Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

A couple weeks ago my wonderful mother-in-law (known around here as Nonnie) commented saying she would like to read about what God’s been teaching me in this season of three littles. Oh the pages I could fill.

But let’s start with this one, one I’ve been meaning to post for a couple of years now…

Just over two years ago (when J was about 9 months old), I was able to enjoy a ladies’ weekend with some wonderful ladies from church. We visited a beautiful lake house owned by the family of one of the ladies and spent the weekend hanging out, relaxing, eating, and enjoying some time with just the ladies.

I had J with me that weekend (the only guy allowed!) because he was still nursing full-time, so taking him with me was the only way I could go. At one point I was wearing him in the BabyHawk and he was all snuggled up against me with his head on my chest. I love wearing my babies like that because I love to be able to bend my head and kiss the top of their sweet little head.

One of the ladies commented on how that reminded her of the way God holds us sweetly, gently, like a parent holding their child. I thought of how precious that really is. God holds us close, draws us to his chest where we hear his heartbeat, leans over and kisses us on the top of the head.

One thing God has been revealing to me over the last 4+ years that I’ve been known as “mommy” is that part of his character that is loving parent, comforter, the one who draws us near and holds us close, loving us in spite of ourselves.

The Sleepy Wrap was my first baby carrier (other than the Infantino front carrier I used with Little) and I fell in love with it the first time I wore Boo in it. The wrap is still my favorite newborn carrier (I recommend them to everyone who asks – and maybe even a few people who don’t), and I used the Sleepy Wrap a lot with Baby Girl in her first few months (it is currently out on loan). The makers of the Sleepy Wrap, Nap, Inc., are a great company with great products and great customer service.

About a year ago, Nap, Inc. introduced a new carrier, the Boba, designed for older infants and toddlers (9 months to 4 years), and as soon as I saw it I wanted one. They retail for $100+, and I just couldn’t justify the cost since I don’t have that many opportunities to wear Boo right now because I’m usually wearing Baby Girl. I did, however, begin entering any Boba giveaway that I came across and hoping that I might get one that way.

So, imagine my surprise when I received an email from Lindsey while I was out of town in which she casually mentioned seeing a comment on my blog from Drea about me winning the Boba giveaway on her blog. I was so excited! It had been a few days since Drea left the comment, so I quickly e-mailed her hoping it hadn’t been too long and she’d drawn another winner. It hadn’t! I soon had a shipping confirmation and the package was scheduled to arrive at my house the day after we got home from our trip.

The delivery guy in brown dropped my new Boba off during naptime, and I couldn’t wait until a child was awake to try it on. So, I unpacked it and put it on right away. After Matt got home I tried it on with Boo and wore him around the house for a few minutes. He didn’t want to get out, but he had to so Matt and Little could try it out. Little loved it, too (she rode again for a few minutes the other night when I was showing it to a friend and didn’t want to get out).

Finally I have a carrier that Matt hasn’t deemed too “girly” for him to wear! It is the Aspen pattern; very neutral, very lovely. And I think he liked the idea of wearing one of the older kids while I wear Baby Girl.

Now we just need the weather to cool down a bit so we can go hiking!

Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated for this post. I’m just excited about winning this carrier. And I love Nap, Inc. products and would recommend them to anyone.

Tomorrow is Earth Day. Around here we are a little bit green and growing crunchier with each passing year, but we don’t really “celebrate” Earth Day per se. This year, however, I thought I’d share a great Earth Day initiative with you.

NAP, Inc., the makers of the fabulous Sleepy Wrap and Boba Baby Carrier, is partnering with PlantABillion.org to provide each of us an opportunity to help with reforestation efforts. For every new Facebook fan or Twitter follower this week, NAP, Inc. will plant a tree. All you have to do to help in this effort is click on the links below and become a fan or follower. How easy is that?!

Sleepy Wrap on Facebook
Boba Carrier on Facebook
Sleepy Wrap on Twitter
Boba Carrier on Twitter

NAP, Inc. is a very eco-concious company who strives to reduce, reuse, and recycle wherever possible. For more information on their Earth Day Celebration, check out the post on their Facebook page (click the link).

