Stretchy wrap time...Thank you Woogi Woo!

 Woogi Woo (woogiwoo.com) sent me one of their bamboo/organic cotton stretchy wraps to try and I’ve got to say I was in love the minute I pulled it out of the package.
We all know that bamboo is good stuff - breathable, hypoallergenic, naturally antibacterial and antifungal, but most importantly (!) it feels amazing. It’s incredibly soft and has a reassuring firmness to it’s stretch, like a favorite T-shirt. The only woven wraps that have felt this squish-friendly are silk pfau (delicate and pull-prone) and alto zen cashmere… let’s not talk about cashmere and baby spit-up. 

Is it easy to use? Yep. Honestly, you tie it the same way as every other stretchy on the market, but this has two things I like better. The fabric is much smoother than a cotton interlock so it glides and tightens more easily. The hems are flat overlocked/serged so there’s no bulk and the edges stretch the same way as the rest of the wrap, without digging or biting. The ends have been nicely tapered so there’s less fabric bunched around your middlesection (because who needs that?!) and the color range is a gentle earthy palette that only uses vegetable and water-based dyes, so if you have a sucker/chewer/muncher of wraps (like me) nothing toxic is making it into your child’s mouth. 

Will I use it? Yep. Even with my collection of wovens, this is beautiful, tactile and practical. It’s not going to see a lot of love with Audrey, as she’s just hit 9kg (20lbs), but I can see myself loaning this to a lot of new mamas and stashing it for our next baby so I can tandem easily. 

Should you buy one? Yep. For your new baby, your expecting friend, the nervous father-to-be… do them a favor and gift them a gorgeous and ergonomic carrier that will help them bond with their baby and relax into their new role.  Enjoy your beautiful baby... in an absolutely luxurious wrap 

Want one for free? Then just click HERE and enter - for yourself, for your friend, or your sling library :)

Babywearing meets... and a new giveaway!

Yesterday Audrey and I went along to a babywearing meet at our local library. I run a local mums' group page on Facebook with about 2000 members, and lately there's been a bit of chatter about ergos, ring slings, and HOW DO I STRAP MY BABY ON?

Anyway, it was fun. Mostly we did FWCC (front wrap cross carry) and ring sling demos, as they're a great solution for new mums who are intimidated by ALL. THAT. FABRIC. and feel a bit scared of strapping their tiny new babe into a soft structured carrier that seems a bit industrial.

The best part? BabyMumma has given me a gorgeous Natibaby Milky Way ring sling in the Violet Dreams colorway to give to one of you lovely people. This is a 100% cotton which will soften very quickly and be lovely to use with little babies, but it's sturdy enough for your toddler as well. Click HERE to enter - you only have three days!

GIVEAWAY TIME!

GIVEAWAY! 

Recently I reviewed a range of Wrapsody wraps and now it is my great pleasure to give one away! Will you choose the ultra-stylish and multipurpose wrapDuo in black, for easy carrying convenience in and out of the water? The lovely green Freya, with her breezy dragonflies? Or Alyssa, soft and loveable like your favourite tee-shirt? Hit the link, share the love! 
http://bit.ly/14h8VNF

What can you do with a wrapsody hybrid?

Everything! I need to say right now: NEVER back carry with a stretchy wrap.
Yes, it is technically possible.
No, it is not optimal.
No, it's not really safe.

Now, here's the confusing part: Wrapsody stretch hybrids CAN be used for front, side/hip AND back carries. Why? Because they're a stretch cotton with WIDTH-ways stretch but very little LENGTH-ways stretch.  They won't 'give' the same way a true stretchy will, meaning your child can't backflip out (trusting you have a decent wrap job, of course!)

So why not just buy a woven, or just buy a regular stretchy? 

The hybrid will give you more support (and therefore can be used for longer as your child grows) and it's a little easier to know when you have it "tight enough". I don't know about you, but I find it difficult to gauge when a stretchy wrap is sufficiently tight - part of the reason I've always favoured woven wraps and ring slings. However, this is much softer than most (new) wovens and would be lovely with a new baby. It's also going to be more forgiving for a new mum who is learning to wrap, as it's gentle on the shoulders without really careful tightening. Put it on the top of your list for new mums - a baby carrier they can use comfortably and safely for at least 12 months and beyond. 

