New Zealand Babywearing Week

Here at Babywearing Wellington we're looking forward to the first ever New Zealand Babywearing Week, which will run parallel to International Babywearing Week from 10-16 October.

Babywearing Wellington will be organising a few different events to celebrate the week, the main one of these being our annual sling walk through town on 16 October. This year we've decided to go for an easier (flatter!) route, starting at Frank Kitts park at 2pm then walking past Te Papa, onto Courtenay Place and then Cuba St ending at the Southern Cross Guest Room, our regular slingmeet venue. Check out the route map below.

Register on the day from 1.30pm to go into the draw to win heaps of great spot prizes from the NZ Babywearing Week sponsors Wickelkinder (Manduca), My Natural Baby, Rockin' Green NZ, Ours DVD, The Natural Parent magazine (more details at bottom of this email) and local businesses Le'esscience, Baby on the Move and Wish Skin Spa. The main prize will be a Sweet Soda limited edition Manduca valued at $255 provided by Wickelkinder! In addition, the first 30 families to register on the day will receive a small goodie bag with giveaways and vouchers.

We'd love to see you all there with your child/ren and favourite carriers, and it would be great if you could spread the word around your friends and family. Everyone is welcome - you don't need to have a 'worn' baby to attend, and the route is buggy-friendly. The idea is to get as many supporters of babywearing together as we can! The sling walk poster is available here for you to print out and distribute if you can - the more advertising the better. So we have a vague idea of numbers, we'd appreciate it if you could let us know by email or by RSVPing to the Facebook event whether you think you can make it. In the meantime, check out the photos from last year's sling walk.

In addition to the sling walk, we're planning a Latin-inspired babywearing dance class on Monday 10th and a 'Make Your Own Stretchy Wrap' with our resident craftster, Hester, on Friday 14th. More details to come on both these events.

Hope to see you at one or more of these events!

For information on events in other parts of New Zealand, check out the list on the New Zealand Babywearing Week site.

October Slingmeet

We hope you all can come to Babywearing Wellington's next slingmeet
from 10 a.m. on Friday 7 October, 2011
in the guest room at the Southern Cross
39 Abel Smith St, Te Aro, Wellington.

The topic of this month's meeting is "Babywearing around the world", which ties in with the theme of next month's International Babywearing Week - "A world of possibilities". And don't forget next month also marks the first ever New Zealand Babywearing Week. We hope you're looking forward to what we have planned as much as we do!

We're happy to answer any questions you may have about all aspects of Babywearing and about any type of baby carrier. Please feel free to bring any questions you have with you on Friday, or contact us at any time.

As always, we will have our carrier library available for browsing and borrowing.


Bring your friends!
Our meetings are open to the public, so please feel free to invite anyone you think might be interested, friends, family, other mums and dads... you don't have to have a baby to be a Babywearing supporter!

Unido pouch slings available from our library

It's high time we did a write up on one of our earliest library donations - two beautiful, 100% NZ made pouch slings from Sarah at Unido.

Our two Unido pouches - S on left, M on right

Like all pouch slings, Unido slings are great for quick and easy babywearing and fold up nice and small when you're not using them. They can be used for front, back and hip carries. What sets Unido apart, though, is the fact that their pouches are fully customisable. You can buy them direct from stockists around NZ but if you want one that is exactly tailored to your body size, all you need to do is go to their website, put in your diagonal shoulder to hip measurement, choose your coordinating fabrics and place your order. There's an extensive range of fashionable printed cotton fabric to choose from for the outside, and the solid coloured fabric on the inside is a diagonal weave for added strength and durability. Unido slings are fully reversible as well, so you can wear them with the print on the inside for a different look. Another nice touch is that you can order a matching mini pouch for your child to wear their 'baby' in as well. Unido also provide a comprehensive illustrated guide to using their slings.

Please check out Unido's blog or their Facebook page.

The Unido pouches in our library are a small (fits size 10-12 or 59-63cm) and a medium (fits size 12-14 or 63-68cm). We'd love you to come and try them out at one of our slingmeets and they're also available to hire at any time by contacting our librarian.

Thanks again, Sarah!

Natures Sway carriers now available from our library

The team at Natures Sway have kindly donated three carriers to our library. Natures Sway (NS) have recently added to their range - in addition to the NS sling which you probably already know about, they now also make a soft structured carrier (NS Pouch Pack) and a stretchy wrap (NS Carry Wrap).

Here's some information on each of the carriers:

NS sling


The NS sling is available in either 100% cotton or an organic blend of 55% hemp/45% cotton (which we have in the library). The design of the organic sling has been updated to make it easier to adjust and more comfortable for both you and your baby, especially in the hip carry position. The sling is designed to be used from birth till around 2 years old. The slings are easy to adjust between different wearers as they do up with an adjustable buckle, and they are also great for breastfeeding in, as shown below.

