Post Punk Kitchen Forum

We got a Storchen Wiege one that's very pretty (rainbow stripe ish). The ruck sack is what we're going to try. I don't know what to do about coats though. Do you cover your woven wraps with something?

Oi, there needs to be a baby university to learn all this stuff!

heh, i live in queensland, australia, so my biggest concern with wrapping is usually making sure my babe isn't getting too hot :P i got nothin to help you out with coldness.

We have a local babywearers group, and they'll help you work out the kinks in your wrapping. I think a former school mate of mine is in your area and specializes in carriers and wraps, so if you need anything, I can introduce you on FB nneJ. She is paleo though ::rolls eyes::

It's nothing like Queensland here, but still, this baby is going to be born in the middle of summer and I'm definitely hoping it's not going to be too hot for both of us.

I went to a meeting of the babywearing group on Friday, feeling rather apprehensive to be turning up sans-baby, but there was one other pregnant woman there, and the organisers thanked me for coming and having a practice before the baby was actually here so it worked out ok.
So now I feel a bit less terrified of what to do with this enormous piece of stretchy fabric, and I just need a baby to pop in it!

Ah, md I didn't even think about that, der!

Our local babywearing group is pretty nice tofulish, it's just that they meet on a day when there's lots of other stuff going on usually. There are several ladies in our LLL group though that are happy to lend a hand as well.

oww, glad you had a good time! The group here has lots and lots of women (and men!) coming before baby arrives.

So with a Moby, what are my options for carrying a small 2-month old so she can see out? Seems like everything I've seen is designed to keep baby facing in and looking at your chest. tiny wu loves being carried around in arms looking at stuff, and loves sleeping facing my chest in the Moby, but what about for awake time?

Ariann, I've been trying out your "sideways" carry with tiny wu and she is so keen to wave her arm and look at everything! But if anyone else had other suggestions I'd love to hear them.

You can also just face them out in the regular X carry (i.e. crotch resting on the cross of the two shoulder straps), you just don't spread out the straps to cover her butt (so she's kind of hanging by her crotch, as in a Baby Bjorn). Malka likes this carry a lot. But I honestly wouldn't try this under 3 months - they're just too floppy still. Sideways carry should last you a while longer before it gets totally uncomfortable and she doesn't fit across your chest anymore.

you can do the buddha carry in a sling... sit baby in the sling with legs crossed and back against your belly. otherwise, when they get a bit older, you just tie them high on your back so they can see over your shoulder, miss z loves that.

I did this too. Z loved it!

Coats: I live in N Ireland so we have a fair bit of Weather. I've had a few babywearing coats but what I've ended up preferring is a big long trench coat. You can belt it when the baby is off you and not look too weird, and do it up over the baby when wearing. The length makes sure little feet stay warm. If its really cold I add a big fleece underneath and a scarf to fill in any gaps at the top.

I found the babywearing coats with holes for little heads a problem because you can't take the coat off without waking a sleeping baby. Also their head is stuck out on the outside, with the big coat you can tuck a sleeping head in.

I can even put my bag on under the coat if it really buckets down!

Over three baby's I've always ended up back with my wraps by the way- Storchewieges are great and much cheaper than a Didymos!

^Heehee, I have a hilarious image of a person wearing a child on their front, bag on their bag and a MASSIVE trench coat over the top of everything.

What do you wear, outer layer-wise, if you're back carrying? It's purely material but I hate the way my coat bunches up when I'm wearing Raphi... I don't wrap, my toddler is too indecisive for all that wrapping to be worthwhile, it's just a full buckle dream carrier we use.

Also, in regards to the heat? My friends daughter was born in the summer and she used to wrap her with nothing but a bra on underneath and just spread the material out so it covered her :) she would cover herself with the wrap when she was breastfeeding and be nice and cool the rest of the time! Obviously it only really worked because her daughter was young enough not to want to be anywhere but in the wrap or on her boob, might not work for an older child...

CGVegan- I like the head sticking out because people see there's a baby so there's less jostling, pressing in tight, more respect for space and sometimes a seat offered. did you never find a baby-wearing coat with a zippable baby head opening? we have problems with waking up when we get home, and trench coat solution isn't warm enough here.

re: back carry- i guess this is incompatible with bus/subway riding? it'll be many more months before we can try it outside, anyway, just wondering :)

i back carry everywhere, buses, trains [we dont have subways but if we did i would!] I just stand up. Raphi loves it, she gets loads of attention from other passengers and if they try to squash her she pushes them away :)

Back carry is fine, you just need to be aware of your size! The trenchcoat can cover layers and layers if fleeces if you like! For back carries you can drop the back down I find, not the most elegant but it works.

I back carry on the subway, and its a lot easier than jostling a stroller. I just have an old XXL fleece that I pull over me and Leela and she is snug as a bug. Often people can't even see her, and just assume I have a really weird hump or backpack.

About back carrying and transportation: if you think it's likely that not every seat will be needed, you can also sit sort of sideways. For short bus trips, I've even just sat facing forward with a little bit of a lean forward... Unless you slam all your weight backwards, baby should be comfortable.

this is what i do... or sit in the luggage rack

The manliest carrier ever.

Found another picture of Malka being side-carried in the Moby: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

Don't do the shoulder straps like that, though - spread them out over your shoulders for more comfort. Malka was so light I guess he didn't care.

When I click on the link it says I don't have permission to see the photo, boo!

Just excited and wanted to share! We finally had a successful babywearing venture. I planned to BW Giles from the beginning and had a Moby, a Mei Tai, and an Ergo. I was so disappointed when everytime I tried to use them he would just yell and be miserable. I even eventually got the baby bjorn because I thought he would like to forward face - and actually he tolerated that but at 20 lbs my neck and shoulders did not. So today we went on a family trip to the beach and animal sanctuary and I used the Ergo in a hip carry for the first time and he was as happy as a clam and I was comfortable too! Now of course I want a beautiful rainbow woven wrap...

OMG, I LOVE the Baby Hjolster!

^5 annasrobbie. I remember that feeling with Freya too, about 6 or 7 months. One of our local babywearing group leaders actually thought I was exaggerating the disdain F had for slings. We tried a BabaSling, Moby, MeiTai, Baby Bjorn, a woven wrap, a Manduca and I think one other that I'm forgetting. She tolerated the Moby some when she was small, and the BB for a couple of trips, but screamed mostly in the rest. Now, I feel bad that I'm not wearing her more. We can't figure out what to wear coat-wise, etc. in the cold weather. I have a Boba on loan from the sling group that I really really need to try before I have to take it back in like 10 days! Eek!

does anyone have a recommendation for a summertime baby wearer? ie in the hot weather that you can wear and not melt?
i have a Moby wrap and i love it and BabyPunk loves it and passes the fork out anytime i put her in it so ive been using that but having that little furnace baby directly on my chest i think is going to give me heat stroke :-P

i took her to the mall today in it to return a few gifts and we were inside in the AC and i stil felt like i was going to melt. im also still having awesome post partum hot flashes.

i like to wear her when i walk the dogs btu i dont envision being able to use the Moby now that summer is coming.
i also have a peanut shell sling but she's too small for it right now.

hmm Lisa I had to be very mobile with Sierra, who was so tiny too, from very early on in a hot May and I used a simple cloth sling (the brand name I think is slinglings). It was important that the sling was properly sized for me but not too loose because yeah, tiny babies can get lost in there. We still got sweaty but it was doable, and she slept through many of my commutes + work days in there. When she got heavier I switched to a soft structured carrier (the Beco Gemini, which I highly recommend and which can be used for infants starting at like 8lbs, no infant insert needed).