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| 1. About four months old and in a phase where he ONLY wanted to face forward |
It all started with a Moby wrap....I just wanted to keep my new precious baby close, I wanted to be able to nurse hands free, I wanted my hands free for other things without having to leave him sitting or laying in some sort of baby holding device that didn't include me. I also had very limited knowledge about baby wearing and did not know about the different baby wearing groups that are around.
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| 2. Six months old and on a mom and baby train trip |
He eventually got too heavy for the Moby for me to be comfortable and I was sad that I might not be able to wear him any more. At this point we did not have internet at home and money was REALLY tight. I went to the library, used the internet to find instructions to make a ring sling and printed them off. I went to the fabric store and got craft rings and some table cloth fabric. Remember at this point I didn't have the internet access and did not have a wearing support group or lovely Baby Wearing International(BWI) Volunteer Babywearing Educators(VBE).
Using craft rings is NOT how to make a ring sling, they are not strong enough to hold the weight of a baby. The ones that I used broke when I was wearing my son and he could have been hurt if I didn't already have an arm around him. I don't want to share a picture of that ring sling I made for that very reason. Once I met up with
BWI Chicagoland and learned about the proper rings I took the stitching out of that sling and replaced the rings with proper Slingrings.
As my son grew I decided that I needed to be able to carry him on my back. Off to the library I went again and found the
DuPage Slingers that just happened to be meeting on a day that I was free in an area that I was familiar with(at this point I had no GPS and am directionally challenged). When I went to the Slinger's meeting I was introduced to woven wraps but knew I had no hope of affording one and was REALLY intimidated by them. I was able to try on both and Ergo and a Boba carrier and determined with the help of one of the leaders that the Boba was a better fit so I went off to a local vendor to purchase one.
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| 3. IBW 2011 Farmer's market event with BWI Chicagoland (15 months) |
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| 4. IBW 2011 Walk with the Dupage Slingers (15 months) |
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The two events during International Babywearing Week 2011 were really key in my baby wearing journey. It was around this time that I found the BWI Chicagoland Facebook page and began to participate in the group online. I was still somewhat limited in range due to finances but I started going to meetings when I could. I learned so much about ALL the different types of carriers and as a side bonus I began to learn the layout of the suburbs surrounding Chicago along with Chicago itself.
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| 5. Climbing through the hatches on a WWII submarine with toddler in the Boba |
We went every where with the Boba...including exploring on the U.S.S Silversides a WWII submarine docked in Muskegon MI...no taking a stroller through there nor is it safe to let a toddler walk on his own.
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| 6. About 28 months |
By going to BWI meetings I learned how to use woven wraps and after making an Osnaburg wrap and checking out a Didymos wrap from the lending library I ended up purchasing a few wovens. The wrap shown in picture #6 is a Girasol Heaven's Love and it is one of my favorites. Even now at 32 months there are times when I will wrap him in a front cross carry and "wear him down" for a nap.
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| 7. 29 months old |
Being able to wear my son has allowed me to do many activities that I would have otherwise been unable to do. In picture #7 I am wearing him in a Kinderpack as I am clearing brush as part of a service project that my family did.
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| 8. My teenager wearing my toddler in a buckle carrier |
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| 9. Teenager wearing toddler in a ring sling |
Wearing my son has also become a family activity. Picture #8 is a picture of my 16 year old daughter wearing my 2 year old son in a buckle carrier (soft structured carrier) at the Lincoln Park Zoo. And picture #9 is my daughter wearing him in a ring sling that was made from a woven wrap by one of the mamas in the BWI Chicagoland group (and yes she used slingrings)
I am fairly certain that my daughter has also learned the benefits of babywearing as I have learned and if she chooses to have children she will probably wear them as well.
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| 10. 32 Months at IBW Celebration event Oct 2012 |
Baby wearing has been a learning process over the last 32 months...I admit that I don't know everything and am still learning but I am very thankful to have access to such a wonderful community of baby wearers. I am also very glad to share what I do know with other caregivers that want to keep their baby close.
