Connecta Baby Carrier

I got a Connecta Baby Carrier today! Until very recently, these were absolutely not available in the USA. But now Hannah is able to send them over here so I got one of them for my very own!

I am going to be honest here. I am surprised. I loved it!

You know me by now; I am the structured baby carrier lover. And true, this can kinda sorta fall into that category. But I'm forever going on about how mei tais don't work for me. And the Connecta, like a mei tai, doesn't have any padding at the waist, so I assumed I'd run into the same issues.

But curiosity got the better of me.

Before I tell you more, I must say that the quality of this carrier is perfect. It just doesn't get any nicer. Ever seam detail is pleasing. The straps are made of nice nylon. It's very simple but very nice.

I had a quick scan of the instructions, which I don't normally do, but this was a bit different from what I'm used to and I wanted to get familiar with it. I noticed that it's suitable for newborns so I am going to have to take it to a babywearing meeting so I can see that in action. Luckily, the next meeting is in a few days so I won't have to wait long! I wish my camera charger could be found so I could take pictures - perhaps I will unearth it in time.

So anyway, my little one allowed me to do a back carry right off the bat, even though she is pretty much only into front carries these days. For a back carry, there is no need to cross the straps in front like you would with a Sutemi. There is an optional strap that you can use as a chest strap but I didn't need it. I really thought the shoulder straps would fall right off. I guess the baby's low center of gravity holds the straps down and back. Not sure. I have heard that some people use the Sutemi without crossing the straps and I never had the guts to try it but now I am going to have to give it a shot. I am about to loan most of my SSC stash to someone who's going to do an article but I keep finding reasons to hold off one more day before shipping them off. I guess the moral of that is that research is never done so I should just quit for now!

Later, I tried a front carry and it is a bit trickier to do than in an SSC with the straps already buckled. I didn't love that I was back to dragging on the ground. I always find that so icky and it's part of why I feel the SSC love so deeply. I suppose it's possible to close the buckles and put the child in from the top. I might give that a whirl at some point if my daughter will allow me any more attempts.

It took a bit of fiddling to get the buckles closed and tightening the straps seemed backwards; it would have been much easier to pull forward rather than backwards. But once I got it adjusted well, it was, well, super! I just don't get it. I didn't feel it dragging on my shoulders the way a mei tai does.

My husband tried it this evening and he wasn't feeling the love. It totally did not work on him. I tried a few adjustments but he just grumbled. I think he has found his love in the Ergo and now he is simply not willing to try anything that is at all uncomfortable. Not to say a baby carrier should be uncomfortable but for so many years, we both struggled along in varying degrees of pain and discomfort so once we both got the SSC bug and realized how good it could be, there didn't seem any point in ever suffering again. So if it's not 100% amazingly luxury comfortable, he just won't bother at all.

Babywearing and Learning Styles

My daughter was just trying to wear a towel - you know - when you wrap it around yourself after you come out of the shower or pool. She's having some trouble getting it to stay up and even after I did it for her, it still didn't stay very long. "How do you make it stay?" she asked me. "I don't know," I responded, "I'd have to do it."

That tells you something about my learning style.

A few months ago I was at a playgroup with a group of local mama friends I've known for years. One mom asked how to put her baby on her back with the Ergo. Her baby was 8 months old. I couldn't tell her! I was pretty much totally confusing her within a few mintes. I haven't used the technique I used then in years and I could no longer explain it! I am so glad I wrote it all down before I forgot how to explain it! Up walks another friend and she says, "This is how Ellen taught me to do it." And she proceeds to redeem me (somewhat) with a flawless explaination and demonstration of the hip scoot.

Blushing, I plop down and wonder where my skills have gone. I've known for some time that my skills were slipping away with disuse, especially little baby skills. But why is that?

I guess it must be due to my learning style. I believe I am auditory, kinesthetic, visual, in that order. Everyone has all three learning styles and an order of preference. All three definitely come into play, but trying to teach a visual person with words is not going to work. Trying to show me is also not going to work. In fact, my learning style has made me a very slow learner for physical skills. I'm not exactly a natural athlete. But once I get something, I'm told I am graceful.

Some people show up at babywearing meetings and are doing advanced maneuvers after having seen it done once. This freaked me out at first but now I know that this is how visual learners do things. My younger daughter is visual or kinesthetic first, auditory last. She sees and does, speaks little. A true natural athlete. My older daughter needs things explained more and holds back a lot. She's more like me. Some people come to babywearing meetings and feel very flummoxed and embarrassed that they can't do it. They require more patience, more words, and more doing. Obviously, they are not visual, so we need to try reaching them via their other learning styles to see which one clicks.

