Addicted and Impatient

I wrote this post before I gave birth to my beautiful second baby.  Then I promptly neglected the blog and forgot to post this as I basked in Squeakers glorious newbornness.  

Very first picture carrying both my babies.
KHR Memories From Under the Bridge

Bitsy is three.  Three is wild.  Three is crazy.  And while I love wearing her and I will wear her as long as she will let me and my body allows, I am totally addicted to wrapping and babywearing and I WANT TO WRAP MY NEW SQUISHIE NOW.  I have this whole stash of wraps just waiting for little squish to come into the world and be snuggled.  From the day of my first positive pregnancy test, just two days after this picture was taken (at our International Babywearing Week 2014 photoshoot fundraiser), I have been planning the babywearing future of this child.  Crazy, right?  

There is just something amazing and wonderful about wearing a tiny baby.  Sniffing their heads, kissing their cheeks, snuggling their little bodies close to you - every second is precious.  And the anticipation is killing me.  

20 Weeks Pregnant
in a Girasol Double Rainbow Azul Ring Sling
Photo credit - Pixel Perfect by Ashley

Did I mention that tiny babies don't generally say no to being worn?  Toddlers and threenagers have OPINIONS.  Its nice when they want to be worn but often times the stars have to align just right.  Its totally like a threenager to say they will only be worn in the pink wrap with the pattern upside down on a full moon occurring only on the second tuesday of a month.  Or if they get a boo boo or are tired.

Wearing a borrowed baby
Front Wrap Cross Carry in a Clementine Woven Wrap

Sometimes I get impatient and I "steal" other people's babies.  The little squishie in this picture was borrowed from a good friend when I was a little past the halfway point.  The baby bump I had to wrap him over put him up in m face but I didn't mind a bit.  He fell asleep shortly after we took this picture.


Why did he fall asleep?  Because he was warm and content.  Even though I wasn't his mama, he could hear my heart beat and feel protected wrapped up close.  I WANT that for my baby.  I anticipate that.  Wrapping my baby to my chest and letting him or her snuggle in and feel LOVED and PROTECTED.  Wanted.  Happy.  Its amazing and I know it will bring me such joy.  And did I mention the wraps are pretty?  So, so pretty.  

38 Weeks Pregnant
In a Metamorphosis Reverse Half Buckle Ring Waist
from Oscha Starry Night Nebula

Luckily for me, recently Bitsy has wanted to be worn, mostly for short periods of time, which is good because this pregnant mama tires easily.  She and I are both impatient for little squishie to arrive but for now I will snuggle her as much as she will let me, knowing soon that she will have to share that attention and that it will be a whole new world for both of us.  

Waiting, waiting, waiting

I might even already have my hospital wrap picked out and packed.  Can you say gender reveal wrap?!?  Yep, if the green side is up my fellow babywearers will know its a boy but if the pink side is up we will have added another girl to our family.


***Edited to add - our first wearing photo was definitely Green side up!  Squeaker joined our family this summer and we couldn't be happier.  Its totally love and big sis is over the moon.

In My Arms ISO

Have you ever fallen in love with a carrier just to find out it's hard to find (HTF) or highly sought after (HSA)?  At some point in your babywearing days you'll be in search of (ISO) or even desperately in search of (DISO) a carrier.  It could be your first carrier or your twentieth or even you've lost track of how many churner flavor of the week carrier.  ISO answering mamas are a huge blessing to those that seek limited edition, HTF, HSA carriers, or just looking for some great deals.  Sometimes though these ISOs come with larger than life/retail price tags.  Regardless, if you've ever been DISO a carrier that has been fulfilled, you will understand the joy that comes to your heart when you are asked to pay and then again when you receive it.  It's different than receiving any other fluffy mail.  It's more than Christmas. 

   

PAXbaby has a wonderful ISO Angel service.  Randomly they  will post asking for your ISOs of carriers that they carry or have carried in the past.  The ISO Angel  pulls strings, searches boxes being sent for conversions, unreleased boxes, etc to find as many ISOs as she can.  Unfortunately not everyone's ISOs are found nor fulfilled, but when just one is it truly is like winning the lottery. 

Recently I added my ISO to PAXbaby's ISO Angel List.  Within a week I was sent a link to pay, I ransacked the house for things to sell. Bought my ISO.  Stalked it with tracking.  Checked my door/porch 3 times within the hour it was marked delivered.  Called the post master.  Snooped on neighbors doorsteps looking at their packages.  The post master appeared and snooped in my neighbors' mailboxes.  Package was located and I was hugging my wrap.  I opened the package before even heading inside my house.  Both babies were napping so I wore it as a shirt.  I swear it never fails.  Fluffy mail only comes when your wrapee is asleep.

