So a few days ago I ordered a new car seat for Edward. It was a Britax front facing one. Then the same day I saw a press release about new regulations for car seats recommending rear facing until 15 months. 

So still been working on softening up the little frog and thought I'd share a few of our adventures of late.

Just looking through my photos on my phone and stumbled across this one. It was so lovely to get Elsie up on my back in the warm weather, she got to look around at everything and even had a small toy on occasion whilst being carried. I was getting much better at the back carries and loving my okinami Harris (based on hokusai's wave) which seemed very fitting for our beachy days out. 

When they are newborn it's all about keeping them close, but somehow you lose that and it seems like it's less important. I don't think my 8 month old son needs me any less than he did as a newborn and wrapping helps me keep him close- he's thriving, he's engaged with his surroundings, he's happy and content  and independent. I love wearing my baby. At 4 days old we were finally discharged from hospital and I laid on the sofa, unable to hold my baby in my arms as I was so weak from a massive PPH. I tucked him skin to skin up my jumper and felt at ease. Now I feel the same when he's slung and nestled into me. Baby wearing makes us both happy!

Grayson is too young for swings really, he can't even sit up yet, but I donned my ring sling and went for a play. Not only did I get to indulge myself acting like a 6 year old but my 8month old son was wide eyed as we swooshed in the air :)

I hate food shopping, always have, and having a baby in tow doesn't make it any easier. So today I sat in my parking spot for 5 minutes trying to decide whether to take the car seat in the big trolley, or take the baby in the little trolley with the seat, or wrap him, like I usually do. I don't know why I dithered really, the sling is absolutely the best option. So I slung him and marched on in, and man did my back kill! But not because of my sling, my little boy was all cuddled in helping me choose bananas, but those blinking trolleys should come with a wonky wheel warning, it was like steering a tank!

This morning we took the Little Frog on our dog walk and did a front cross carry without spreading the passes (thanks Bryony!) which meant that Edward only had 1 layer of fabric holding him in as it was lovely and hot. He stayed pretty cool really, I think as he was against me I could regulate his temperature. I remember reading that about newborns and skin to skin contact, so presume it still applies?! 

Today on our dog walk we tried a kangaroo carry and took the little frog to play on the swings:

Hooray! Today I decided, finally, that I must have a go at a back carry. It went much better than expected. I must admit I've been putting it off for ages, worried that it would all go horribly wrong, but actually it was fine. 

Today was the most wonderful day!  Bright sunshine, cuddles with my baby and a lot of positive comments from random strangers in South Molton! 

I hadn't been babywearing for a couple of weeks and really missed the special snuggles.  As soon as I picked my pink wrap up this morning though Layla held her arms up for a cuddle!  I lifted her legs in and tucked the fabric around her and we were good to go!  We went to get her weighed (I love knowing how chubby she is now) and caught up with the other mummies.  We saw a beautiful baby all snuggled up in a ringsling and it reminded me of those early days with Layla when she seemed to be constantly feeding!  We had a stretchy wrap at the time which was brilliant skin-to-skin contact and allowed me to have hands free to eat cake and drink lots of cold tea!  (Also to hoover but I didn't tell my other half that)!

After we'd been to the clinic we went to the library where we were complimented by a lady who said that it was lovely to see a baby all snuggled up as she was!  Layla actually went to sleep whilst I was choosing our books, she must have been very comfortable!  I was able to do a quick shop around the supermarket before she woke - although I chatted to her out of habit on my way through the aisles!  I asked her opinion on which were the best bananas and sang a song, I'm so used to the constant interaction that I forgot she was asleep until I got to the checkout! 


On our way home a teenage boy looked at Layla and said to his friend: 'that is soooo cool' and it made my day.  Maybe when he grows up he might carry his baby too and appreciate all the lovely cuddles firsthand x

So, I made a fatal error- left the house without my sling. Arrive at the beach, it's glorious weather. Realise I have two options 1)take buggy into beach....dry soft sand, never going to work! 2) carry my 20lb 7 month old in my arms....never going to work! (This is the beauty of slings, people with babes in arms often say, but doesn't he get heavy after a short period of time? And the answer is 'no', he really doesn't, I can carry him in a sling for hours whereas in my arms I get the lactic acid burning arms after 15 minutes!) Anyway I digress, so I opted for option 3) make a sling a la Blue Peter! I searched the car for scarves, sarongs, clothing etc and opted for my giant muslin. Followed it into a triangle, pulled the point up under his bum to his belly button, and voila a hip carry! Yes it was a bit uncomfy on my shoulder, but it meant we strolled on the beach for an hour, him watching the world go by and me hands free for a blackberry ice cream!

