Babywearing Around Tulsa: woven

Showing posts with label woven. Show all posts

Monday, May 11, 2015

Comparison: Lenny Lamb Baby Size vs Lenny Lamb Toddler size

The Lenny Lamb "ergonomic baby carrier" is increasing in popularity. This is due to several factors:

It's easily attainable, it's a great price, it's a wrap conversion (making it softer and more breathable), and it has a unique fit. The size of the carriers is different from Tula or KP sizing. However, like the Tula, there is a Lenny Lamb call- "Lenny on the loose!" and "Baa!" In response. ;)
The stats for the baby size are:

40cm/16in. tall

35cm/14in. wide at the base

32cm/12in. wide at the middle.

The stats for the toddler size are:

48cm/19in. tall

45cm/18in. at the base

38cm/15in. at the middle.

In the photos you can see my 24lbs, 26in., 12 month old in the toddler size night stripes carrier (right) and the baby size rainbow carrier (above). He is just big enough for the toddler size, due to the smaller middle width and a deep seat.

Baby size on top of the toddler size for comparison.

Both carriers have 3-way adjustable straps, a safety buckle, and a sewn in adjustable hood. This carrier can be worn front, back, and on the hip; the straps are also able to be crossed. The baby size comes in either 100% cotton or a 60/40% cotton and bamboo blend. The toddler size is only available in cotton; this makes it more supportive for heavy kiddos. The carriers are super soft right out of the bag and require zero breaking in! You can buy them directly from Lenny Lamb in Poland, or from US retailer 5 Minute Recess. In stock carriers are less than $200.

Jade lives in east Tulsa with her husband, two boys, and dog Crash. She is passionate about supporting parents. Jade is a Post Partum Doula with Better Birth Now.

**The carriers in this post are personally owned by group members. Neither Jade nor BWAT was paid or reimbursed in any way for this comparison/review.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

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.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

How To Break In a Woven Wrap

There are many, many ways to break in a woven wrap and every time you ask the question in a large babywearing group you are going to get 100 different answers. It does seem that the general consensus is that the absolute BEST was to break in a woven wrap is to use it. The more you use it, the faster it will break in.

But what if you don't have that kind of patience? What if it is just too darn stiff and you wanted it to soften up RIGHT NOW? Well there are many things you can do to speed up the breaking in process.

Wash it. Be sure to follow care instructions for the fiber content of your wrap, but if its safe to do so, wash it and tumble dry on low.

Dryer Balls. Add a bunch of bouncing wool balls to the drying portion of above or throw the wrap in dry and toss in a damp towel. The more dryer balls the better they work.

Braid It. Ok, so its not what you usually think of as a braid with 3 seperate peices. It is more like what is often reffered to as a daisy chain. Learn how to do it here.

New to braiding? Check out this you tube vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuXlCdLiTpU

Donut. Like the braid, the donut uses friction of the wrap against itself as well as the pulling and tugging and manipulating of the wrap to break it in.

Never made a wrap donut? Never fear, you can get help here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHpu0JnezDY

Sit on it. Just fold it up and sit on it. Or sit on it braided. Or sit on it as a donut. If folded, unfold and refold often.

Sleep with it. For reals.

Knot Pulling. Also called knot dragging. See how here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs2IYwzoQfY

Let the baby play with it. They know it's important to you so they will want to drag it around and play with it if you let them. Or sleep on it or roll around in it or use it as a blanket.

Hammock. Always fun, you can make a hammock or swing out of your wrap for your little one to lay in.

Run it through crib rails. Or chair slats. Run it back and forth through multiple if you can. Make sure they are smooth and unlikely to snag your wrap.

Iron it. As long as it is ok for your fiber content, ironing will help break in your wrap and have the added bonus of making it look pretty.

Somer Johnson is a Babywearing enthusiast and Momma to E, a bundle of energy. She is a Babywearing Institue Scholar working towards her certification. She is also addicted to cloth diapers and makes and sells wool dryer balls as SomerKnits. Occasionally she also carves out some time to knit, spin or weave - her main pre-baby passions.