Babywearing in the Rain

Well, I love my birthday and I love Disneyland and I love free things. So you would think that a free ticket to Disneyland on my birthday would have been the best thing ever. And it would have been had it not rained... all.day.long!!! I knew it was going to rain and rain hard. But we had already purchased nonrefundable hotel reservations in Anaheim. So off to the Magic Kingdom we went. I was determined to wear my baby at Disneyland come hell or high water (turns out it was the latter that we faced).

Warning! Dangerous baby slings on the market!!!

If you have attended one of my babywearing classes, you know that I warn about "bag style" baby slings. There are several makers of these bag type slings and they are all dangerous. Because of the design of the "sling" it is not possible for your baby to have proper head/neck support. This can cause positional asphyxiation and death. In fact, there have already been two deaths this year alone in bag slings. Also, the bag often closes shut over the baby and there is not proper air circulation. Improper air flow is a cause of SIDS.

If you have one of these style slings, please discontinue use. If you have registered for one, please remove it from your registry.

There are many excellent carriers out there that, if used properly, will provide a safe way for you and your baby to stay close. Unfortunately they are not in the mainstream market place. If you have any questions about carriers or how find or use one, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will help you find the right baby carrier for you. If you already have a sling and need help using it, I will be more than happy to help.

More information about babywearing can be found at www.thebabywearer.com.

In the interest of full disclosure:
I am a hobbyist sling maker. I make and sell ringslings as well as make the occasional mei tai. However, the only interest I have in sending this message out to you is in the interest of your baby's safety.

International Babywearing Week!

Next week is International Babywearing Week. To celebrate, Desert Babywearers and NewAndExpectantMamas.com are teaming up and heading to... THE MALL!!! (I know, such a sacrifice.) Some of the ladies have been babywearing since day one, some are still learning now to use the carrier and some have never worn their babies before! I am so excited about meeting new moms and getting babywearing noticed. At least I assume there will be a few people who notice a big group of moms who are stroller free and cuddling their babies!

Crazy Mei Tai Construction Design

The funniest thing that happened at the Carried in Comfort babywearing meeting. I was showing them my Parents of Invention mei tai. Kat (the leader) asked me what I thought about the different angles of the straps as she pointed out that one strap was angled down. I had never noticed this before! Now, I have inspected my mei tai and checked the stitching many times, but I never noticed the bizarre angle of the strap. Aside from being a little embarrassed that I had never noticed this major detail, I was flabbergasted as to why it would be like that. "For a hip carry?" Was the only thing I could come up with. I emailed the Parents of Invention and asked them about it. They said it was done on purpose. But what purpose? They didn't say. I can only assume that it is to aid in the comfort of a hip carry... but only on your left hip. Sorry, lefties! This mei tai is not for you.

My carrier of choice these days is a ringsling that I made myself. In fact, it isn't even sewn into the rings. It is threaded at each end and tension keeps it in place. I was watching a video on how to do a torso carry when I realized that the material from my ringsling could double as a simple piece of cloth for a torso carry. I unthreaded the sling and tried it... success! Now when I go out, I really have two carriers in one!