Heart to Heart Stretchy Wrap Available in Our Library

The Heart to Heart wrap is one of the stretchy wrap carriers available to hire from the Babywearing Wellington library. The team at Heart to Heart generously donated this gorgeous wrap to the library last year. Check them out at www.babywrap.co.nz

I have one of these wraps myself, which was perfect for my little lass when she was a newborn. Being cotton, it was very easy to take care of. I just threw it in the wash after one of the many messy incidents involving a number two.

The features that I really like about the Heart to Heart wrap is that it is extra wide, allowing plenty of space for those larger or taller babies such as my bonnie wee lassie. It is truly 'one size fits all': wide, long, with tapered ends, which makes it easy to tie.

Heart to Heart wraps are made from 100% quality cotton milled in NZ (no imported fabric). I love made in NZ!

The advantage of being a stretchy wrap means you can put your baby in and out without taking it off or re-tying. I also found it rather supportive of the baby's weight, especially if you get a nice snug tie and tighten it up rail by rail (come to our March slingmeet on Friday the 3rd and I'll show you how - more details about the next slingmeet to follow shortly).

The Heart to Heart wrap comes with a pocket sized instructions, which is a useful thing to throw in the nappy bag and have on hand.

These lovely wraps are available in a gorgeous moss green, beautiful blue, white or black. The one in our library is blue.

This photo is one of my earliest outings with in the my wee lassie in the Heart to Heart (at just 8 days old). Fond memories of those newborn days!

Sharing the Wearing - Our Mission Statement

You may have heard, we have an exciting new mission statement for Babywearing Wellington!

We wanted to share our journey to develop a mission statement that was really meaningful and resonated with all of us. We believe we’ve achieved that, and found the journey rather inspiring - we hope that you do to.

When I joined the BWW committee late last year, I was blown away by the passion that all the other committee members shared, and their willingness to put a lot of effort into something that they believed in, for no monetary reward. The satisfaction of a job well done was more than enough.

I wanted to harness that passion and help channel the energies of the group effectively. To start the process, I floated the idea of jointly developing a mission statement, which was received with great enthusiasm.

The process started with a questionnaire, which asked questions intended to ferret out what had ignited our passion for babywearing.

The questionnaire revealed that we had all come to babywearing through word-of-mouth or on-line research, and as such Babywearing Wellington filled a niche requirement for an organised group for people to come to for advice. Also, our passion for babywearing was very personal. For the most part, babywearing as a parenting choice had been a saviour in our hour of need. We had each experienced different challenges and had overcome them, largely due to support from friends and family. Because of the success we had had on a personal level, we were inspired and motivated to share our collective experience with others. In particular, we wanted to be in a position to provide support to those that needed it, just as we had received from others in our hour of need.

Something that was also very apparent was the diversity amongst our committee, in terms of background, skill sets, and often parenting choices. The thing that had brought us together was Babywearing. We really love the fact that we each bring something unique to the committee, and wanted to extend that vibe to our meetings and everything we do.

And as for the mission statement. It is:

___________________________________________________

Babywearing Wellington
- Sharing the wearing -

We are passionate about promoting the benefits of babywearing through knowledge sharing. Our mission is to see the safe use of baby carriers become a normal and mainstream parenting choice, and a priority for parents and carers.

Babywearing Wellington provides a haven of acceptance for all parents and carers. Babywearing meets a range of needs as unique as the relationship between baby and parent, and is the common thread that ties our diverse community together.

The values that we see in each other are the same values that underpin our mission: dedication and commitment, acceptance and diversity, generosity and integrity.

___________________________________________________


If you feel particularly inspired about sharing the wearing and would like to assist the committee in any way, please approach us with your details. It could be writing a post for our blog, hanging up posters in your neighbourhood, helping us organise an event, or even joining the committee. We would gratefully accept all offers of help.

Much respect,
Sarah C and the Babywearing Wellington Team

Tips for Successful Babywearing - The Early Days

You've done the research, bought the sling and are completely committed to wearing your baby. So what does a new sling mumma do if their baby doesn't seem to 'like' being worn?

We've all experienced some degree of difficulty in those early days of babywearing, so here's a few ideas for successfully working through those hard times, and wearing your beautiful newborn successfully and safely. These tips are based on our own experiences of those early days of babywearing, and what we did to overcome our own personal hurdles.

- Practice the different carries first with a teddy or doll. The doll won't wriggle or cry like a newborn baby might, but the practice will set you in good stead for when the baby comes along. This is particularly important with a wrap sling, so you can understand the body mechanics required for wrapping your baby.

- Practice putting your baby in the sling when she isn't too tired or hungry. Often people use slings as a last resort as a sleeping tool (I certainly did!), with first attempt when baby is completely overtired. This may mean that the experience of getting baby into the sling is traumatic both for the wearer and baby - it is no surprise that many people give up if this happens a lot.

- Have your partner, friend or relative be a support person when putting your baby in the sling. Your support person can assist hugely by boosting your confidence and keeping you calm while you put the baby in the sling. They can also assist with the more difficult wrapping techniques. However, you may find that once you get your wrapping mojo, an extra pair of hands can be more of a hindrance than help.

- Enlist the help of an expert, preferably in person. Babywearing Wellington committee members are available to give advice whenever you need it. We also hold monthly slingmeets, which are a brilliant place to get some help and practice the different carries.

- Don't be rushed. Take your time to get the carry right and don't be afraid to start again from scratch if you need to. 

- Try different carrier types. Sometimes a baby won't enjoy a wrap sling, but will love, love, love a mei tai! Sometimes the wearer will find a certain sling type or brand uncomfortable, but finds another type or brand to be the perfect fit. The Babywearing Wellington Sling Library gives you the opportunity to 'try before you buy'. We have a range of sling types and brands that might just be perfect for you.

- Be patient and keep trying if it doesn't work the first time. It may also help to have a break and come back to it again later (after a nice cup of tea and a well deserved piece of cake!).

The most important thing is to feel comfortable asking for help if you need it. We are a phone call or email away, and are ready and willing to help you with any aspect of Babywearing. Don't hesitate even for a second to reach out to us. :)

Kia Kaha,

The Babywearing Wellington Team

Kozy Love

It must be love!

Today I met in person Helen from Aquabub to chat and receive the Kozy Carrier she is lending Babywearing Aotearoa for our sling library.

I'm am really impressed with this carrier. I'm not sure what it is that makes this Mei Tei different, but man, it is comfortable. Its less padded then I imagined and instead is made from a sturdy cotton. The ties are nice and grippy and don't need to be tight around your waist (so no flab roll!). It would be nice if they were a bit wider through the shoulder and back to make it even more comfortable, but still, thumbs up from me!

It's a joy to feed it. Evelyn looked so comfortable nursing and fell asleep in it tonight. Tomorrow I will test it out on a bush walk and I need to find a small baby to try it on! I'm really enjoying gaining the experience of different carriers and can't wait to share the love with our soon to be members!

So, for a library update.

At this months committee meeting we decided to set a deadline to have the library up and running. This will be our August slingmeet. It does seem far away, and I'm sorry! We have set roles together, and I'm the librarian, and am flat out this month. We really want to have a strong grounding to avoid any possible miss-haps before lending carriers.

So far we have:

2 Unido pouch slings (S and M) donated from Unido

1 Kozy Carrier on loan from Aaquabub

I cant thank you two enough for your support!

Beth