'm THAT lazy *wink*) back in February. I knew a little bit about it before then, but at that time I really dived into it.

Now before I start on my BWing adventure, let me tell you a little about how I decided to go this route.

Lots of prayer.

If you have kids you know how it "goes". There is so much judgment everywhere you turn. A million different: ways to raise your kids, ways to discipline your kids, methods to follow, "rules" you have to abide by, and most of all: opinions. And when you have a kid in hand, apparently it gives you a neon flashing sign that says "Tell me what you think I'm doing wrong, and how to do it right" over head.

So I wanted to go into this parenting gig with at least one thing: Confidence. My one goal for my kids and how I raise them is for them to see Christ in all that I am. I blogged a little bit about this back in February here. As long as Zech and I have prayed about how we want to raise our kids and by what methods we do so, I can live with all the advice people will give us. Disclaimer: I will take what people say and pray about it, I don't want it to sound like I will be completely closed minded.

Ok so, onto how it's going for me.

Rough.

All the YouTube videos online make it look so completely easy. It's not really that easy. It has a huge learning curve and takes a lot of practice to understand and be able to do well. I have most certainly not gotten to the "do well" part. I'm understanding more and more each time I wrap and I'm steadily learning more about the art of wrapping.

What I've Tried:

Moby Wrap

Right now, this is my favorite for shopping. Its nice since he's so little right now. Since it's stretchy, its perfect for newborns. Something I need to keep in mind, but forget: I should put it on before leaving the house, then put him in once we get to the destination. The wrap is very long and very hard to not let it touch the gross parking lot ground.

Ring Sling - Maya Wrap Ring Sling - Medium

I bought a Maya Ring Sling brand new. First mistake. Working with a new wrap is hard. Getting it to thread and to have the fabric spread across the rings evenly: hard. Getting the fabric to not fold ontop of itself in the rings when you tighten: nearly impossible. Getting it to tighten: extremely hard for someone who doesn't know what they are doing and for a new wrap (the fabric doesn't move easily at all). Getting newborn to like fabric: definitely impossible.

Here's a picture of my frustrated self, with equally frustrated baby:

Since then, I've washed the wrap once, I've wrapped Isaac from anywhere from 2-30 minutes at a time. The times he stayed in for more than 2 minutes, he was fast asleep ;) It's getting easier to work with the more we wrap, so I'm just staying with it and keep trying! I initially bought this wrap to be my "going to church" wrap. It's quicker to get him in and out of a sling then a wrap, and much easier to navigate then a stroller. Below is my first successful attempt at doing legs out. He is a leg-straightener, so if he's awake it's nearly impossible to keep him happy. Right now he's not strong enough to pop the seat (the bottom rail goes under his butt and his knees need to be higher than his butt (that's the "seat"), popping the seat means to basically get out of the seat) so if he can't straighten his legs, screaming commences.

Chicco Soft Structure Carrier

I feel like I know the least about this carrier, so I am not recommending it to anyone just yet. Isaac likes this one the bet so far. I think its because his legs are the most free, or because its the least restrictive. One thing I do want to say: be careful of the butt on these types of carriers. The have a similar "rule": the knees should be higher than the butt. so I folded a towel for this one and put in in the seat. This carrier will most likely be Zech's, since its probably the only one I'll be able to get him to wear ;) The one thing I don/t like about this carrier: its so much different from the wraps I've tried. Wraps are tight this is so incredibly loose. It scares me, but once I do some more research I'm sure I'll like it a lot more.

Last: I tried to play around with a DIY "Rebozo". Again, not much research has been done, so "don't try this at home" just because I did. I had some jersey fabric and tried this carry out, its tied with a slip knot, which I had such a hard time adjusting to make it tight and safe, probably because it was a stretchy fabric rather than woven.

It's going to take awhile to "get" wrapping and know all the "rules" but I'm very excited about the journey ;)