Monday 31 March 2014

MSM: Billi's stash

I am a Cancer, born in July.  Cancers are very loyal.  A short time ago my stash was almost entirely Natibaby.  That was my brand.  Then I got a Pavo.  Suddenly all my Natis were gone and I now have several Pavos.  Oooops ;)

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After a few months of suffering from "buy all the wraps!", I am now in destash mode and many of these are for sale.
So here is my stash as it stands right now in order of most used to least used:

 
Tula standard semi wrap conversion of Didymos Chestnut.    I love this carrier for quick ups where I don't want to wrap for fear of getting my wrap dirty, etc.  Now that I've finally learned to back carry in it, I love it even more.  It's so easy to use and comfy for both me and baby.



Size 7 Natibaby Shiny Sky linen cotton blend (bottom wrap).  This is one of two wraps released on Riel's birthday.  I wasn't going to buy it because I bought the other wrap that was released on his birthday, but it came up on the swap for a really good deal.  It has become my everyday wrap, the one that I can wear when cooking, cleaning, or painting with my 3 year old because I'm not afraid to get it dirty (since it didn't cost me a ton).  It's great for fwcc and fcc.



Pavo Gotham Steel 4 all cotton (all Pavos are 100% cotton except Etini Flax).  This is my newest love and believe me it is LOVE.  This is the perfect ruck wrap.  It's so supportive and I love the design.  I am currently ISO more colourways of Gotham (size 6+).



Pavo Hearts of Stone 7.  This is the first Pavo I fell in love with and I was so happy when a sweet mama agreed to sell it to me on a short payment plan.  Hearts of Stone was released during the first round of Pavo Hearts, along with Hearts of Ice and Hearts of Glass.  This wrap is thin and soft.  When I finally learn  how to double hammock, it'll be in this wrap.


Pavo Etini Holly 6.  This is actually the first Pavo I purchased.  Around Christmas time everyone was going crazy for Holly and Pointsetta.  They were HSA.  A lady was selling her Holly and was holding a draw to purchase for retail.  I entered thinking there's no way I'd win.  Well I won!  So I had no choice but to take the plunge into Pavo.  I'm so glad I did.  This wrap is part of the thintini collection.  It is so thin and moldable.  It has such a shimmer you'd swear  there was linen in it.  This is my fancy/elegant wrap and my only complaint is that I'm afraid to wear it half of the time because I'm afraid to get it dirty.

Natibaby Robots 6 Linen/Cotton blend.  My 3.5 year old is obsessed with robots.  I bought this to be his legacy wrap even though he's never been wrapped in it.  It's super soft and floppy.  Before the Pavos came along, this was my prized possession.  I still love it, but it doesn't get as much love as it used to.


Firespiral Bronze Birch Trees 7 Irish linen/cotton blend.  I have a thing for nature-themed wraps (I have owned two Nati Forests, as well as Deers).  I also have a thing for orange and bronze, so when this wrap was released I had to have it.  But I have a love/hate relationship with this wrap.  I love the look and feel of this wrap but hate that it cost me way too much in customs fees on its way over from the UK (the wrap itself wasn't cheap; the customs fees were like adding insult to injury).  I might be holding a grudge against it as I haven't wrapped with it much yet.




Pavo Jaded Hearts 5.  This was an impulse buy.  Pavo released several colourways of Hearts in quick succession during their second round of Hearts releases and they were just sitting there on the Pavo site.  I couldn't just let them sit there.  So I bought Jaded, thinking I needed some green in my stash.  But a 5 is a weird size for me.  It's too small to do a lot of multi pass carries but too big to be a shortie.  So out it goes.




Natibaby Blue Deers 6 Wool blend.  Love this wrap.  I was afraid of wool because it makes me itch, but this wool blend doesn't.  Its so soft and "springy" for lack of a better word.  Great for squishes and bigger babies. 



Natibaby UFO 6 Cotton/Bamboo blend.  I bought this because I wanted to try bamboo.  Plus I was in my loyal Nati phase.  It's soft and shiny but it's not love and I don't reach for it much.  It'll be for sale soon.



Didy Jeans Hemp 7 Hemp/Cotton blend.  This wrap was made on my son's birthday so I bought it to be his legacy wrap.  It is beastly and big and so far I've been too afraid to wrap my squish (well not quite anymore) in it.  I think it will be my toddler wrap as it is super wide.   



