My Wrapping Journey

I’m a wrapper!!! I’ve wanted to say that for so long and now I can.

One year ago when my second daughter was born I entered into the wonderful world of babywearing. I had an Ergo which is a great carrier, but was determined to master wrapping.  I mean how hard could it be? All those mamas on YouTube made it look so easy. Making a seat in one graceful movement, perfect gliding passes…yeah not so much. I was having the hardest time figuring out all of the different carries. You should have seen us after trying our first back carry. There were definitely tears.  My daughter was crying too. She was super wiggly, I couldn’t get a good seat and passes would not pull tight.  (Don’t worry. I always practiced over a bed as any new wrapper should).  I don’t know exactly what it was. Maybe it was just my stubborn nature.  But every time I said I was going to quit something always brought me back to practice again.When my daughter was about 6 months old and after watching countless YouTube tutorials, I finally learned how to get her up on my back safely. A couple months after that I could get her up on my back fairly easily. I was even getting pretty decent at spreading passes. However, it still was not completely comfortable to me or my daughter and definitely not my first choice of carrier. I would still reach for a buckle carrier first. Not that there is anything wrong whatsoever with a buckle carrier. But I wanted to like wrapping. Correction, I wanted to LOVE wrapping.

I don’t know when it happened exactly.  But one day I was wrapping and it just worked. It felt right. After all those months of practice, tears and sweat, it just clicked and I wrapped my almost one year old with ease.  Then it happened again! And before I knew it I started choosing wraps over buckle carriers. It was even super comfy.  I was a wrapper!!! It may have taken almost twelve months but it happened!

Now, I am not writing this to, flaunt my “wrapping skills” or anything like that. I’m writing to encourage every person out there who wants so badly to wrap but feels that they just can’t.  Who wants to so badly to do a back carry but just can’t make a seat or tighten those rails. Who thinks that if he/she can’t master wrapping in a couple months they must be a failure. You are not a failure. You are learning a new skill and it takes time.

Here are a few tips I have gathered over the year that can really help the wrapping journey.

1.       Find a babywearing group. If you don’t have one in your area, at least join one on Facebook. They are an endless fountain of support and knowledge. I am eternally grateful for my group Babywearing Around Tulsa. I could not have made it this far without the lovely women I met in that group.

2.       Don’t give up after a couple tries. Be patient.  It may take some people longer than others but with time you can do it. Don’t hold yourself to a time table.

3.       If possible try a few different wraps.  Different blends, weaves and thickness can make all the difference in a wrap job.  Now I understand I’m not made of money either.  That’s why I became a compulsive churner.  I have rarely owned more than one wrap at a time. With being able to trade or sell what I currently had I have been able to try a bunch.

4.       Don’t make the mistake I did and try back carries before you have mastered front carries. There are things you learn when front carrying that are essential to back carrying. Believe me. You will save yourself a lot of trouble.

5.       Lastly, don’t lose sight of what babywearing is about.  Don’t let the desire of obtaining a skill make you lose out on the bonding experience between you and your baby.  If you are getting frustrated, take a break. Carry your baby how you know best. Kiss their head and breathe them in.  After a few days or weeks try again.

I hope my ramblings have helped a little. I wish you all the best in your own babywearing journeys.

Blessings and happy babywearing

Megan

Megan Kloker is a God-loving, babywearing, cloth diapering, health nut who loves being a stay-at-home mom to her three children (Aiden, Nyah and Lena) and wife to her husband (Grant). She, grew up in Leona Valley California with her 10 younger siblings before she got married and moved to Springfield Illinois. Megan and family have since lived in Tulsa Oklahoma and have rencently moved to Fort Worth Texas. Megan loves being around people, drinking coffee and playing Dance Central.