We've been really lucky to be able to purchase new slings for North Devon Sling Library recently.
One of our purchases was Ergobaby Baby Carrier and Infant insert from The Natural Nursery
http://www.naturalnursery.co.uk/ergo-baby-carriers/ergo-baby-carrier-bundle-of-joy.html
It can be used from birth thanks to the infant insert and used for front & then back carries once baby is around 6 months.
My husband finished work early today so road tested the new Ergo when taking the dogs out. He declared this buckle carrier is both comfortable and 'daddy friendly' :-)

Today was a bit of a lazy day. It has been raining in Barnstaple and as it was a bank holiday Monday and my hubby was home we decided to just have a day sorting out the house and doing shopping.

By about 5pm my 17 month old was getting a bit fractious and was desperate to have a sleep, however, I am a mean sensible mummy and if she hasn't napped before 3pm then I make sure she stays awake until bedtime as otherwise she is likely to be awake until 2am...

So we had tea and she perked up but was fidgety and fractious. She normally falls asleep whilst feeding but not tonight, she was extremely overtired and would not give in. 

I needed to get some stuff done so decided I would us my double rainbow size 2 and pop Freya on to my back using a carry called a ruck-tied-under-bum (RUB). She was a little annoyed about this so pulled her best 'whatever' face for this photo ;)

So I went and did the washing up and it all went quiet.....
















.....and that was because she was fast asleep snuggled into my neck xx

...and I even managed to put her down without waking her up in the cot which is really cool as sleeping on a wrap helps to break them in* so win-win :) 




*however, I did remove this wrap shortly after the photo was taken as I am not sure how safe this would be to leave a baby wrapped in a sling unattended x

Meet Okinami Kai. This is a 20% Linen 80% cotton blend woven wrap by the company Oscha. It measures a little under 5m so is a size 6.

It is a very pretty wrap but like most new wraps is quite stiff straight from the bag so my mission today is to 'break' the wrap which basically means I am going to do things to it to make it all soft and floppy :)








 So first of all with the help of my three year old we scrunch the wrap into the washing basket and use it as something for her to sit on.











 Next we put the wrap in for a wash on a short cycle with an extra rinse and spin. Not all wraps can be machine washed so always check the manufactures instructions. After it was washed we hung it on the line for an hour and thanks to the sun & breeze it was fairly dry so we just gave it a short tumble dry to really soften it. Again, you have to be careful when tumble drying wraps, its not something I would usually do unless to break them in. Some may then have given the wrap a steam iron after but not me, the iron and I are civil to each other but try to avoid each other ;)


So once the wrap was clean and dry we decided to have a little fun...

Firstly I ran the wrap between these sling rings a few times. This is a really good thing to do if you have had a bad day and want to get some tension out but a bit boring for preschool children.
 Then we braided the wrap and scrunched it up into a ball and played with it like that. We then unbraided it and braided it again as my three year old wanted to try and braid it (but got bored so I did it).












The she had a fab idea that the wrap could be used as a bridge to run away from the crocodile so we walked up and down the braided wrap a few times. I did unbraid then braid again because every time you braid it there will be different threads put under more tension than others helping to soften it.









 
Then we tied the wrap onto the cot bars and made a hammock. Which was really fun!















I did untie the hammock a few times  and re adjust where it was tied so that again we could put different parts of it under stress :)
It was even fun to swing in but Freya wasn't too impressed when her big sister tried to give her a kiss!













Then my big girl wanted 'up' so we could see if it was any softer and yes it was loads softer already so we went for a little walk with her in a Double Hammock back carry which also helps to break the wrap in especially given that she is 2.5 stone!












Then we took a family walk on the beach with the youngest in the wrap and it was definitely loads softer! Even in a windy car park with a load of onlookers I managed to get toddler into a double hammock and I think Okinami Kai seemed right at home in the surroundings :)










 Then when we got home Amelia tested its softness once again and declared that the wrap was far softer and 'like the best softness sling in ever and ever and ever'

Mission complete :) x

So everyone always talks about how to break a wrap in (basically using it so it gets softer and easier to use). This is my most novel and most fun way ever (the dog and the cat even got involved)!! This is also my stash shot...I think I have too many- 3 are now up for sale on various facebook pages :) Pending decision on the rainbow rings ling, we took photos to put it up for sale and I wore it to the fish and chip shop, it was too comfy and gorgeous for its own good. Hubbie is not too impressed :/
We were making a teepee anyway as a sensory space for Elsie, then it can change and grow as she gets older. Before we put the sewn cover on we thought it would be cool to try wrapping it in wraps! Complete with ring sling doors. Amazing outcome! Would have been even better with fairy lights.

