Buying Local–Vendor Highlight

We don’t sell products at babywearing groups.  We permit moms to bring their gently used carriers to sell or post on our babywearing yahoo group.  Most of the time, there are no products for sale at a meeting. 

And so, you can imagine the most asked question.  “Where can I find one of these?  Like, tomorrow!?”  This often from a new mom who has wrapped her baby for the very first time and wee babe has snuggled contentedly off to sleep.  The new mom has that blissed out look that says, “I don’t care how much this costs…I want one now!”  We had a new mom who tried out a stretchy wrap at the last G’ville meeting and I didn’t think she was going to give it back!   

Enter My Baby Modern.  This is an online store.  But guess what?  These retailers happen to live in Easley!  And they welcome pick-up orders!   Sometimes they even deliver if they are in your neck of the woods.  What a fantastic thought for the postpartum family. 

They carry Moby (wrap), K’tan (wrap), Lillebaby (soft structured carrier), and Zolowear (ring sling).  And while they aren’t listed, My Baby Modern also retails Ergo, Puj, Hava, and slingEZee.  If you’re planning to purchase one of these carriers, contact this local retailer and support small businesses!  They even price-match–what do you have to lose?   

Casey at My Baby Modern says they almost always have a variety of Moby and K’tan in stock.  And since stretchy wraps are the most likely product to be demanded immediately requested at babywearing groups, I’ll be sending desperate mamas to Casey!

And as a side-note, while it isn’t listed online, they also keep a limited cloth diaper selection stocked and have access to many of more popular brands. 

In case you’re wondering…My Baby Modern didn’t ask us to advertise for them.  I was looking for a local source for carriers and remembered them.  No kickback coming my way from giving a shout-out!  I kinda feel good when I support local.  Especially local mamas.

Great video or audio podcast

Pregtastic had a great show on baby carriers.  It covered the 5 basic kinds:  wrap, ring sling, pouch, mei tai, and ssc.  You can download the audio for your ipod or watch the video online. 

Well done!

Missing the Point

Hands free carseat carrier!

Infantino Slings Recalled

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada (HC), in cooperation with Infantino LLC, of San Diego, Calif. are announcing a free replacement program for the Infantino “SlingRider” and “Wendy Bellissimo” infant slings.

More info here.

Let’s hope infantino leaves the baby carrier business to the professionals–real babywearers–in the future!

Chicks-n-chickens

Chicks-n-chickens is gearing up for International Baby Wearing Week with a variety of online and live events. We would love your help spreading the word. Additionally we are looking for baby wearing moms who blog to review Lullaby Exercises. Reviewers will receive a copy of the Lullaby Exercises DVD/CD set and we will also provide an additional copy as a giveaway sent directly to the winner from Chicks-n-chickens.

More about us:

Chicks-n-chickens, Lullaby Exercises is a fun, new exercise DVD/CD Set for moms with babies 6 weeks to pre-walking. A series of effective, low-intensity, easy-to-learn movements that you perform while baby wearing. It’s designed for new moms to share moments with their baby, put a little one to sleep, and to feel good emotionally and physically. Groove to soothe….mind, body, and baby.

Our complete schedule of events for International Baby Wearing Week is below. I hope you will help us make this a wonderful week of celebration for baby wearers everywhere.

Best,

Jennifer Ashdown, Vice Chick
Chicks-n-chickens, Inc.

Chicks-n-Chickens Celebrates International Baby Wearing Week 9/21-9/25

9/17: Twitter Party #MomsRock http://www.momsrocktheeconomy.com/
9/18: Mom Active Radio http://www.blogtalkradio.com/momactive 11 a.m.
9/23: Pregnancy.org Live Chat 11 a.m. http://www.modavox.com/voiceamerica/vshow.aspx?sid=1573
9/25: Chicks-n-chickens on http://www.iwearyourshirt.com
9/25: Free class at DayOne, Walnut Creek, CA September 25th, at noon

Coming in October:

**10/15: Pregnancy.org Radio 11 a.m.

2.50 plus tax

cross-posted from Julie’s blog.

