My jam

I have been giving reviews and opinions on carriers, but a post on Facebook yesterday has me thinking about how different we all are in terms of what we look for in a wrap. The question was, in a nutshell, "What is your jam?" i.e.: What do you like in a wrap in terms of wrapping qualities?

There were a lot of differences of opinion, so I thought I would share with you my response, so when you see my reviews, you know why I have reviewed something in a certain way.

•  I like medium thin with stretch, I prefer blends with wool, all types of wool. I also love all cotton. I prefer a bit wider and do not have a preference for hemmed vs unhemmed rails. I have 0 tolerance for "sturdy" wraps. I can't do linen, or any pavo or Oscha I've tried, as I find that the "awesome support" translates into them all being hard on the shoulders, which I can't stand. I would wrap with a wrap that has nice wq over pretty any day, but I've been trying to find pretty wraps that I like the wrapping qualities of more often now. I used to buy ugly wraps not caring as long as they were comfy. I like pin striping a lot, but I also get bored easy, so I like to have a variety of colours and patterns to keep me happy. I also hate critters, like so much. I tend to gravitate to Uppys and Didys, though I have a lot of other randoms also.
• I also really like pointed twill. The cush and thickness are just right 

When I say medium thin, I probably mean somewhere between 210-260g/m2, which woven wraps database classifies as medium. I know many wraps produced are currently on the thicker side of the scale now though, so this definition might be a bit outdated.

I have really enjoyed most of the wool blends I have tried, and truly think you cannot go wrong with wool as long as you are ok with buying superwash ($$$) or handwashing as far as wrapping qualities go.

I know Oscha and Pavo are favourites of a lot of people, but I just CANNOT wrap well with them. I've now owned/tried 6+ Oscha and 5+ Pavo wraps, and I have honestly not overly enjoyed the wrapping qualities of any of them.

A current stash shot in poor lighting

So anyways, now you know a bit about my biases, and I hope this helps you in deciding if my reviews are applicable to your preferences or not. Have a wonderful Monday!

Stashification

I have been trying to stop churning carriers to enjoy what I have and make memories in them. I am lucky that we have a really great local group of parents who I can do temporary trades with and am fortunate that I am able to have babywearing as both a hobby and a parenting tool. That being said, I don't want to devote too much time to looking at and chatting about carriers, and I really want them to be more about the function than the hobby. I try to be a good, present, parent, and find that being online makes for a large distraction away from nursing, nap times etc... when I could be doing other things.

Why am I telling you this? Well... I just found out that we are expecting baby #3! I am so excited to have another child, and with that I have been reflecting on some of the choices I have made with my first two children. I don't want to be acquiring more things for this baby. Between carriers, cloth diapers, and clothing I truly have everything we will need (unless I need to splice some pink and purple into the mix). I don't want to spend as much time on the computer either. I will try to find useful hobbies (knitting, sewing, writing and yoga have been things I have been spending more time on lately). I want to truly be present when I am playing legos with my children, and not half-heartedly playing while browsing the swaps.

Also, there is the monetary aspect of this. As far as collections go, this is not a cheap hobby. I am blessed that I can afford it, but I should be prioritizing money better. I have amassed 20 carriers, and plan to keep them until my babywearing days are done, making memories with each one. I have carefully planned my collection to suit all conceivable needs from birth to toddlerhood (I sometimes wear the three year old around the house, or for short walks home when tired little legs give out). When I am done wearing my babies *SOB* I plan to sell most of my carriers, and possibly keep some of the more sentimental ones, such as my customs, to make blankets, lovies, and scarves out of.

The stash (missing a couple)

Anyways... here is my stash, and help enable me to stick with what I have and encourage me to buy nothing more for this baby (unless it is a girl... then I may need some new clothes):

Ring Slings:
Lisca Grigio pleated shoulder
UppyMama Frosted Rainbow Cake floating shoulder
Maya Wrap padded shoulder
Szibbo Wayfinder Hybrid shoulder
JackWraps Hummingbird Wing gathered shoulder

Wraps:
Mama Minnow Bluebell Wood size 3
AndalGo Carribean size 3
Didymos Audrey size 3
UppyMama MC Serenity size 4
Didymos Teviot size 4
UppyMama Deep Waters size 5
Didymos Orient size 5
Natibaby Colorado size 5
Cloth of Kin Jellybean Row (ITW) size 5
Alison Addicks Winter Sunset size 6

Other:
Topatop Didymos Silver Waves WCMT standard size (Hoppediz Montreal backing)
Shiny Star Dreamsicle Girasol mashup WCMT toddler size
Boba Stretchy Wrap
Kisskise Water RS
Ergo SSC Galaxy Grey

That is more than enough. In fact, it is probably too much, but I want to wait to sell anything until I am sure I won't use it with new baby (chickpea is the working name). Wish me luck!

Housekeeping

I am a Canadian mama of two happy, healthy boys. They are currently aged 3.5 years and 18 months. I have carried both of them, and have enjoyed every moment of snuggles afforded by the collection of carriers I have owned. I feel very blessed to have made many friends through this wonderful hobby.