Let me state that Audrey is approximately 10kg, or 22lbs, and I easily back wrapped her and had her up in back wrap cross carry for about an hour before I felt the need to adjust my wrap job. We later FWCC'd to sleep, and I can see this being a perfect lender wrap to enable new mamas to get comfortable with wrapping at a great price point. 

Summer's here... and so is a Bali Breeze

Summer options! The last few weeks we have had some days worthy of beach walks and gasp - shorts and tank tops! Of course, this means time for lighter wraps, so out came the Wrapsody range. First up, the Bali Breeze, in Freya.

This is an amazingly supportive wrap for such a lightweight, and yes, it would make my tropical-holiday-luggage-cut.
For starters, it's not so expensive that I'd worry about sweating all over it or losing it. It dried in about an hour flat, so it's going to be fine getting smeared with sunscreen and stuffed in a beach bag. Audrey is currently around 22lbs/10kg, and we did just fine in FWCC, BWCC, and DH (front wrap cross carry, back wrap cross carry, and double hammock). I would not use it in a single-layer carry with my toddler but would happily do so with a newborn... oh HAI perfect summer newbie wrap!

Last point in it's favour - being thin, it's easily tightened and adjusted for a very sleek and well moulded wrap job. It will encourage new wrappers to spread passes evenly and tension strand by strand when wrapping instead of yanking on a whole chunk of fabric (which creates agonising digginess). Any wrap that helps you build skills to become a comfortable and safe baby wearer is a good thing :)

Natibaby UFO giveaway!

Mmmm delicious and spacey - this is amazing. This beautiful Natibaby shortie is 60/40 bamboo/linen and feels so deliciously squishy and cushy with an undeniably sturdy linen backbone. It rocks as a no-sew ring sling and makes a brilliant rebozo/ruck wrap - easy on the shoulders, spectacular on support. PLUS it's (obviously) damn cute. Baby Mumma has provided me with this lovely Natibaby jacquard (it's her exclusive design!) and if you want one, all you have to do is click HERE - tooooooo easy!

Review - Easycare WCRS/wrap conversion ring sling - Rainbow no.1

This beloved ring sling came to me from a babywearing friend in the USA; she's a rockabilly hipster with a great attitude and two gorgeous girls and we've had many of the same wraps pass through our stashes, so it's kind of fitting that I have a little piece of her stash here permanently with me :)

Easycare wraps really are just that. Durable, densely woven and difficult to snag, they fold up small and  once broken in are flannelly and delicious. This is a no.1 rainbow (orange weft) and sometimes I wish I had it as a wrap as well as a ring sling. Then I tell myself I don't need ALL the rainbows... I just think I do!

As with any ring sling, your comfort depends on the shoulder style as well as the carry. This is a sbp (sleeping baby productions) pleated shoulder which I love, as it spreads the weight evenly across my bony shoulder. It's also symmetrical, so you can carry on the right or left.

Why do you need a ring sling?
They're quick. Actually, putting Audrey in a ring sling takes me about the same time as a ruck, but a front carry has the huge advantage of being able to breastfeed on the go. I actually find it easier to feed in a ring sling than in a wrap, probably because I have a short torso - I can scooch her down and back up up again without losing stability or security.
Most often we use a ring sling hip carry in the morning, when I'm cooking breakfast and she wants to see what's going on. I can put her on my left hip and scramble eggs on the right ;)
They're also a winner in hot weather when you only want one layer of fabric over baby - and EATING OUT! Lap belt anyone? (VERY handy, especially for grabbers, wigglers and toddlers.)

Who's it best for?
I didn't really get the hang of using a RS until Audrey was about 4 months and 8-9lbs. I think that was general awkwardness on my part and being afraid to crush her - next time I think I'd have (a) better skills and (b) not be so nervy! If you have a sturdy enough fabric a good RS should see you through toddlerhood, although you should be careful not to always carry to one side and not to carry asymmetrically for long periods of time. The simple answer is that although you CAN use a ring sling at every stage of a baby's development, you may want to practice and should use your common sense in conjunction with the TICKS guidelines.

FREEBIE!

Um, it's kinda cool when you can get bespoke stuff designed. Even better when you can give it away! If you want this Foxie MCN, CLICK HERE and knock yourself out!

No unicorns, just rainbows :)

Small has a new fixation: feeding me mandarin segments. If only I could get her to peel all the pith off first...