Pavo Hearts of Glass RS.  Before I knew Pavo was doing a second release of Hearts, I was desperate for a Hearts wrap.  I really wanted Hearts of Stone but hadn't seen it come up for sale.  When Hearts of Glass came up on the Pavo Society, even though it was the wrong size (a 3) and the wrong colourway, I bought it immediately.    Two days later Hearts of Stone came up so I bought that too.  Since 3 is also an odd size for me, I had this converted to a ringsling by the lovely JoAnn of Blue Hibou.  Now that I've found the Tula love, I'm using my ringsling less and less for quick ups so this will likely be for sale soon too.


India Jani Tiil Blanco ringsling.  Handwoven and super cheap, I bought this to be my summer/beach carrier.
                                    


Pavo Taj 7 Cotton/Mercerized Cotton.  My first Pavo stalking and I didn't think I'd actually score.  I did and now I'm stuck with a natty wrap that I'm too afraid to wear (don't want it to get dirty).  I'm sitting on the fence between sending this baby for a colour bath or selling it.  Its BNIB, never even been fully unfolded.



Natural Mother Productions Full Buckle conversion of Natibaby Haven.  When I decided I wanted a WCFB, I knew they were hard to come by.  This came up on the Canadian Swap for a great price so I immediately snatched it up.  Unfortunately, a few days later a wrap conversion Tula in a print that I had always wanted (Didy Chestnut) came up for retail and I managed to nab it.  So now I'm selling this NMP FB.  Its a great carrier that is extremely comfortable.  The straps criss cross for an even more tailored fit.  I really like it, but I really don't need two standard size buckle carriers.

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Are you interested in contributing to the BWA Blog?  We'd love to hear about and see your stash :)  Send your write up and some pics to billigrrl@hotmail.com to be included in an upcoming MSM post.

Sunday 30 March 2014

CoTW: Shepherd's Carry

by Meg Deresti

Welcome to the carry of the week, the shorty love edition.
Short wraps do take some practice, but I love them because they are cooler, faster to tie, and easier not to drag on the floor.
For the carry of the week this week, I would like to show you one of my favourite short woven wrap carries, Shepherd'ss Carry. It’s a great short carry, kind of reminiscent of Double Hammock because of the chest pass. I’ve been showing it to mamas who are pregnant lately, as it is a fantastic carry to keep all the weight up above your belly. It also doesn’t have ruck straps so its great to have full arm range of motion. Its generally done with your base -2 size, so usually with a size 2, 3 or 4 wrap. I’m using the lending library's size 2 DIY 100% linen wrap here, which is a touch small for this carry, but I wanted to show off the awesome dye job by Jo Ann Bonnick of Blue Hibou. It’s also pulling up more than usual, because this wrap is a little bit grippier than I’m used to.
I am also in desperate need of a photographer and perhaps models to help me make the library wraps more attractive. If you’ve got skills you would like to volunteer let me know!!!

The pass sequence goes like this:
With short tail over one shoulder, form a rebozo pass, then a chest pass pinning the short tail to your chest, and another rebozo pass to your other shoulder.  Secure with a square or slip knot.
Here is a tutorial I like. Faith ties off with a slipknot, but I usually just do a square knot. I think I’ll be trying the slipknot more often now though!

P.S. If you like this carry but aren’t sold on the bulky knot or the way the chest pass feels on your chest (like its being pulled up), look up Double Hammock Double Rings. If I could keep track of my rings it would be my very favourite carry, but I always seem to be losing them. It’s also awesome to pin down pesky arms quickly if your little angel decides to turn into a hair pulling maniac at 11 pm and you haven’t slept in forever and are at your wits end. Not that my little angel ever does that. . .  I use medium sling rings for my medium weight wraps.
I can’t find a video I love for this carry, but check out this daddy wrapping!


Wednesday 12 March 2014

Show your support and be entered in to a giveaway!

Show your support for BWA by joining the Friends of Babywearing of Algoma.   Your $30 donation entitles you  to unlimited sling borrowing privileges and a chance to win this wrap scrap teether.   More details below!




Did you know that one of the main reasons the volunteer board formed BWA is so that we could spread the babywearing love in Algoma by making a sling lending library available to parents in our community? One of the biggest barriers facing parents in our area who want to babywear is a lack of available resources.  Local retailers just dont stock a wide variety of carriers.  A sling library allows us to help community members find a carrier that will work best for them by allowing them to try the variety of options that are available from retailers online.  Ideally, a sling library should have a few of each type of carrier available.

BWA's library has grown considerably in the short toime we've been in existence, largely through generous donations from local babywearers and the babywearing retail community.  There are still some areas of our library that are pretty thin and in need of appropriate carriers to round out the library.  We are looking to get a Tula, a size 4, 5, and 7 wrap, and a hemp wrap, to name a few items on our wishlist.  To see what's currently available in our library, check out our sling library facebook page https://m.facebook.com/BWASlingLibrary.  If there are items you'd be interested in trying that aren't in our library, let us know and we will try to acquire them. 

