Sneak Peek of My Course

Here is a sample page from my Saturday Course, Soft Pack Basics. Send me good vibes on Friday and Saturday so my presentations go well! Oh and that gorgeous baby carrier? It is one of the ones I mentioned in my last post. It is an Action Baby Carrier in a gorgeous SoBeBabies exclusive print! My little girl has quit her babywearing strike, but that doesn't mean she'll get in just anything! I know this one is a safe bet as she helped me pick out the fabric!

Babywearing Conference Preparation

Starbucks Near Babywearing Conference

First things first. Just checking out that there are lots of Starbucks nearby. It looks like there is one in every direction so that's all right.

No seriously, that's not all I've been up to. I've been having packages shipped to IL for ages and have finished writing, printing, colating and stapling my 2 courses. I've just been by the airport to check that this strange part of my display part that wouldn't fit in a box is okay to take as carry on. The TSA dude was pretty amused but as I was so earnest, he did go check with his supervisor to be certain all was well. No idea if I'll need to check it on the way back but that's okay. I just don't want any extra delays on the way there since checkin is just one hour. Plus waiting for checked bags to appear is a huge anxiety issue for me. I haven't checked bags in years and last time I did, sure enough, they didn't appear. Thank goodness they found them and delivered them to our hotel the next day.

Laundry is up to date and most of the packing is done. Lots of last minute errands tomorrow. A friend returned a borrowed Yamo today, freshly laundered. That will be one of many from my personal SSC stash that I use for my classes. After my classes, I am going to finally let go of my stash of demos.

The thing I'm most looking forward to is meeting so many friends. Seeing some of Chicago will be nice but I am not sure how much I'll get to see. I have decided to skip the stroller and I don't know how much my little one is going to want to get dragged around the city but we'll see. I am not even sure I'll have much extra time to explore. Really, I'm more of a relax and chat kind of person.

Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is: Travel Time

With the Babywearing Conference a few days away, I really need to decide whether or not to have a stroller with me. This is not an easy decision. I will be traveling with my four year old daughter. Originally, when I planned to go, my husband was on board and we were all going to go as a family. But we moved after I agreed to teach and didn't realize that airfare prices from our now town would be prohibitive. So I could only afford two tickets. I'd love to have left my little one at home, but she's never spent one night away from me, much less six! Plus, my husband works and who would take care of her all day? I am able to nip out for a few minutes because he works from home, but not all day, for days on end!

So, to try to find my way through the airport with a stroller and two carry on bags plus a child that does not walk when we're trying to get some place? If she is in the stroller, um, where does the luggage go?

I have done that trick before and it's not that bad. I have hooked the luggage handles on to the stroller handles. But my wrists have been hurting and it just seems too much. Plus the thought of getting through security with more stuff just overwhelms me.

So, I'll probably live to regret this, but the stroller stays home.

2008 Babywearing Conference is Nearly Here!!!!

The 2008 Babywearing Conference in Chicago starts in just a few days! I am so excited and look forward to meeting people from around the country and even around the world. We all feel like we're going to meet celebrities and dear old friends we've never met!

I don't know what to be more nervous about. I have a booth, so of course a lot of planning and investment have gone into that. I've never done anything like this before so I hope I'm doing it all correctly!

And the whole reason I'm going in the first place is because I am teaching two classes! On Friday, I'm teaching Advanced Soft Structured Carriers. I look forward to this because I'm so passionate about SSCs more than any other baby carrier. There are going to be some exciting new SSCs debuted at the conference. That is all I can say about that right now! I sure hope the Fashion Show gets put up on YouTube during the conference so you can all see what I mean! I will try to post some photos if time, battery life and technology allow!

On Saturday, I am teaching Soft Pack Basics. Saturday is the open day and people from the greater Chicago day will be attending by the thousands to check out what is new and exciting in Babywearing! The volunteer committee has done an extraordinary job; everyone in a 100 mile radius is aware of the time and date! I am thrilled to teach this class and help these lovely families get an introduction to a style of baby carrier that they probably were not aware of and that they are going to totally fall in love with!

Stay tuned!!!

When strollers just won't work and child must be carried

Last weekend, my family got invited aboard the USS Truman, a Naval ship which had just returned from a long deployment. This was no cruise ship. The aisles were narrow and the stairways steep and precarious. My eight year old had quite a time getting around so imagine a four year old trying to keep up. Any parent, in a situation like this, would wind up carrying their little one.

That photo is of my four year old on my back, which was by far the safest place for her! There were no other children that age aboard! Probably it was quick to see that it was impossible to get around carrying a little one and a stroller would have been completely impossible as there were knee knockers in every doorway (you had to step quite high to get through the doorways.)

I got a lovely workout that day! And my little one got to feel safe; again, this was no cruise ship. It is, um, not exactly, well, pretty. Let's leave it at that.

Listen to your baby

My daughter is now four and so it's super easy for her to tell me she'd like to be in the baby carrier or switch to front or hip. Actually, she rarely requests a hip carry. She did today, and I was so glad I had a baby carrier that allowed for that position.

It was super hot and muggy at the cow factory we were touring. She started out on my back but decided she'd be able to see more easily and be cooler on my hip, which is true. I quite enjoyed the break from the sweaty back. Then she wanted to do a front carry. It's hard for me to see around her head now that she's so big, but you won't catch me complaining; there were two other parents there lugging children the same size.

So we have two things to learn from children. They don't want to be put down, even at age four, even in places where strollers are ridiculously inconvenient. And they might like to try different positions, not just always be worn exactly the same way. However you wear them, remember that a bit of fussing might be a reminder for you to turn so your little one can see the action. Sure enough, my little started swinging her legs and I asked what she wanted. She just wanted to see; she was bored!

Baby Sling Safety

Finally! M'Liss' work has been published in a new baby sling safety blog! M'Liss, I appreciate all your hard work and dedication in this important project.