As you know, I am a big proponent of babywearing. I believe that it not only is the best for baby, but it also makes life a lot easier especially in the beginning… and it really is an integral part of my parenting belief.

So what are my favourites…

1. ~A Wrap~

My favourite is a good length woven wrap that doesn’t have much (or any) stretch… (such as Storchenwiege, Didymos or even the thinner Ellaroo among many others….)

Ease of use: Though they do have a learning curve and many people are frightened by the amount of material (on average about 5 metres long) I believe that they are the most versatile and the most comfortable carrier also…

Positions:  They are great for newborn carries, breastfeeding (cradle), front carries, hip carries, back carries and pretty much way you could imagine wearing a baby…

What ages: Although stretchy wraps (Moby, Cuddly wrap, Maman Kangourou etc) are great for newborns and the first weeks or even a few months if the baby is small, they do not hold up for large babies… And in my experience, people who have bought a stretchy wrap as their only carrier, as the baby grows they are more likely to give up on baby wearing because it becomes uncomfortable or they need to invest in another carrier after a few months.

2. ~A Sling~

Though I didn’t use my sling at all with Khéna a sling is an amazing carrier… simple yet versatile. It was my first carrier and the one that I used the most often for quite a long time. However, they are not the best carrier for long periods of time nor are they the best for larger babies. All the weight is on one shoulder so even if the sling is positioned well after a while you start feeling the weight more.

Ease of use: They are great for quick in and outs, pretty easy to learn how to use and pretty versatile..

Positions: Great for newborn and breastfeeding (cradle) positions and then for front positions facing in or the Buddha position facing out and great for the hip position….

What ages: Newborn to toddler and even longer depending on weight…

3. ~A Mei Tai or other Asian inspired structured carriers~ (Ergo, Beco etc)

Though this is third on my list it is Simon’s favourite carrier… I have a Babyhawk and I used to have an Ergo and I love how easy they are to use and many people love them… like Simon who wears Khéna in the Babyhawk on a regular basis but personally they don’t fit my body type… I wish they did because they are quicker than the wrap to get on for back carries (though I think that I can wrap almost as quickly now) and they are pretty comfortable for those whose body types do work well with them.. I think that with next baby I might try to make one with “wrap like” wide shoulder straps to see if that would be better…

Ease of use: Pretty easy to use and best for quick in and outs in the back position.

Positions: facing in on the front or on back or cradle position with the newborn insert.

What ages: These are not very good for newborns or in the first months without special inserts… They are great however for older babies, toddlers and even “pre-schoolers” and I have to admit that for quick in-and-outs from and to a parents back they are easier than the wrap…

4. ~Pouch~

Pouches are at the bottom of my list… sure they can look stylish and are seen a lot… they are easy to put on and easy to use… but they also have to be fitted right so they most often cannot be used by both parents and post partum size can change so it the size that you buy at first might not be the size you need a few months later…Again, the one shoulder use, means that you will eventually get some shoulder strain after a while…

Ease of use: very easy which is probably why they are so popular…

Positions: facing in on the front, hip, facing out in the Buddha position or cradle for breastfeeding.

What ages: Newborn to smaller toddler.

Khéna is getting heavy and my beloved Ellaroo’s where just not cutting it anymore… They are beautiful, they are light and strong but the heavier the babe the more pressure points…

So I started looking around and finally decided on a Storchenwiege…

Looking around I found that the best price around here was at Maman Autrement… an Internet based company on the South shore of Montreal. I called her up and asked if I could go get it directly and went to her home last night… turns out she is a WAHM and we know a few of the same people…  I debated a bit between the Natural and the Inka and decided to go with the Inka… I love the colours!

I has fun wearing Khéna today and what an amazing difference between the 2 wraps… I am so happy!!