And a disclaimer (just in case): no compensation was provided in exchange for this post. I just feel it’s a great (and easy) way for each of us to plant trees.

Two years ago this week Matt and I welcomed Boo into our lives. In the months leading up to his birth I knew that I wanted to be a babywearing Momma but was unsure what type of carrier I wanted to use (ring sling, mei tai, wrap, etc). Enter my wonderful sister-in-law, Lu…

A few months prior to Boo’s birth, Lu gave birth to my precious nephew, Peanut. Lu had a Sleepy Wrap and told me how much she loved it. That testimonial was all I needed to invest in a Sleepy Wrap of my very own. Over the last two years, I’ve tried several different types of carriers, and hands down, the wrap is my absolute favorite for wearing a newborn. In fact, I could not wait to get Baby Girl in my Sleepy Wrap after we got home from the hospital!

Let’s start with the basics. The Sleepy Wrap is one long (5.5 yards) piece of heavy, high quality, stretchy knit fabric that you wrap (thus the name) around your body and tie at the waist. Your baby sits on the “x” formed by the crossing pieces of fabric as you tie the wrap around you, and then you pull the front panel up over baby’s bum (see tying methods). This swaddles baby close and secure at your chest.

With Boo, I used the wrap on the go and at home. Because he had reflux we had to keep him upright or he was screaming (pretty much all.the.time). There were many days in his first year of life that the Sleepy Wrap saved my sanity (due to the decrease in screaming) and was the only way I could get anything done around the house. It was also just about the only way he would nap for the first few months.

Now that Baby Girl is here, I have three children ages three years and under which means that I don’t have enough arms to keep up with everyone when it’s just the four of us. I must have Baby Girl in a carrier for any trip, activity, or errand where I will have all three kids out of the car. I wore Baby Girl in the Sleepy Wrap for the first time at 3 days old when we made her first pediatrician’s office visit. It was so nice to know that the baby was safe, secure, and snuggly in the wrap while I wrestled the other two in and out of the car and building!

There are several things that I absolutely love about this wrap. The material is soft and comfortable for mom and baby, the stretch of the fabric makes it easy to get baby in and out, it keeps baby snuggled close to me while my hands remain free to handle my preschooler and toddler, it makes baby feel safe and secure, and my babies sleep well when in the wrap. I also like that I can tie it on before I leave home and just get baby out of the carseat and pop her into the wrap at each of our stops instead of having to put on and take off a carrier each time (or even worse, lug the heavy and cumbersome infant seat everywhere). Most of all I love to be able to bend my head and kiss the top of that sweet little baby head, because, really, can you ever get too much of that?

I’ve found very few drawbacks using the Sleepy Wrap over the course of these two years. The biggest one is that, due to the weight of the material and the fact that my wrap is black, it gets hot on me and baby when we are outside for an extended time on a hot, sunny summer day. The only other one I would say is that due to the stretchiness (is that a word? it is now) of the fabric it gets looser as the day goes on and as baby gets bigger. Neither one of these are issues that can’t be easily solved (by taking the wrap off every now and then (like when you stop to nurse) on hot days and tying it tighter to compensate for stretching), and certainly wouldn’t affect my recommendation of the Sleepy Wrap.

Literally, just about every time I’ve worn my Sleepy Wrap I’ve received inquiries about and comments on it, and every time I’ve told the person how great this product is. In fact, several of my friends have used them after seeing me in mine and hearing about it.

So, in conclusion (because I haven’t used enough words already), I would (and do) whole-heartedly recommend the Sleepy Wrap! It makes a great carrier for first time babywearers because it is easy to use (really, it isn’t nearly as complicated as it looks) and is wonderful for tiny babies right on through infanthood (and into toddlerhood). If you are expecting or know someone who is, a Sleepy Wrap would make an excellent shower gift.

If you’re interested in purchasing a Sleepy Wrap, head over to their site and check out the great selection of colors. (It’s also available in organic now.)

