New Scootababy Coming Soon!

As far as I am concerned, the Scootababy is one of the best kept secrets of babywearing. I have waxed on about it before, and probably will again!

At last month's Babywearing Conference, Audra, the owner of Scootababy, had a booth across from mine with the newly redesigned offerings. I got a sneak peek the night before before anyone when I stopped by her room. Even though I was bleary-eyed from all day travel, the new design, barely visible in the dimly lit dorm room, woke me right up!

I loved the old design. It's super comfy and easy to use; anyone can figure this baby carrier out and everyone, even people who have never used a baby sling before, can relate to a hip carrier. But the all black denim didn't exactly appeal to my dressy side.

I was most excited to see the prints in person. I had of course seen photos but 2 inch swatches on my screen are not the same as full size and touching. The fabric is wonderful. And the details totally wowed me! There is piping that gives such a polished look. I am no designer so I never would have realized what a difference a detail like that could make.

Another feature that jumped out at me is the quilted lining. It looks and feels luxurious and, well, expensive!

Scootababy has managed to strike upon a lineup of prints that are not overly trendy and that have nearly universal appeal. Most are suitable for both men and women.

For those of you that aren't just interested in prettiness, there are some important design improvements. The most important ones are that the body of the carrier is higher and the seat has contoured. What this means is that it is easier to get the baby to sit more deeply in the body of the carrier (in other words, it is easier to get correct positioning). People complained that their baby was too long but Audra and I feel that in reality, the baby was probably not all the way in. I wore my four year old and never found the body too short. Read more Scootababy updates here.

Of course I took home a pink Scootababy for myself and have long since sold off my old black one.

Beco Butterfly - Breaking the Rules

With any baby carrier, there are good rules that really should be followed and there are rules that can be bent.

Recently, a rule that should not be broken was most definitely broken in a big and not okay way. Ever since the Baby Bjorn popularized facing out, people have come to assume this is the normal way of carrying babies.

Any good baby carrier will simply help you carry your baby in a way you'd hold them. Very few people walk around while holding their baby facing out. I know what some of you are thinking. You think your baby just has to face out. There is a time and place for facing out and I maintain that the time that is sitting on your lap. It is simply awkward to hold a baby with your hands in the facing out position, and therefore, it is not natural to walk around with a baby facing out for extended periods of time.

So when a popular magazine recently put up a photo of a baby facing out in a Beco Butterfly, they misrepresented the product. I can appreciate why they did this but it is a real shame that they did not take the time to read the instructions. This unfortunate incident means that even more people are going to demand this position and use baby carriers, like the Beco Butterfly, incorrectly. That is a shame.

Now for rules that can be bent. The video instructions explain how to use the Beco Butterfly. Unlike other buckle carriers, the baby is put in the Butterfly and then you put the Butterfly on (front or back). Many people, myself included, find this method awkward. I have come up with an alternative that might prove easier. So here it goes.

1. Put your Beco Butterfly on your front (even if you are planning to do a back carry) and close the chest strap behind you
2. Adjust the waist, shoulder straps and chest straps for comfort
3. Adjust the length of the straps for where the baby will go; there is a separate pouch area where your baby must fit. Eyeball it.
   
4. Unbuckle the straps that you just adjusted - the ones that set the distance for where baby will go
5. Get your baby
6. Lift baby higher on your chest and to one side and slide one leg into one side of the carrier
7. Shift baby to your other shoulder and put her other leg in
8. Be sure to guide baby's feet from the bottom to the correct leg openings (use a mirror and/or partner as you are learning)
   
9. Ease Baby down and pull up on the body of the carrier until baby is deeply seated
   
10. Buckle the two straps that hold baby's little pouch area and adjust if necessary so baby is secure
11. For a front carry, you're done!
12. For a back carry, open the chest strap behind you
13. Hip scoot baby and carrier around to your back, being sure to bend at the waist as you get your baby on your back
14. Put the shoulder strap on first on the side you scooted baby around
15. Put on other shoulder strap
16. Close the chest strap

Enjoy! If these instructions are helpful, please leave a comment!

Chicago Babywearing Conference 2008

Sneak Peek of New Ergo Baby Carrier design! This is behind the scenes during the fashion show. Total mayhem behind the scenes but up front, all went smoothly! There are two more photos coming up; another of the blue and one of the black. Gorgeous! Also, I heard tell of a pink! I am so excited! And all these new gorgeous Ergos are organic!
My booth - check out the new Oopa Baby slings! Most of these are as yet not even on any website! The slings on the left are EllaRoo. Yummy too! The mannequin is wearing the SoBeBabies exclusive Pretty in Pink Action Baby Carrier.
This is a total tease. Sorry, I didn't get a good photo of the new Scootababy. I guess we're all just meant to wait. Another peek of the Pretty in Pink Action Baby Carrier on the chair.
This was after the conference ended. Poor girl just fell asleep on the floor! But check out that gorgeous Oopa Baby skirt!
Ah, there it is! The gorgeous embroidered organic Ergo Baby Carrier. I've heard people complain that Ergo is un-hip. Not anymore! I can't wait to see how these will be received!
Detail of the New Organic Blue Ergo Baby Carrier with embroidery.
This is me one morning in my room. I must admit that after a few days, I switched to wearing the Ergo Baby Carrier exclusively. My little one is four and she just didn't walk anywhere. And having the Haiku Grab bag around my waist helped a lot; no extra strain on my shoulders. Normally, I use it as a shoulder bag but the Babywearing Conference was extreme babywearing for a suburb girl. Just the walk from the dorms to breakfast and then the conference pretty much did me in each day! Oh! Loving those shoes? They are indeed Doc Martins! They belonged to my older daughter and are one of the many reasons I just had to have another girl. Yup. I'll admit it. I was not over her gorgeous clothing and baby toys. Two girls was right for us. All that yummy pink girl energy! Love it!
This is a photo of the booth mostly set up. That was a lot of work!
This was the booth before setup got underway. My little angel was amazing! The most natural of shopkeeper's daughters! Amazing!
I hope I get this right! This is a sneak peek of a prototype buckle carrier by MotheringTao. It is called the Lotus, I believe. She also has a cross carrier in the works, and I believe that is called the Baby Zen. I do hope I am not messing up the names. This carrier was in the fashion show. What is so cool about it is it goes around the torso, covering the perhaps less than slim middle of the new mom. It's so much easier to put on than a traditional Asian torso carrier. I was able to do it without any advice or coaching; you can't go wrong! It can be worn front or back. There were still some kinks that needed to be worked out. When the conference DVDs come out, you can see it being modeled. This is a very interesting modern take on a traditional baby carrier.

A behind the scenes fashion show peek. I was modeling two carriers. This is a Lemon Balm Essentials german woven wrap. It was short for me (I'm tall) so I did a hip cross carry. Did I mention that my little one wound up napping every day? She hasn't napped in ages. So during the fashion show, I was actually changed. We did a rehearsal and then straight into the real thing. I did two changes and she stayed asleep until waking up on stage during my second walk. Thank goodness she didn't fuss! I can imagine that is a strange way to wake up. I am just so relieved; I'd been apprehensive about the fashion show for months because I just could not be sure I could count on her to allow me to wear her.