That is what I paid for my favorite wrap.  I love when people stop me at the store to ask where I got “that.”  And I say, “Well, it is just a long piece of cloth!” 

Here is how you can make your own long piece of cloth:

• Go to the fabric store.
• Pick out some jersey knit fabric (I found it for 1.00/yd).
• Buy 5 or 6 yards depending on your size.
• When you get home, cut it in half vertically.
• Give one half away as a gift to a pregnant friend. 
• Now you have a wrap.  The edges of jersey knit roll so don’t bother sewing the edges. 

Seriously, I do not know how moms of newborns function without a wrap.  It is my number 1 ranked mom gear.   I can hold and bounce a fussy Cedar in my arms and she will continue to fuss.  But if I put her in a wrap, she almost always settles immediately into sleep and I can write thank-you notes or wash diapers.  Or blog.  The added perk is that after 15 minutes or so in the wrap, she is in a deep enough sleep that I can usually unwrap her and lay her down.   

Want to learn how to use a wrap?  Come to our next babywearing group or google instructions online.

November Meeting Highpoints

I missed the Clemson meeting again.  I had a birth.  Why do they always happen around babywearing day?  So, maybe Janet or Jenny will comment on how the Clemson meeting went.

The Greenville meeting was not well-planned.  Carey was planning to run the show since I was at a birth.  But as I was leaving my birth, she got called to one!  Maybe we need to bring in a back-up meeting coordinator who is not on call.  Anyone?  Anyone?

Anyway, back to the Greenville meeting.  We had no subject and I was zonked.  I suggested we talk about babywearing for the holidays.  Then realized…um, that is a dumb topic.  Abby rescued me by discussing a babywearing incident she had in a parking lot.  That led to talk of funny comments people give and how best to spread the babywearing cheer.  We had a great turn-out and I wish we could have stayed longer for chatting.  With evenings getting dark earlier, it felt later than it was. 

I feel like I was supposed to link something.  Oh yes!  This ridiculous “babywearing” product Jenn mentioned:  Hands-Free Car Seat Carrier

Greenville Meeting Highpoints–October

The October meeting was wonderful!  Our topic was “Dads Babywearing” and the meeting was filled with couples.  I really enjoyed having so many men join us and I hope they had a great time, too.  I know my husband loved seeing Norah interact with the friends she always references.  I hope the guys will feel welcome every month! 

We had a great balance of expectant couples and experienced wearers.  It was a pretty relaxed time of conversation and show-and-tell.  And I didn’t take a single picture.

The products that seemed to appeal most to the guys:  Ergo, Mei Tais, and Kelty backpacks.  Ben pointed out that babywearing gives men a chance to work outside while caring for their little ones.  Back carries seem to be the best carry for working outside.  Here is one of my favorite pics of one of our local dads in action:

September Meeting Highpoints–Greenville

The Greenville meeting drew another crowd.  Our topic was Hiking and Babywearing.  We featured Kelty’s external frame carrier.  We talked about safety, tips, and again, what to do with those diapers when camping. 

Check out those stylin’ ladies!  From left to right:  a newborn pouch carry, an infant ring sling hip carry, and a buddha pouch carry.  And I believe I see Abraham peeking from behind in a Mei Tai back carry.  Incidentally, Gini (left) made her pouch and makes ring slings if anyone is interested in commissioning one!   

We also talked some about Baltic Amber teething necklaces since several babies were sporting these.  You can do a search and find a wide range of prices. 

If you didn’t make it to the meeting, we hope to see you in October.  I’m thinking about “Dads and Babywearing” for the October evening meeting.  Dads are, of course, always welcome–but feel free to invite a babywearing dad to share his experiences for the next meeting.

Public Transportation

Couldn’t resist posting this link! 

And if you have the time, dig around the reform school site–it is lovely.  I wish the wooden toy camera was not out of stock.