If you’d like a chance to win one, the wonderful folks at Sleepy Wrap have given me the opportunity to sponsor one of their great products as a prize at Ultimate Blog Party 2010 (prize number USC 61).

Thank you Sleepy Wrap for making a great product!

Disclaimer: I received no compensation (either monetary or products) for writing this review. I truly do love my wrap and am thrilled to be able to share one with another mom via the UBP’10 giveaway.

Those of you who know me (or have read here for a while) know that I’ve fallen in love with babywearing since Boo was born. So, when Steph mentioned earlier in the week that she was going to host a “babywearing stash” link-up I knew I wanted to play along.

Here’s my current stash:

From left to right: Nest baby sling (shore), BabyHawk, Sleepy Wrap, handmade sling I got from eBay

I’m contemplating making some changes to the stash as the arrival of baby #3 approaches – possibly adding an ERGO, maybe selling the green/blue sling, and Matt would really like a Kelty backpack. But this is where I am right now.

If you want to see how other bloggers are babywearing, check out the stash link-up.

Little is pretty intrigued by the whole babywearing thing.  It’s just part of her life (being the only thing she’s known since Boo was born), but it is cute when she talks about it.  Here are a few of her recent comments concerning babywearing…

Several weeks ago she was in the big part of a shopping cart playing with the reusable shopping bags while I gathered the things we needed.  She put the handles of a red-patterned bag over her head, slid her baby doll between the bag and her body and declared, “Baby in sling.”

Most anytime we’re running errands I pop Boo into a carrier and push Little in the cart or let her walk while holding my hand.  A couple of times recently we’ve been running into a store to pick up a single item, and instead of taking the time to get Boo into the sling or mei tai I’ve just carried him on my hip and held Little’s hand with my other hand.  She’s always very concerned when this takes place (and heaven forbid if I put Boo into “her” seat in the shopping cart!) and tells me in no uncertain terms that “Boo need to in ride sling!”

And finally, the other day she was playing with her baby doll.  She was holding baby against her body with her “dee” covering the baby’s body.  For a few minutes she just walked around the living room with baby like that.  Finally, her daddy asked her what she was doing.  Her response?  “Carry baby in mei tai.”

I think she needs a child’s sized sling or mei tai for Christmas.  Matt thinks I’m crazy.

November 12-18 is International Babywearing Week and to celebrate Steph of Adventures in Babywearing is hosting a carnival where she’s invited all of us to share our babywearing stories.  She’s also giving away a Nest Sling and a Hatchling Sling courtesy of Nonny & Boo to lucky participants.  (I would love to have one of these beautiful slings).

When Little was born a little over two years ago I’d really never heard of “babywearing” and all of the slings, wraps, and other babywearing accessories.  I did, however, feel drawn to the closeness and convenience of having her in a carrier as opposed to pushing a stroller or, especially, toting around an infant carseat everywhere we went.  I registered for and received an Infantino buckle carrier and so began my babywearing career.

I used the front carrier with Little for about 5 months, but it was never really comfortable for me; I felt like I was constantly tightening and adjusting the buckles and straps.  (Not to mention that she’s tall and I’m short, so it wasn’t too long before her feet were hitting me in the knees.)  When Little was several months old I found Steph’s blog and through her writing and a few other resources became very interested in wearing my future babies.  As soon as I found out I was pregnant with Boo I started contemplating babywearing, what types of carriers I wanted to use, and how helpful it would be to wear baby since I would have a not quite two year old in tow as well.

My first carrier was a Sleepy Wrap; I purchased the wrap before Boo was born on the recommendation of my SIL.  I started wearing Boo in the wrap almost immediately.  He was about two weeks old when we took him out for the first time, so that was his first ride in the wrap.  I loved having my tiny baby so close to me and with the wrap I was able to cover his head if needed when we were in crowded places.  It also discouraged random people from asking to touch him which was a very nice benefit.  Any time I wrapped him he fell right to sleep and would sleep the entire time he was worn.  The Sleepy Wrap saved my sanity several times in those first few weeks and months when he was fussy but I needed to be doing something else with my hands (cleaning, cooking, helping Little, etc.).

