Love to wrap

I have always been a wrapper at heart, though I've had good and bad days, sometimes doing the perfect wrap job, others wanting to chuck it in the bin after getting into a hot frustrated mess with a wriggly baby.

But this forever makes me happy I stuck with it. My beautiful 4.5 year old. He hasn't been wrapped much as I only came to full time babywearing when his first brother was born, though he has been up a few times. And today when he came over all poorly and hot at sling meet, he asked me to wrap him, insisting on front cuddles. So I whipped out the library's size 7 silk Indio and that's what we did! 

Later on middle boy asked to be wrapped too, a rarity these days - and as smallest was happy exploring I was happy to oblige.

This is why I would encourage everyone to learn to wrap. I think it's the one type of sling that will do you from newborn to 'school age' and beyond! 

Joy and Joe Happy Faces Teaching Wrap Review

There are currently two special wraps travelling the UK's Sling Libraries. They have been specially woven by Joy and Joe baby to act as 'teaching' wraps, to encourage more people to take up wrapping! I was lucky enough to get on the list to try one with South Cheshire Babywearers.

It's always fun to receive parcels in the post, and especially when you open it to reveal a sling! And this one was lovely. It was gorgeously soft for a 100% cotton wrap, I just wanted to snuggle up in it! It felt almost silky and also seemed to have a bit of stretch to it. Biggest boy wanted up first, he's nearly 4.5 now and around 19/20kg. He was happy, comfy and well supported in a simple ruck.

For the rest of the week the wrap carried around smallest boy, 9 months old and 20lb. I found it really easy to wrap with, the softness meant the passes were able to glide easily, great when doing a double hammock - and I do love a double hammock! 

I have to be honest that I'm not completely struck on the faces design, however, this wrap is meant for sling libraries to purchase at a discounted rate to teach customers, not to be on the market as such. The big bold stripes are useful when wrapping to show you are tightening the wrap equally. It also has a white reverse side which helps too. I think it could be improved by making one of the rails a completely different colour so it is more distinctive as one of the issues encountered when wrapping is knowing which rail to tighten, and being able to follow it easily would really help newbies.

All in all I think the concept of the teaching wrap is a good one. We do have a number of wrappers at our meets, but they all come for the social side, it's rare that we get new people coming along interested in wraps straight away. So although we always have wraps lying around, they are all different makes, sizes, blends, and the easiness of wrapping varies. It would certainly be handy to have a stock easy to use, standard size wrap to show people, and this fits the bill.

If you'd like to know more about this travelling wrap, check out this blog post over at Joy and Joe:

http://www.joyandjoebaby.com/blog/introducing-the-new-jj-teaching-woven-wrap

And finally, a lovely picture of Becky and baby Elinor trying out the wrap at our mini sling meet.

Nova Baby Deluxe Mei Tai

I've not had much experience with mei tais. I tried a lower end one when middle boy was a baby but didn't find it particularly comfortable and was much happier wrapping! So I was looking forward to trying one again.

The Deluxe Mei Tai from Nova Baby Carriers, a Norfolk based company, arrived to stay for a couple of weeks. It's aimed at babies from 6 - 24 months old (max 15kg).

It has a padded waistband and straps, which were very comfortable. The fabric design was cute and fairly unisex, and I guess could be reversed so the plain side is showing if you wished. 

Smallest boy is now 9 months old and around 21lb and fit in really snug and comfortably - showing his approval by having a nap! The padding on the shoulders meant I could carry him for ages without it getting diggy. 

The only slight negative for me was I had to tie off under his bum when on the front, I'd personally prefer slightly longer straps so I could cross and tie at the back, but that is just a preference, though a couple of ladies who tried it at sling meet mentioned the same. 

We tried a back carry, excuse the face, I always feel a bit odd smiling for selfies when out and about! Again, the padding just made it super comfy and he was very happy.

All in all I enjoyed testing this carrier, it got good feedback from sling meet and if I ever decided to convert to a mei tai Nova Baby would be a big contender! 

Yaro Basket Wrap Review

Yaro is an affordable brand of woven wraps produced in the EU. I actually bought a Blue Ivy when smallest boy was newborn, but it was just a bit too baby blue for us (though wrapped gorgeously!)

So I was keen to test another Yaro, and was sent an Emerald Basket, size 6, 100% cotton wrap. 

When I first opened the Yaro Basket I felt it was a bit too retro looking for me, however, the design grew on me as soon as I wrapped my smallest boy! Here he is enjoying our go-to back carry - the double hammock. 

The wrap felt quite light and thin, nice and easy to wrap with but still supportive, and the thinness makes tying off almost effortless. It wasn't the softest wrap I've tried but being 100% cotton I'd imagine a bit more breaking in would improve that massively. 