Also, I keep a Pinterest board of all of the carriers I have owned. I also plan to do reviews of carriers I have tried or borrowed, so those will not be represented on Pinterest. However, if you want to follow along, or request a specific review before another, here is my Pinterest board link: http://www.pinterest.com/mzm777/babywearing/

Gateway to Wrapping

I am hoping to start a blog to review all of the carriers I have tried, and to share some geekery with like-minded mamas. Below, please see a guest post I wrote for the Ottawa Babywearing Group, the lovely local group where I am privileged to be an admin. This post explains my journey down the rabbit hole to woven wraps. I hope to help people out with my honest reviews, and hope you enjoy reading them!

My babywearing journey (ok, obsession) began when I was pregnant with my oldest son, Walker, in 2011. A friend of mine passed along several carriers for me to try with my new baby, and I had no idea what they were or how to use them. These first three carriers were a Maman Kangarou stretchy wrap, a flower patterned pouch carrier, and a very old Snugli. 

Luckily, the Bringing Home Baby class that my husband and I attended included a babywearing demonstration by one of the lovely women from Milkface, who was so tactful when explaining to me why that old Snugli was not her carrier of preference. I cringe now and wonder what she was actually thinking when she saw it. Trying all of those carriers with the life-like baby dolls in the classroom made me so excited to have a baby of my own to carry. Her demonstration also convinced me to order my first new carrier - an olive green Maya ring sling. 

The old Snugli survived half a trip to the hardware store before it was donated, and the ill-fitting pouch carrier didn't last much longer. The Maman Kangarou wrap was worn around the house until we outgrew it, and the ringsling went everywhere else with us those first few months. I loved holding my little guy snuggled with me in the tummy-to-tummy position. 

A long hike with my sister-in-law where she comfortably carried my niece in an Ergo while my son and I were sweating in the ringsling made me decide to also purchase a Galaxy Grey Ergo. I have no action shots of my firstborn in that carrier, though we used it nearly every day for over a year! The Ergo, and the Boba Air that we later bought as a car carrier, allowed us to bring our little man to graduation ceremonies, forests, farms, and markets where our stroller never would have allowed us to explore. 

When we discovered I was pregnant with our second son, I treated myself to a light blue Boba Wrap from Chiquita Baby. This wrap was a lifesaver as I learned to parent two children. All through our first summer as a family of four, little Freddie slept happily in the Boba on our daily adventures to the park and on our trip to Newfoundland for a family reunion. The combination of that carrier and the waves crashing on the shore lulled him to sleep several days in a row on that vacation. 

 

The heat of the summer convinced me to try my first 'real' wrap, and I purchased a Calin Bleu gauze wrap from Belly Laughs. This little blue wrap made me fall head-over-heels down the rabbit hole into the land of wrapping, though it has now gone to be used by a new family. The only carry I mastered for the longest time was the FWCC, but that didn't stop me from adding several new wraps to our collection - Kokadi Blue Birds (5), Natibaby Colorado (6), and Natibaby Nature of America (5). I rotated through these wraps on our daily outings with the boys, where they were also used as blankets when needed. When my husband asked me what I would like for our anniversary, a Didymos Orient (6) was also added to our collection. The Nature of America turned out to be too beastly   for me to tame and went to live with another family. 

Around this time, I found the OBG page on Facebook, after hearing about it from a friend. I attended a meet up and enjoyed chatting with the women and seeing other mothers who also carried their babies. This led me to begin hosting an informal OBG meet-up in Barrhaven, which was held outdoors in the Summer, and has since moved to my basement in the colder months. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting the women in this group, and love that our shared passion for mothering and holding our babies close has allowed us to become friends. 

A Carry of the Week post on the OBG Facebook page led me to try my first mei tai from the Canadian Swap. I enjoyed it and I felt more comfortable using a MT for back carries rather than my wraps at the time. That first MT led me to add a Silver Waves Didytai and a semi-custom Topatop WCMT to the stash. Since then, I have also added three more wraps - a Heartiness Ethno (7), wool-blend Natibaby Sweetplace (6), and Oscha Sea Breeze (3) in 100% linen. After my first foray into linen, I swore I wouldn't go back, but the bounce and smoosh of this Oscha makes me glad I returned! I finally have mastered a ruck and a passable BWCC, though I still prefer the WCMTs or our Tula for longer back carries. 

I have been very excited to be working with a lovely weaver, Alison Addicks of Weave and Lace, to design and create my first handwoven wrap. It should be arriving this Spring, and I cannot wait to try it. I truly do not know how I would parent my two boys (and stay sane!) without babywearing as a tool, and am thankful I have had the opportunity to try so many beautiful carriers along the way.

 

A list of carriers we have had in our stash:

Snugli (Gone)
Maman Kangarou (Gone)
Pouch Sling (Gone)
Maya Ring Sling
Babywearing Shirt (Gone)
Galaxy Grey Ergo
Black Boba Air (Gone)
Calin Bleu gauze wrap (Gone)
Blue Boba wrap
Didymos Orient (6)
Natibaby Colorado (6)
Natibaby Nature of America (5) (Gone)
Kindercarry Mei Tai (Gone)
DidyTai Silver Waves
Kokadi Blue Birds (5) (Gone)
Topatop WCMT
Heartiness Ethno (7)
Natibaby Sweetplace (6)
Oscha Sea Breeze (3)
Tula The Wave
Weave and Lace Custom Handwoven 4.5m (Winter Sunset) - (OTW)