Carry of the Week: Jordan’s Back Carry

Before we jump into the carry this week, I thought a general introduction to back carries would be helpful. A lot of people (and babies!) prefer a back carry over a front carry because the baby is able to look around more and see what is going on around him. It is also very helpful for the wearer to have free mobility of both arms. I almost always do a back carry to cook dinner or give my older kids a bath for example.

 

Back carries can be a little intimidating at first, especially for newer wrappers. I generally try to get my LO as high as possible (if I can’t lean my head back and touch the top of his, I re-do), and make sure I have the passes on his back as tight as possible. When I want to just double check on him, I often tickle his feet to feel him wiggle around. It is always best to practice a back carry over a bed, or soft area, and have someone there to spot you the first several times. It can also be helpful to practice in front of a mirror.

 

There are several methods for actually getting your baby on your back, the hip scoot and superman are two favorites. This link shows several methods for getting your child on your back with picture and video tutorials: http://www.wrapyourbaby.com/babyonback.htm

 

Once your baby is on your back, getting a good seat is very important. If my son is wearing pants when I do a back carry, I will often tuck the bottom rail into the top of his pants before I put him on my back to get the seat started. You always want material between the baby and you and the aim is to get the seat from knee to knee. A good seat is probably the most difficult part of back carries and one that takes lots of practice to master. C.J. made a great tutorial for getting a good seat using your teeth, and this is the method I most often use: https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=746420530375

This week we had a request for a multi-pass back carry that would show the design of the wrap as much as possible. In meeting that request the Carry this week is the Jordan’s Back Carry (JBC). This is a slightly more advanced carry but I think if you have experience with a back carry you should be able to master it without any problems. This carry can be done with a size 4, 5, or 6 wrap.

 

Jordan’s Back Carry is basically one rebozo pass (a rebozo pass is one tail going over the wrappers shoulder and the other going under the wrappers arm, on a diagonal. A rebozo pass goes over both of the baby’s legs and stay on the baby’s back), one cross pass, and one torso pass. The steps are:

1 - Centered rebozo pass over baby on wrappers back;

2 - using the end of the pass going under the wrappers arm, flip it back up over the shoulder;

3 - Cross pass over the baby

4 - Take the other tail of the wrap and come under the wrappers arm;

5 - Torso pass over the baby (this will show off the wrap design),

6 - Tie off in front.

 

There are several variations of this carry that add an extra rebozo or cross pass (rebozo passes help with leaning children and cross passes help with leg straighteners). Since this is already a mixed pass carry, it is good for most wiggly babies and an added pass variation can help if your is an exceptional wiggle-worm.

Picture Tutorial: http://www.birdiesroom.com/c-425-jbc-back-carry.aspx

Video Tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_6cO_gQctY

Variation: Chest belt (size up for this) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVpKCThuztU

Variation: Half-Jordan Back Carry can be done with wrap sizes 2, 3, or 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcshSFS7HhI

Please post your pictures of the Carry this week and let us know if you have any suggestions for next week’s carry or would like to write the next CoTW blog post!

Tiffany Johnson is a breastfeeding, baby wearing, co-sleeping, attachment parenting mama to three beautiful children. She is currently taking a leave of absence from her busy career as an estate planning attorney to focus on her home and family. In her spare time she loves crafting, reading a good book, red wine, all things geeky, and loving on her babies.