Both Yaros I've tried have had a lovely sheen to them, and they come in a range of beautiful designs, blends and colours - definitely worth checking out, I've got a grey La Vita on my wishlist!

A Positive New Year

2015 hasn't been my favourite year, which is a shame because it's the year gorgeous Luke arrived into our world. It just feels that everything has gone wrong recently, but I won't bore you with those details!

So I was on a bit of a downer towards the end of the year and around Christmas, and I'm sure my closest friends were sick of me moaning. Therefore I've decided 2016 is going to be a positive one. After all, I have a happy, healthy family, which is the main thing. 

I want 2016 to be the year of new things. The husband is starting a new job next week which he is looking forward to. It may mean a minor relocation for us, but that will come with its own adventure of exploring a new area with my boys.

I've set up a Facebook page to share this blog, https://www.facebook.com/Heart-full-of-boys-1677669125813520/ which will hopefully encourage me to keep it up this time! (Please visit and give me a like!)

I am also going to be involved in starting a sling library in the very near future, South Cheshire Babywearers is already a popular sling meet and demo library which I have helped to run for a while now, so I am very excited about being able to hire slings out. 

I won't make resolutions as I always break them, but I have lots to look forward to and be positive about and I think that's a good start to a happier me in 2016.

Daiesu Jigsaw Mustard Wrap Review

Towards the end of August 2015 I was lucky enough to try out a Daiesu woven wrap. It was the Jigsaw Mustard design, 100% cotton, size 6.

It arrived with me in a Daiesu branded bag which was a thoughtful touch.

I'd liked the jigsaw pattern since it came out but personally preferred the more vibrant colours, like Chilli or Grape, so wasn't sure this was really my thing. However the colour in real life is lovely, less mustard, more pale golden, nice and neutral and goes with anything!

My first venture out was to a mini sling meet and I actually tandemed my two youngest using Jigsaw with my then 4 month old in a fwcc, and my 2.5 year old in an Indio in a ruck. (Photo credit to my then almost 4 year old!) First thoughts were that the slight texture of the jigsaw design makes it nice and grippy for wrapping securely. It was also a good weight for summer, thin enough to keep us both cool while still offering good support - this is a big plus for me as I get so hot when carrying. Smallest boy certainly approved of this wrap, sleepy snuggles are a thumbs up from him!

Later in the week I tried my 2.5 year old in my favourite back carry, a double hammock. I found this super comfy, not diggy on my shoulders at all, and as you can see, perfectly wide enough for a chunky toddler. 

I loved hosting this wrap and would certainly recommend Daiesu wraps in future! Thank you for the opportunity to test. http://www.daiesu.com/

It's been a while!

Well it's been 2 years since I last blogged, so much for my resolutions of 2014! I had written a whole introduction post with the aim of starting a new blog but then I rediscovered this one and decided to continue it, so will post it here instead! Need to catch up anyway!

So I have 3 boys. When pregnant with number one in 2011 I was desperate for a boy, I think more for the hubby than anything else as I knew that's what he wanted! Number two arrived in 2013, I really wanted my eldest to have a brother, and that's what we got. With number three I think it was just relief that we'd be having another boy - I felt I knew what I was doing with boys, as much as anyone can with children. He arrived in 2015 and completed our family. 

Three babies within 3.5 years. I think I must be a little crazy but most of the time it's fun, and I love that they will grow up together, enjoying the same things at the same time. But the small gap has necessitated babywearing.

I bought a Babasling for my eldest, Ryan, and regret that I have zero photos of him in it! I used the pushchair a lot but carried the sling with me always, as like most babies he loved to be close and carried. While pregnant with my second, Liam, I knew I'd need a better, more sustainable option, as although I loved my Babasling, it wasn't always the most comfortable for a long amount of time. So I discovered South Cheshire Babywearers, my local group. Fell in love with the cosy comfort of the Moby wrap and purchased a Cadbury purple one from eBay. Needed a bit of tweaking once babe arrived but I proudly wore him everywhere in that snuggly piece of cloth!

Liam was a chunk though, and an April baby so by 12 weeks I was too hot and he was too nosey, so I ordered my first woven wrap. A Lenny Lamb outlet buy, still not exactly sure which colour way it is, Summer maybe, but it was love, and I've been wrapping ever since. 

Smallest boy, Luke, had his first carry in a ring sling, my coveted Natibaby giraffes, and as well as being wrapped in my own humble stash, he has been lucky enough to try a number of tester wraps, as I am now involved in running South Cheshire Babywearers, having been volunteering there since Liam was small really, with a brief break when I returned to work. So I thought I'd start a page where I could share my reviews and love for the art of babywearing. And here it is!