Clemson:  We had a couple of new mamas and mamas/papas-to-be attend.  So, lots of questions!  I promised to post some links for everyone.  Sources for local babywearing products:  Labors of Love in Spartanburg carries Ellaroo wraps.   Jennie G’s boutique at AnMed’s womens and children’s hospital carries Moby and Hotslings, I think.  My Baby Modern is an online store that allows free pick-up in Easley.  They carry zolowear ring slings.  A wonderful mama in our babywearing group has a green Moby for sale (20.00!).  Email her if you’re interested (poleidopy[at]hotmail[dot]com).  Another mama in the group has a gorgeous Ellaroo Mei Tai for sale.  Look back a few posts for info and picture.  Finally, a mom in our group sews ring slings that she sales through Carolina Waterbirth. 

The product most of the moms asked about was the moby wrap.  And great video instructions for wrapping a newborn are here. 

My favorite online ring slings are these and these.

What did I leave out that I was supposed to post?

Greenville:  We didn’t have a big group last night.  I think because of the change in location.  But this library was really wonderful and no security guards poked their head in to make sure we were following the rules.  We’ll meet at this branch again in December since the main branch was booked. 

There was interest in getting a baby on your back.  So here are some links that might be helpful:

A great mei tai demo. 

We also talked about how to wrap without the cloth touching the ground.  Here ya go.

The Clemson group will meet as usual at 10am Thursday November 5.  Snacks are permitted.  It is fine to arrive late or leave early.  Older children are welcome.

The Greenville group will meet at a new location:  the Sarah Dobey Jones branch library near Furman.  We meet at 6pm Thursday November 5.   Snacks are not permitted. 

Hope to see you there!

Clemson Group:

As promised, I’m posting the picture of the Huichol Indian’s birth practice.  Don’t you love our discussions at the Clemson Group??

How The Husband Assists in the Birth of a Child:
According to the Huichol tradition, when a woman had her first child the husband squatted in the rafters of the house, or in the branches of a tree, directly above her, with ropes attached to his scrotum. As she went into labor pain, the wife pulled vigorously on the ropes, so that her husband shared in the painful, but ultimately joyous, experience of childbirth. (Berrin 1978: 162)

We had our usual group of moms at the Clemson Group with the addition of one new guest.  I don’t think we talked at all about babywearing.  But we did talk diva cups, cross-nursing, men lactating, and VBAC options. 

Greenville Group:  The Greenville Group was full of new faces!  Yay!  We had three beautiful pregnant mamas–all due around the same time.  And several itty bitty babies.  We talked about newborn babywearing and nursing in a ring sling. 

Missed the meeting??  Catch us in November!

Another member of the group is selling a gently used baby carrier.  Katy has a gorgeous Ellaroo MT for sale.  She’s asking 65.00.  Email me (j_byers [at] bellsouth [dot] net) and I’ll connect you to Katy.

One of our babywearers is selling her gently used green Moby for 20.00.  Please email me if you are interested:  j_byers [at] bellsouth [dot] net.

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.

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.

The Greenville group will meet this month at the Children’s Garden on September 3rd.  Bring a blanket and snacks (if you wish).  Dads are encouraged to attend!  Older children are welcome.  We begin at 6pm and go until everyone finishes talking and playing.  It is fine if you arrive late or leave early.  Since I have a newly newborn, I suppose I’ll try to do a topic on wearing a newborn?  Sound ok? 

The Clemson group will meet as usual at the Central library at 10am on September 3rd.  Snacks are fine.  Older children are welcome.  See you there!

The Clemson Babywearing group will NOT meet in August.  Too many of our regulars are birthing or attending births.  We’ll see you again (some of us with new littles to show off) in September.

The Greenville Babywearing group will meet as usual August 6 at 6pm.  Please remember no food or drink allowed in the library meeting rooms.  Dads are encouraged to attend.  Babies and children are welcome.  Lara and Elenia will be leading this meeting.

The Clemson group welcomed some brand new mamas with their newborns this month.  It is always wonderful to see new moms getting out, nursing, and wearing their babes.  These moms had such confidence!  We didn’t really talk much about babywearing.  What did we talk about?  We had three pregnant moms in the group so there was a good bit of discussion about choosing birth locations and care providers. 

The Greenville group discusssed making a no-sew ring sling.  Sarah, a new mom, had whipped together a wonderful no-sew ring sling for a wedding she was planning to attend.  She used this link and found some great fabric at Hancock.  I wish I’d snapped a picture.  Have I mentioned how great it is that dads attend the Greenville group?  We also spent some time talking about infant sleep.  Seems like everyone is reading Elizabeth Pantley’s No Cry Sleep Solution.  I loved that book when I was a sleepy new mom because it made me feel normal and it encouraged me that sleep *issues* were only a problem if they were a problem for my family. 

I hope to see you next month at the August meetings.  I might be birthing sometime around our meeting and Carey has several births she’ll be attending around that time.  But we have a back-up who will be leading the meetings in case we are absent.