I was searching. I was searching for a carrier among what felt like thousands of options. This new parenthood this was pretty darn HARD! It felt like there were a thousand options for everything!! Why couldn’t it just be simple?? So I really did fall in love with wrapping the first time I saw it because it just looked so beautiful and stylish. The only problem was…. it also looked super HARD! There was no way I was going to be able to do something like that with my screaming (constantly crying) baby boy. No way, no how. Way too hard. Way too much fabric. Pretty much totally crazy.
But oh, it’s just so pretty…..
Here is the photo I fell in :love: with. How cute is this mama?? It’s the Ellaroo Kristen and it can be found in our store HERE!
Fast forward a few months later after buying/trying/returning every other carrier under the sun. I am still looking at this photo. So, I decide to go to a local baby wearing meeting finally. Just to see what these crazy people are up to with their yards of fabric and fancy oragami-like wrap tying methods.
When I finally tried my first FWCC (Front Wrap Cross Carry) I discovered…..
1. It is the most comfortable carrier I have ever tried.
and
2. It is NOT THAT HARD!
But it does take a little practice to discover the best method of getting that wrap on comfortably and quickly. I truthfully thank all the tutorials on YouTube and TheBabywearer.com for teaching me to wrap.
So really, can I ask you, what in life that is worthwhile does not take any practice at all?? Yes, it does take a little practice. Like, maybe once or twice a day for a week to be totally pro at a front carry. Yes, it takes a little longer to get a back carry down and to feel comfortable doing it alone. But once you get it, it is oh so worth it. And oh so pretty, cute, and dare I say… STYLISH? That’s right people, that is what I’m saying. Give it a shot and give it a real chance or you could be missing out is all I’m saying. If you really don’t like it after that, there are other options that are also awesome. Carriers like Mei Tai’s (“May Tie”) can be found in our shop HERE, and backpack style carriers are also super easy for dads and can be found in our shop HERE!
So let’s just say that you end up having 3 kids. That is at least 6 years of comfortable and hands free baby wearing with a woven wrap (or other carrier of your choice:)! It’s such an amazing carrier as well as parenting tool, I say it’s well worth it.
A little side note. Occasionally I hear parents say, “I tried that and my baby hated it!” Now, I suppose this could be a genuine possibility and might be the case for some babies. I apologize in advance if this is the case with your child….. but I have to admit that it is so hard to believe! It seems that this could be the result of a parent fumbled wrap job. Sorry! It’s when you don’t really know how to comfortably, quickly, swiftly, get the wrap and baby on and ….surprise! The baby doesn’t like being fumbled like that! So like I said, it takes a little practice.
The second thing I occasionally hear is, “My baby doesn’t like to be wrapped tightly to me and restrained.” Well, the goal of wrapping is not to saran wrap your baby to yourself! It’s a comfortable seat for them to sit snugly against you with arms cozily (not mummified!) in the wrap, or with arms out if they choose. And babies do love very much to be snuggled up warm and cozy to you:)
I guess my point is that I personally found that wrapping practice and perseverance was one of the best things I did as a parent and I’m glad I learned. If you have tried wrapping with a woven wrap just doesn’t work for you, then there are lots of other carriers out there that can be equally comfortable with no learning curve. I also LOVE my ring slings and SSC’s (soft structured carriers like a Mei Tai or buckle/backpack carrier) and could not live without those. So here’s to finding the perfect thing to work for you. I do hope you find that amazing level of comfort and coziness with your carrier because it’s a pretty great feeling.
xoxo,
Heather
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