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Unicorn...

Unicorn is the name given to very rare & desirable wraps throughout the babywearing community.

Yesterday, my unicorn arrived! I had been searching for 6 months for a Kokadi Glückstuch and I now have one! This pretty wrap is 50/50 hemp/cotton blend. I love the toadstools and four leaf clovers x




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Little Frog diary - day 2

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


Then we headed down to Holsworty waitrose to get some yummy food for a BBQ in this glorious weather! We did a front wrap cross carry and I managed it without draping the ends of the wrap all over the ground. 


Walking around Waitrose, 2 lovely ladies came up to us and said how wonderful 'it' (the wrap!) was.  They said how happy he looked and how clever it was. The checkout lady commented that I 'had my hands full', which was actually completely untrue as Edward was quiet and happy in the wrap and my hands were perfectly free to pack up the shopping. I knew he was happy and close to me and I didn't have to worry about keeping an eye on him or entertaining him as I would if he were in a trolley. We lovebaby wearing! 
Steph x

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Little Frog diaries

So today, the lovely Hannah dropped off the new library Little Frog size 5 wrap to me. My mission is to make it soft and lovely for people to use! So I thought we'd try it out first on our daily dog walk, I usually use my beloved connecta, which I can wear Edward in for a few hours in snuggly comfort, so it had a lot to live up to. 

After originally thinking rainbow wraps were not really me, I think I may be a convert. I wasn't totally sure at first as it seemed a bit bright and I'm more of a brown/black/grey neutral kinda gal, but I put it on (I admit I though about what I would wear that would tone it down a bit - white Capri shorts and black vest top) and felt the love straight away, unexpected! We tried a short cross carry that Tamsin had shown me at the last sling meet and although Edward was a bit low down (I think because the wrap is a bit tough at the moment) it was comfy carrying him for our long dog walk:


Edward was quite happy in the wrap and I wore him around the house a bit when we got back.


I actually love the cheery, happy summery colours, perfect for a beautiful sunny day. I think I've decided already I need one of these in my life! 

Later we went into Torrington for a quick trip to the co-op and I tried a front cross carry (FCC) with sling ring on my back, an amazingly clever carry (thank you Lindy for introducing me to this one and to Gill for showing me at the last sling meet) that doesn't even need to be tied as the ring holds it in place somehow! Wow, it blows my little mind. Anyway, I've decided it must be a lucky wrap somehow as in the coca-cola bin by the door there, staring up at me were two coke bottles with mine and Edward's name on. I bought them. Clever marketing coke, very clever. Why I bought them, I'm not sure, I do not really have any need for coke bottles with our names on but there we go. 



The FCC is a great carry as you can pop your baby in and out pretty easily and quickly so I got Edward in the car and left the wrap on. I drove home with a warm summery feeling, being all wrapped up in the pretty rainbow, almost wore it for the rest of the day without Edward in! So day 1 with little frog has been great, it is admittedly quite stiff and thick I think (although my knowledge of woven wraps is pretty limited!) but if I do my job properly, I'm hoping as well as being full of summery loveliness it will be buttery soft and snuggly too! (Then I'll need to buy my own and do it all over again!)
Steph x



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We did it!

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. 


My short size 2 wrap was just sitting on the sofa and I thought 'Right, we're gonna do this'. I thought back to sling meet where lovely people showed me various back carries, laid the wrap out on the sofa, put Edward down in the middle of it, tucked it in his trousers, crossed my arms and held his arms and the wrap and somehow managed to get him onto my back! Tried to adjust a bit and tied it off, and there he was in a 'ruck' carry on my back! It felt surprising secure and I did a bit of tidying up with him back there happily tugging on my hair. Will have to rethink that bit! 

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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

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Forgot my sling!

GRAYSON'S FIRST OUTING 
TO THE   BEACH
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!
When do I get my Blue Peter badge ;)

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Daddy friendly

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' :-)

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