Soon though baby girl woke up and we were off to playing.  The best part for me is that I received a woven I love and didn't have to pay over retail.  My ISO was Girasol Zig Zag.  It is a new herringbone weave with colored weft stripes and cream warp.  It truly makes it one of a kind.  This baby was like touching a cloud.  It was soooo soft.  I quickly did a FWCC to test drive it.  OH MY it was one of the easiest FWCC I've ever done, in fact I actually got it too tight!  It's quite thin but very supportive.  My size 6 folds up to about the same size as my ring sling, so it's been going everywhere with us in the diaper bag.  I've had it for almost a month now and just now washed it.  Since it was so soft I didn't feel like it needed to be washed to help break it in.  Except for Halloween I haven't even used any other wrap :/

I've also fulfilled DISOs.  It's a high knowing that your carrier will not only be loved but will be treated like it's a king or queen!

Have you ever received for fulfilled an ISO request?  What was it?

C.J. North is a Babywearing Institute Scholar who is also an aspiring photographer. She stays home with her three kids; 6yo stepson, 3yo son, and 8mo daughter. C.J. has always loved working with children. In her spare time, she manages the allergy and special needs of her family, while being overly addicted to research.

 

Carry of the Week (CoTW) - Front Wrap Cross Carry

I love woven wraps. Love, love, LOVE them. I love how versatile they are and how I can do a front carry, hip carry, or back carry all with my same piece of cloth. I remember the immense excitement when I ordered my first wrap and the anticipation I felt as it traveled to my home. But I also remember the overwhelming panic that overcame me when I finally received it and realized that I had to somehow use this piece of cloth to attach my infant to my body! I watched video tutorials. I scoured picture instructions. I re-watched. I read. I prepared. And then, five minutes into my first wrap job, baby red-faced screaming, me drenched in sweat, tears streaming down my face, back aching, I almost threw it in the trash. Then I thought, why was I making this so hard? I didn’t have to learn the technical term for every pass, I didn’t need to know there were roughly 1,456,098 ways to do a front carry, I didn’t need every inch of the carry to be perfect - I needed to relax. I was doing this to make my baby happier and my day a little easier. So I picked one carry I would master, Front Wrap Cross Carry (FWCC), and decided for the time being to only focus on that one carry. And that’s what I did.

Now, much further down the road, I am comfortable doing loads of different carries but there are so many more out there I want to try before my babywearing days are done. I had often seen “Carry of the Week” on different boards and groups but always felt too overwhelmed to add my not quite perfect picture to the group. Again, I needed to relax.
 

As motivation for myself, and a road-map for others who may feel as I did, I thought it would be a great idea to start our own Carry of the Week! Each week we will pick a different carry and include tutorials, instructions, and pictures. There may be variations. There may not be. We will try and alternate between a more beginner carry and a more advanced so there will be something for everyone! If there is a carry you love or want to learn, please feel free to write your own blog post for a Carry of the Week as well.
 

We would also love everyone to contribute a picture of themselves doing the carry of the week, along with what wrap and size they are using on the Facebook page. Add in any tips you discovered doing that carry and any snags you ran into. This is a group effort and the more participation the more fun we will all have!

And so, without further ado: Carry of the Week - Front Wrap Cross Carry!

The FWCC is a perfect beginner carry. In fact, if you started with a moby wrap on your babywearing journey you are probably already familiar with how it works!

It is a great carry for younger babies because it offers a ton of head support and is super easy to breastfeed in.  It also works with heavier babies because of the multiple passes that distributes the weight for mom or dad. A size 5, 6, or 7 wrap is needed to do a FWCC.

The basic steps of a FWCC are:

1 - A torso pass (a torso pass goes over the baby and then under both arms of the wrapper);

2 - Cross in back, going back up over your shoulders;

3 - Two cross passes (a cross pass goes over the baby diagonally), either spread out over baby or gathered and bunched;

4 - Tied in back.

Video Tutorials: http://s391.photobucket.com/user/morse_family/media/babywearing%20instructional%20videos/M4H04513.mp4.html (Great pre-tie basic FWCC step by step)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRSTW8h5lcs&NR=1 (how to tie a FWCC holding your baby in your arms without a pre-tie)

Picture Tutorial:

http://www.wrapyourbaby.com/frontwrapcrosscarry.htm

Variations:

Nursing in the FWCC, Tied under Bum, and Semi-FWCC (can be done with size 3 and 4 wraps), Picture tutorial: http://bwiofpeoria.org/blog/tag/front-wrap-cross-carry/

Semi-FWCC (or “short”) tied under bum video tutorial if you have a size 3 or 4 wrap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9v6tSljTt8

And here is Solomon and I in a size 6 Mulu:

 

And here Sol passed out about 3 minutes after wrapping:

 

I hope you guys have fun with our carry this week. Please let us know how it works for you and post your pictures on the FB page! I would also love to hear about any carries you would like to see in the future or other suggestions you may have. So please feel free to make suggestions or write a blog post for Carry or the Week as well!

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.