When Boo was a few months old I gave myself heat exhaustion wearing him in the wrap (black) at the zoo (in June) and decided it was time to invest in a new carrier.  I tried a pouch sling and couldn’t get one to fit properly, so I bought an adorable blue and green ring sling.

I wear my ring sling all the time and love the convenience of slipping it on to run in to a store real quick and for times that we have several errands to run.  It stays in the car so that I always have a carrier handy when I need it.  I do need to learn some new carries (for older babies) because Boo is getting a little cramped in the kangaroo carry and doesn’t like to bend his legs nicely to go into the tummy-to-tummy carry.  Any suggestions for different carries?

My current favorite carrier is my BabyHawk.  We got it before we went to the beach a few weeks ago and I love, love, love this mei tai.  Boo loves to ride in it and look around or sleep sweetly against my chest.  He’s big enough now that we can use the back carry some, and I’m looking forward to trying out the back carry with Little sometime.  It is pretty much guaranteed that he’ll fall asleep in the mei tai if he’s the slightest bit sleepy, so I’ve used it more than once to get him to nap when he didn’t want to lay down.

Babywearing is not a big thing in our area.  I’ve seen a few other moms out and about wearing, and I’ve gotten a ton of questions and more than a few strange looks as we’ve been seen wearing Boo around town.  I’m happy to say that several of my friends are planning to babywear (at least sometimes) as a result of hearing me rave about how much Boo and I enjoy the experience.  Hopefully they will love it as much as we have.

I love having Boo close.  I  love the extra snuggles and kisses I get to sneak in as we go about our day.  I love having my hands free to chase Little or do the things that I need to do.  I love this babywearing thing, and I’m so glad that we’ve chosen to make this a part of our parenting plan.

In fact, I’m trying to convince Matt to add “Babywearing” as a line item in our budget.  Think it will work?

When Little was a baby I had a standard front carrier with all of the straps and buckles and what-not.  I used it until she was 5 or 6 months old and she was long enough that her feet hit against my legs (almost at my knees; I’m vertically challenged) and she was heavy enough that it hurt my back if I wore her for any length of time.  I enjoyed having her in the carrier, but it made my back ache and I was constantly struggling to keep the straps tight enough to keep her in the right position.

When I found out I was expecting Boo, I knew I wanted to be a babywearing Momma, and I knew that I wanted a different type of carrier.  I did some research, found some answers to questions at Adventures In Babywearing (Thanks, Steph!), and became a little more educated about what types of carriers are available.  In December my nephew was born, and my SIL was singing the praises of her Sleepy Wrap.  Based on her recommendation, I purchased a wrap and started wearing Boo when he was a couple of weeks old.

Boo and I have both loved our Sleepy Wrap.  In fact, it has saved my sanity on more than one occasion when he has been super fussy.  I tie it on, pop him in, and he is generally off to sleep in a matter of minutes.  

Now that it is HOT in my part of the world, we need something that is a little cooler on both of us.  I decided a few weeks ago to get a pouch or sling and began searching for just the right one.  It took me several hours of surfing to settle on this pouch.  I received it a couple of weeks ago, but have had a bit of trouble getting the right size/fit.  After shrinking it yesterday, I think I’ve finally got it to the correct size.  Boo rode in it yesterday afternoon for the first time and seemed to like it; again, he was asleep in minutes.

Then, I was talking to Lu on Monday about different carrier options and the issues I was having with my pouch.  We started looking around a bit at various websites and on eBay and I stumbled upon a ring sling that I fell in love with.  It is an adorable lime green with blue polka dots cotton fabric.  So, I bid on it and won the auction!  I’m awaiting it’s arrival in the mail any day now.

I still want a mei tai, and I’m sure I could come up with a few more if pressed.  And then last night at Lu’s place I saw a link to a great giveaway that I just had to sign up for:  Along for the Ride is holding a contest to Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap).  I mean, what babywearing Momma could resist a chance to win five (count ‘em…one, two, three, four, five) new carriers including the mei tai that’s on my list?

I’m telling ya, it truly is an addiction; I mean, this is more fun than shopping for shoes!