This is what the teepee actually looks like with it's cover made of our tablecloths from our wedding. It's not finished yet, just got to kit the inside of it with fun baby things for Elsie to play with and look at.

Tamsin x

So today we are poorly and full of cold, nanny took out the biggest little girl and I was left with the little one to rest play with.

 Meet Freya. Freya is a 17 month old monkey baby (not ready to call her a toddler despite the fact she has been toddling for 5 months) who loves to be carried around and watch the world from a sling. She is a very lucky baby as she has a Mum (and a Dad and a big brother) who like to carry her. 









These are our library stretch wraps.

We have (from top to bottom):

• Victoria Sling Lady (VSL)
• Joy and Joe (J&J)
• Moby wrap

There are lots of other makes of stretchy wraps out there including Karime, Hana baby, Lennylamb, Boba, Bali stretch (to name a few) but these are the ones we have in the library.



I used a Moby with Freya until she was 9 months old & approx 16lb. I moved on to woven wraps as I found that Freya could wriggle into different positions and I had to keep tightening it. I could still wear her in it now but it is not as comfy as a woven wrap as the material is not as supportive.


Here we have the VSL stretchy as modelled by the gorgeous Oana. Of the three wraps this one was the thinnest, lightest and narrowest. I put (now 18lb 8oz) Freya in this wrap but it hurt my back after 5 minutes, she really felt like she was bouncing in it and she was able to lean backwards and 'flip' out onto the bed very easily. It was however, very cool so I feel this would be best suited to a newborn baby and would ideal in hot weather thanks to the thin cotton fabric. These wraps start from just £20 to buy.


 Next up we have the Joy & Joe stretch wrap. This wrap was thicker and heavier than the VSL and thanks to its wideness I was able to get a much more secure wrap with Freya. I had this on for 15 minutes but Freya did manage to wriggle her arms out and wriggle the wrap quite far down. After 15 minutes I was ready to take it off as I did have to tighten it a few times. It was not making me ache (unlike the VSL) but it was not supportive enough to wear for much longer. Freya was also able to her back flip on the bed trick but not as easily and she had to wriggle the wrap quite far down. These start from £18.99.


Last but not least we have the Moby. This is not the one that is in the sling library (the one in the library is a charcoal grey colour). I wore the moby on for over half an hour and only took it off as Freya was bored and wanted to play. It was very comfortable but I did have to tighten it after about 20 minutes. The fabric is thicker, heavier and wide than the other two so it was more supportive and Freya found it harder to wriggle the wrap down. She was unable to do her bed back flip with the moby (much to her frustration) which to me highlighted that it was a safer option for a wriggly baby. However, it was very hot, the combination of the weight of the material an the thickness of the wrap made me feel very warm and I cannot imagine that it would that convenient in the height of the summer (yes I know, what summer?). Moby wraps start from around £38 so are more expensive than the other two.

Conclusion

I really liked all three for different reasons! I think if I was due a baby from April to - August I would be tempted to go for the VSL just for the early days and then move on to something more supportive when needed. Probably not the most cost effective way but definitely the coolest in warm weather. I think I would go for the Moby over the Joy & Joe purely as I feel it would last longer & is safer for older babies. I do prefer the patterns of the Joy and Joe wraps, they have all sorts of floral prints, spots, stars and stripes so I would be tempted to go for that over a VSL for heavier babies and it is slightly cheaper than both.

All three of these can be hired from the library for £3 for one week, £5 for 2 weeks & £8 for a month.

Important info: Never, ever carry your baby on your back in a stretchy wrap & do not attempt to encourage your baby to flip out of a stretchy yourself. I have a monkey-child with no fear and made sure she did this over a bed x

Just out and about in Torrington today with our new girasol rainbow dream. So many lovely comments from people I met. One lady even claimed she wishes she could do it all again so she could carry! Another said how snuggly she looked and that babies are happier being carried. Elsie loves it, she smiles at everyone we pass...including dogs and cars, looks at tasty things on offer, has a chat to anyone that will listen, twiddles my necklace, has a feed and finally takes a nap, all in the comfort and security of a cuddle :)