8/22/2008

Soft Structured Baby Carrier Comparison/Review

People are always asking lots of questions about which is the best baby carrier or the best of a certain style of baby carrier.

That question has no answer, only personal opinion, largely because we're all built differently.

Here is a great article about Soft Structured Carriers by Slingdad (who I was really looking forward to meeting at the Babywearing Conference but unfortunately, he couldn't make it).

Here is an SSC comparison chart with features at a glance of the most popular buckle carriers.

The best place to go chat about the subtle nuances is The Baby Wearer's forum on Choosing & Using an Asian Inspired or Soft Structured Carrier.

8/18/2008

Adventures in Babywearing: Carrying The Future

Great post from Stephanie of Adventures in Babywearing. She got to hear the keynote at the Babywearing Conference. I am so grateful for this writeup; I could only hear parts of it because my little one was not allowing me to focus! You know how that goes!

Here is her blog post:
Adventures in Babywearing: Carrying The Future

I do remember Jen Norton (the keynote speaker and founder of TBW) speaking about her feelings a lot about becoming a parent. I can identify with some of what she was talking about. I very intentionally became a mom and I love being a mom, but I am not one of those fuzzy wuzzy women who adores all children and babies. I think Jen and I could definitely chat about some aspects of being a mom and of being around kids. In this regard, babywearing helped all the more with establishing the close ties needed to be the mom I want to be. I hope that makes sense. I don't want to say too much more because I am not sure if I'm correctly remembering what Jen said and unfortunately, it seems that the keynote speech is not written down anywhere. Correct me if I'm wrong! But I recall a thread on TheBabyWearer right after the conference where people were asking for it.

8/15/2008

Peruvian Babywearing Dolls

I've come to a point in my babywearing career that I have long dreaded. After nearly 9 years (I've had a good run), it looks very unlikely that I'll have more than a few more opportunities. The last time I did babywearing (and boy did I ever!) was the Babywearing Conference in Chicago. The upcoming La Leche League Conference is my next chance to do some babywearing. I'll be using my Versaille Scootababy. I'm looking forward to that. After that, who knows. Like weaning and so many natural transitions, you're often not sure when the last time will be or was.

Meanwhile, how to keep this important focus front and center? One way is through the use of child size baby carriers so my little ones can wear their dolls. We've got one of everything! Another way is through the use of babywearing dolls.

The Natural Child Project, a cause near and dear to my heart, has these awesome Peruvian Dolls for sale.

8/10/2008

Bonding with your pets - alternative use for baby carriers

I am not really sure why everyone laughs when I share that I sometimes put one of my cats in a baby carrier. I've tried it with all my cats and it has usually gone over well. The first time, I did it for a lark just to see if it would work, not really expecting the cats to like it, but they did!

Then I found it a useful way to protect a new kitten from an older cat who was really out to get him. It was just like having a new baby and needing to both bond and protect him from a jealous older sibling.

And recently, I'm back into wearing my "kitten", now a 9 month old huge Maine Coon cat who is too proud to sit on my lap but loves to be held. Putting him into a baby carrier is a great way to get some together time on his terms which dictate that I have to be standing the whole time. Today, I had him for about an hour and then needed to get on with things so my daughter took over and they enjoyed another hour of closeness before he'd had enough.

There really aren't any pet carriers suitable for cats and most of the ones I've seen that are designed for dogs are pretty horrifyingly uncomfortable for both pooch and person. I have had good luck with pouches like the Karma Baby Pouch and buckle carriers such as the Ergo Baby Carrier. I just grab something out of my stash and pop kitty in.

If you have a story about wearing a pet, please share it!