It's helpful to know your learning style to know how difficult this is going to be for you. If you are like me, and you are just not all that natural with physical stuff, don't give up! I can do some super advanced babywearing maneuvers but they took time and perseverence. I used to sit at the computer and watch the videos on mamatoto.org over and over and over! And I'd go practice, all the while playing back the words in my head. I had memorized the scripts! (So did my older daughter, by they way; we'd both say, "Get your baby" in the same intonation as Tracy on mamatoto did - it turns out Tracy is imitating someone else!) So don't give up if it is not coming naturally. It's so worth hanging in there.

Did this article help you? Post a comment! It's nice to know someone is reading!

Babywearing in the heat

I am going to pontificate and speculate. I have absolutely no scientific evidence for what I am about to say. It's just conjecture and theory based on my limited experience of having babies, being a mom, speaking to hoardes of new parents and seeing their babies at babywearing meetings, AP meetings and La Leche League meetings.

Babies are hot. And further, moms who have just had babies are hotter than they normally are; their hormones don't regulate until, oh, I don't know, 6 months after birth. Perhaps, just perhaps, this is as it is supposed to be.

Both of my little girls would sweat up the spot around their heads when sleeping so much that the sheet would be wet a good 6 inches away. It didn't even matter if they were underdressed and it was chilly; they still sweated. And I've peeked at many blogs and see others thinking they have the only sweaty little baby. So I'm gonna guess that babies are just sweaty little things.

Okay, so how does this relate to babywearing? Well, babywearing, especially with a newborn, especially for the already overheated mom with hormones still settling after pregnancy, is hot. It just is. And while this is uncomfortable for the adult, perhaps it is not uncomfortable for the baby.

Some people give up on babywearing very early on because it is too hot and they worry it's going to hurt the baby. But if that little baby is sweating up a storm anyway, I can't see that babywearing is going to make that much of a difference. Sure, do what you can to make it cooler and make sure your baby isn't going to get heat stroke or anything like that. But if your baby is sweating, peeing, and taking in liquids, it doesn't seem dangerous to me.

That is not to say you shouldn't try to find the coolest way to wear your baby. Instead of tummy to tummy, on a hot day, try positioning your baby so that there is minimal body contact. One way to do this is with baby's arm and hip towards you. For example, a sling or a pouch used in the cradle position is cooler because it minimizes contact. If using the Ergo Baby Carrier or a mei tai, try positioning baby seated or slightly reclined with both legs out to the side, with or without the infant insert. If at all possible, do a back carry. Back carries with newborns aren't for everyone but if you are inclined to learn, it's definitely much cooler. Suitable baby carriers for back carrying a newborn are wraps, mei tais, and perhaps a pouch in the football position with baby slid around to the back.

I sell a lot of Yamos!

Here is the irony. I have not been able to get my hands on a Yamo since the beginning of this year. I only ever imported a few orders. At some point, Yamo in Israel was not able to fulfil my order and they have not been able to ever since. That has not slowed the demand one bit!

There is only one other company that sold Yamos in the USA; slingzilla.com, and Bianca's in the same boat. (By the way, for those of you in the NYC area, Bianca just opened up an actual babywearing shop, Metrominis. There are not a lot of actual stores with good baby carriers and even fewer staffed by babywearing experts. Everything Bianca touches turns to gold, so I expect great things of this store. I will be stopping by next time I'm in the city.)

Yesterday, I had a conversation that I have had many times. I spent about 30 minutes on the phone chatting with a babywearer. She surfed around, discovered the Yamo and fell in love. Yep, yep, it's the one for her and none other will do. I am apparently at least partially responsible for this match making; it's due to my incessant babywearing babbling that people get so attached to the Yamo. I have found all sorts of creative ways for people to hook up with a Yamo of their very own; eBay, thebabywearer.com's For Sale or Trade forum, and buying directly from a European vendor. This mama yesterday had done her homework! The eBay seller had closed up shop, there were absolutely none available on TBW FSOT, and she just wasn't sure about ordering from overseas.

It was a nice conversation anyway. In the end, she told me to keep on blogging!

Try and stop me!

Oh. And Yamo? If you're listening? Please let me get my hands on some Yamos!