NS slings now come with a yellow safety loop which goes around the buckle for added safety. Also, in terms of safety, rest assured that the NS is not a 'bag sling' however it's very important that you place your baby in the sling correctly following the NS instructions. Your baby needs to be lying diagonally along the line of stitching (which indicates the placement of your baby's head and spine). Here's a video from NS showing exactly how to do this:

For more information on NS sling safety, see here.

NS Pouch Pack

The NS Pouch Pack is a soft structured carrier so is more comfortable for extended periods of wearing and can be used from birth to around 3 years of age. It can be used as a front or back carrier, as well as on your hip if desired. Like the organic NS sling, the main fabric of the body is 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton, with a front panel available in several different patterns (we have a fabric sample book available for you to look through). The front panel has a zip to extend the height as your child gets older. The wide shoulder pads are padded with wool for comfort on your shoulders, although, like all SSCs, the waist strap means the weight is largely distributed to your hips. There is also some padding around the the bit where your baby's legs go for added comfort. It's easy to use, and folds up relatively small to put in your bag if necessary.

NS Carry Wrap

The NS Carry Wrap is a stretchy wrap with a woven panel. The woven panel adds extra support around your baby's spine and helps prevent sagging, while the 100% organic cotton knit on the rest of the wrap is comfortable for your shoulders and back. The woven panel (available in the same range of patterns as the panel on the Pouch Pack) also means it's easy to find the centre of the wrap and tie it correctly. The wrap has a built in storage pocket so it's easy to fold up and put in your nappy bag. 

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NS have a great comparison chart available on their website comparing the features of each of these carriers to help you work out which one is right for you. If you'd like to check out any of these carriers, they'll be available to try and/or hire at our slingmeets or you can email our librarian anytime. 

Thanks again to Natures Sway for making these available to us!

September Slingmeet

We hope you all can come to Babywearing Wellington's next slingmeet
from 10 a.m. on Friday 2 September, 2011
in the guest room at the Southern Cross
39 Abel Smith St, Te Aro, Wellington.

After the success of our earlier "Babywearing 101" talk (which covered the basics of babywearing), this month's talk "Babywearing 201" goes further and focuses on the many health benefits of babywearing. It turns out that babywearing is not only convenient for mum, but also very good for baby! So do come along, hear our talk, check out the carrier library and mingle with other parents who "wear" their babies!

We're happy to answer any questions you may have about all aspects of babywearing and about any type of baby carrier. Please feel free to bring any questions you have with you on Friday, or contact us at any time.

Bring your friends!
Our meetings are open to the public, so please feel free to invite anyone you think might be interested, friends, family, other mums and dads... you don't have to have a baby to be a Babywearing supporter!

No August Slingmeet

There will be no Babywearing Wellington slingmeet on the 5th of August as the date coincides with the Big Latch On.

Our usual venue, The Southern Cross, will be the central Wellington venue for the Big Latch On. There will be Babywearing Wellington committee members attending there and others at the Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt. We invite you to join us with your children in carriers at either location.

Slingmeets will resume as usual on the 2nd of September.

Library update - Hoppediz woven wrap

I'm happy to announce that our carrier library now includes a woven wrap - a Hoppediz in the bright and beautiful Delhi colourway.

It was kindly donated by MayBaby who currently sell Hoppediz wraps through Trademe.

Hoppediz are very similar to Storchenwiege woven wraps and the Didymos stripes range of woven wraps. They have quite a dense, thick weave which makes them super supportive, especially as your child gets older and heavier. In addition, they're really wide (this one is about 4 cm wider than my Storchenwiege Inka which is already considered a wide wrap) so they are great for back carries for toddlers.

Like other European woven wraps, Hoppediz are made from high quality cotton free of pesticides and chemicals.

Hoppediz have a couple of extra handy features - firstly they have middle markers on both the top and bottom rails of the wrap. This is very helpful when doing back carries. In addition, they come with a little pocket at one end to put your keys, phone etc.

Hoppediz have lots and lots of different colourways, possibly more than any other manufacturer, so there is something for everyone. The Delhi colourway we have is very cheerful in shades of red and orange.

The wrap comes with an extensive instruction booklet so it doesn't matter if you've never used a woven wrap before.

All in all, a very good example of a woven wrap for you to try out. Please email our librarian if you'd like to try it (or ask at one of our slingmeets).

If you're thinking of buying one for yourself, let them know that you're a Babywearing Wellington member and you'll get a 10% discount.

Thanks again to Anna at MayBaby!