This is the new mini rainbow easycare and it's a lot softer and friendlier than Prism after just one wash. We had a nappy-free accident of the very wet kind on our lengthy walk, so it's just had a second bath. Loved it in a double hammock; very supportive and still grippy-new. It's going to be magic when broken in properly.

Just Breastfeed in private? Just take no for an answer.

She says it well. "Bothering" someone is simply not an adequate reason to hide. 

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wordynerdy/2013/09/why-not-just-breastfeed-in-private/

The winner is...

Shannon Davis, entrant number 95! 

I have packaged up lewlewbelle (with a few sniffles, faeries is such a lovely wrap!) and she will be making her way across the ocean to Iowa shortly :)  lucky we have Pavo to console us even on the rainy days ;) 

Last chance...

If you'd like a limited edition Lewlewbelle "Faeries" wrap you need to buzz yourself over HERE and comment to enter... TWELVE hours left. That's all, folks!

FREEBIE!

One of the best things about having a popular facebook page is being able to do giveaways from time to time - and this is a BEAUTY!  Australian designer and dye artist Lewlewbelle is letting me GIVE AWAY one of her beautiful Faeries wraps  

Now, since it's been here for a play, I can tell you that it's 100% cotton jacquard, beautifully sleek to wrap with, and absolutely reversible. I cannot WAIT to see her next designs... and hopefully we won't have to wait long!

So, want a size 4 Faeries of your own?
Easy. You have until Thursday noon (Melbourne time) to:
Like Keep Calm and Carry Them
Like Lewlewbelle (I'll check, you know!)
Don't forget to share...
and TELL ME in the facebook comments - What will be on the next Lewlewbelle wrap?

If you'd like to be featured on Keep Calm and Carry Them or Mamasphere please EMAIL me to discuss what I can do for you ;) 

Review - Pavo Textiles Penumbra Lunar

Meet Pavo. Audrey likes it so much she promptly passed out. That had nothing to do with it being nearly 9pm, but is all down to the delicious detergent the last owner washed with before sending it far across the ocean. What did I trade? A piece of my black and white Solstice Studios custom... This is how our wraps travel and acquire their own stories ;)

Pavo wraps are just divine. Well, Penumbra Lunar is, anyway. Weighing in at 280 gr/m2, it's a dense but light weave in blue-black. The squiggles manage to be playful and classy all at once and create a pleasant amount of grip to lock passes into place.  You'll notice I even felt the need to accessorise ;)

This is a slightly narrow wrap which might be a challenge if you're wrapping a tall toddler or a child instead of a baby; I didn't find it problematic, but it's something to be aware of. Otherwise, the cushiness and diagonal give in this weave make it a dream for toddler wrapping. It has a slightly elastic feel that is magic. Very much looking forward to further adventures with this new company. 

Sushi!

Sushi monster and I just wanted to remind you there's still time to score a semiprecious mama necklace HERE: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/OTU0MmRlYTcyODc2ZDdlMDk1YjExM2ZlNGZhNzUxOjE0/ ... And there wis something long and floppy and Australian-designed coming VERY soon! 

hooray for lovely mamas and freebies!

Yay! Weekend freebie!
Nardia, a lovely Babywearing mama who makes baltic amber and semiprecious jewellery, crafted my fiddle necklace - and sent me an extra baby-size necklace and bracelet to give away! Hurrah! You can enter HERE!

Zzz

Is there anything better than a sweetly sleeping little curled into your back?

By the way, Oscha's Erraid birds are divine - lightweight,wide and silky, totally wrappable and supportive. 

decisions, decisions....

Help! I have a custom spot coming up with Warped and Wonderful and I can't decode which color Ferm would look best in...

Hello size 4!

What's your favorite size 4 carry? I find myself loving 4s for quick rucks, robbins/poppins hip carry, a double hammock tied at the shoulder and front wrap cross carry tied under butt.

This size 4 is a Solstice Studios custom handwoven whose three 'sister wraps' all live in the USA... lucky me! It's 100% cotton and a very similar weight and texture to the Uppymama wraps I've encountered, with a supportive diagonal give and lovely cush on the shoulders. 

making new friends.

The best thing about having spare wraps? Sending them abroad to cuddle other babies and make new friends. Nothing nicer than enabling a new baby wearer to discover their love of carrying their little one close :)