So how can you help us grow our library?  You can become a member of the Friends of Babywearing of Algoma. A donation of $30 gets you unlimited access to our lending library for one year (otherwise there is a $5admin fee per borrow).  Your $30 donation helps BWA ensure the carriers we have are properly maintained and helps us fund the purchase of additional carriers.  As an added bonus, for the month of March only, if you join the Friends of BWA before the end of the month, you will have a chance to win this hand made wrap scrap teether made by yours truly (Billi Gridale-Briski, BWA Secretary and Blog Manager) made from Girasol Symphuo Rojo DW scrap and a maple ring.

If you join on or before the March meet up (March 23) you get two chances to win!  Already a member of friends of BWA?  Don't worry, we arent forgetting you!  You'll be entered in to the draw too!

So how can you join the Friends of BWA?  Simply send your $30 donation via PayPal to babywearingofalgoma@gmail.com or contact any board member to arrange to pay by cash.

Wednesday 5 March 2014

COTW: Double Hammock


This weeks Carry of the Week is Double Hammock (DH), brought to you by Emily Rivard.



Double Hammock is my all-time favourite way to carry my baby. It is the second back carry I learned and the one that allowed me to fall in love with babywearing. It has a chest pass that helps support weight across your torso and relieve pressure on your shoulders caused by typical ruck-straps.

The most difficult part of DH for me was learning to get the pass up over baby’s bum and high over his back. I found that the pass kept getting caught on his fluffy cloth diaper, and I often felt like a T-rex because my arms just wouldn’t do that. I eventually stumbled across a woman who had experienced similar problems in her early babywearing days who gave me a gem of advice, “use your arms the way that you would to towel off your back after a shower”. That absolutely clicked for me, and I found that my arms could actually do that.

Another common difficulty in mastering DH is getting the chest pass nice and tight. This makes the carry more comfortable and is the key to a great experience. I found that using the short rail as leverage to pull the chest pass tightly all the way through made a big difference.

I’d like to challenge you to try Double Hammock a few times this week. I think that you’ll find it becomes one of your favourite carries as well.

Here are a few of my favourite video tutorials of this carry:



Monday 3 March 2014

MSM: Meg's Stash


Hi! Here's a glimpse of what we use for wearing our babe around the Deresti household.

Size 5 Didymos Standard Blu/Nature striped, 100% cotton was my first woven wrap. It was the wrap I learned on, and it's probably the longest wrap I’ll own. It was given to me by a friend, and is soft, floppy, and forgiving.
Size 4 Didymos Millefiori Natural, 50% cotton, 50% silk. I bought this wrap about 4 days before my wedding off the Canadian Swap from a mama who express shipped it from Edmonton. I was hemming and hawing about what Helen should do during the ceremony, and at 5 months old, I knew she really wouldn’t be happy without being close to us. I’m so glad I wore her. She was fussing and crying the whole time we were getting ready, but in the 10 minutes before I walked down the aisle, she fell asleep on my back, only waking briefly to listen to the vows. It was probably everyones' favourite part of the ceremony, as no one was expecting me to wear her, and many people had never seen a wrap before. I don’t wear this wrap much, but there is so much sentimental value attached, I will have a hard time passing it along! Its a good wrap: soft, a little bit grippy, easy to wrap with.


Size 2.5 Didymos Lila Hemp Indio, 60% cotton, 40% hemp. I knew I wanted a shortie for a while, and I ordered this a few weeks before Christmas off the swap and stalked the mailman carefully. He finally arrived! I was so excited to try it out, but before I could open the package I had to run upstairs to deal with a diaper. Unfortunately, my husband came home unexpectedly just then, and swiped my wrap away, to be hidden until Christmas. Oh well, it just made opening it on Christmas morning that much better. I love it. After owning this, I don’t think I’ll ever purchase a wrap longer than a 3 ever again. I’ll keep my 5 for a new babe eventually, but for back wrapping, hip carries, and the occasional kangaroo, shorties are where it’s at. We use it every day. I like using it with rings to tie off if I have them handy. The previous owner washed and ironed it to help soften it up, but really didn’t use it. Its breaking in nicely and is only getting softer.

Retro Bikes Toddler Tula. I bought this mostly for daddy, but I use it occasionally. Its still a bit big for Helen, but we sinch the bottom of it with a bandanna so she doesn’t overspread her legs. It’s a good carrier for sure!