What a day…

It was Khéna’s appt for the allergist today.. so Simon took the day off do that he could be with the boys while I go to the hospital. We headed into Montreal this morning and I dropped the guys off a the pool which we thought would be a fun thing for them to do together…

I headed for the hospital, found a parking space and started waiting… when we finally got into see the Allergist and going through the symptoms he had etc she said that is sounded viral and that if I didn’t want it we could just skip the allergy tests so that he didn’t have to through it all.. So I said that I agree and then she said to just start introducing a bit of everything… even peanuts can be introduced at anytime but just to watch him carefully after we do…

So, we left without testing which made us in advance to go get Simon and the boys… So I headed to Bummis for some Covers which we need and then went and waited for the guys…

Simon came out and I saw that he wasn’t too happy… turns out that he got robbed while he was in the pool… the lock on the locker was gone and they took his debit card, buss pass, some money and his work identity cards…  thankfully they didn’t get his wallet and his Palm which was in his Coat… Some people really suck…. The thing that hurts us the most is the buss card.. 207$ down the drain… That really cuts into our budget…

Of course today is also the day that I bought a new wrap… I needed something more supportive than my EllaRoo’s because of Khéna’s weight… so now I have a Storchenwiege Inka! I can’t wait to try it!

It is really easy to do and is very comfy!!

I love my new Ellaroo… the colours are so chocolaty…

Yesterday was our 8 year anniversary… wow… I can’t believe that it has been 8 years already… then of course… that day seems as though it was an eternity ago…

My mom was here for two days to visit and when she actually showed up I realized that Simon and I could probably go out without the older boys… Khéna of course is too young to be left for an hour or two… so Simon and I went out with Khéna and went to the little Thai restaurant that I love. It was the first time we have been out to supper together like that in about 5 years… of course we had Khéna… but it is not the same…

After the restaurant we went to a little cafe for dessert and coffee and then walked around a bit before heading home… of course the boys were still awake and had just got out of the bath when we got home…

I was a great evening…

oh… Here is one of my gifts….

A new Ellaroo… the new ELSA… mmmm… chocolate coloured…

I am a bit frustrated at the time it took (2 months!!)…

I e-mailed to ask about it a few weeks after I ordered it and they said that they had sent it a while before and it might have gotten lost in the mail… but she still had some of the material left… so they would make another… BUT they didn‘t have anymore of the other material that I asked for so asked if I could choose another…

A few days later I got the confirmation that they sent it (which I had not gotten before) and when I got it yesterday they had included the leftover material so really… they had lied that they had sent it before…

I am also pretty sure that I didn’t get the longer straps that I had asked for… but since I don’t know how long the straps are usually I don’t know yet… I e-mailed again today and I was asked to measure them but I haven’t gotten a response yet…

Here it is though, and though I am not too happy about the Customer Service right now, the carrier itself is gorgeous!!!!

Cherry Paisley

Alexander Henry (day of the dead)

on chocolate straps….

On Tuesday I went to a LLL meeting and I was so upset when I realized half way there while on the highway that I had forgotten my ER wrap… I felt so naked and panicked a bit about how I was going to wear Khéna.. I had a Maman Kangourou stretchy with me but the stretch isn't working well anymore with him and the Maman Kangourou is also too narrow for my liking… then I remembered that I had a scarf/shawl on me and I made a makeshift sling out of that, It worked out really well but I really missed my wrap the whole time…. 

The meeting was OK… a weird lady came in that had weight gain issues with her dd… at 5 1/2 months she was only about 10 lbs… she then talked about scheduled feeding and 12 hour nights and that she didn't want to change that because she had worked hard to get it that way….

I think we all heard crickets chirping and jaws hit the floor.. How can someone be so ignorant!!!!It is already bad enough to do that with a healthy child, but to schedule a babies feedings and make CIO a child that has serious weight gain concerns? That is abuse IMO…  After the meeting she then talked to someone about Babywise.. gladly we pointed out how evil BW was and how warnings about the book have been put out because of babies failing to thrive because of the devil called "Ezzo"….  I really can't understand how people can actually think that that is an acceptable way of Parenting and don't realize how cruel it is… I mean you don't have be AP… but CIO, scheduled feedings etc are an abuse of power… kids are not objects….

On lighter note… after the meeting I commented to another mom there how much I loved her Baby wearing coat…  we started talking quickly about the babywearer forums and she asked who I was there… I said Paxye and she was surprised and said "you're paxye!.. THE paxye!" I was so embarrased lol… I forget at times that people read my blog and "know"who I am…. what is fun though is that she e-mailed me later on to get together one day.. Hopefully that can be soon…