2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 32,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 12 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

How to make a bed sheet baby sling

How to Make a Bed Sheet Sling

Click on the above link to watch a video to learn how to turn a twin sheet into an adjustable baby sling with no sewing, no cutting, and just a simple fold and knot.

This video was taken at a training session for the Birthwell Partners Community Doula Project. Sharing the knowledge of how to use a shawl or a sheet as a safe and comfortable baby carrier is a wonderful gift to a new parent, and we were delighted to have the chance to work with a group of doulas who want to share the gift babywearing with their clients!

Buckle Carrier Comparison Chart

These days there are lots of cool buckle carriers a/k/a soft structured carriers a/k/a SSC’s on the market. We have a good selection in our lending library, so if you’re local, you can try several of the major brands at our monthly meetings. You may also get a good idea of the differences among brands from this comparison chart by OnyaBaby.

Photo Contest Winner: Karla

Karla wearing two of her children

Karla Lindquist is the second winner in our International Babywearing Week photo contest. Here are a few words from her:

The Beco that you so graciously awarded me is a huge blessing to my whole family!

I love wearing my babies and do so on a very regular basis. Babywearing makes having four children 4 and under possible. By that, I mean it’d be pretty much impossible to go anywhere without help if I couldn’t wear the baby. I wear Levi (9wks) when we go grocery shopping, and so far shopping with four kids is no different than with three because Levi sleeps the entire time he’s against mommy’s chest.

Babywearing is a huge part of my motherhood! I really couldn’t imagine trying to do all I do without wearing them. Attaching my baby to my body is not only enjoyable but often very necessary. When I had my third child, my oldest was only 2, and I had to wear the baby to keep him safe. Sure, his brothers loved him very much, but they were still only babies themselves and didn’t know how to be careful with him. I didn’t have the option of putting the baby down because it was not safe — they would smother him with their kisses or bang him in the head while sharing their toys.

I also love that I can nurse while wearing my babies and I don’t have to sit down to feed them if we are out and about. I’ve nursed my boys in a carrier while shopping, during worship at church, fishing on a boat, walking at the park, on an airplane and the list goes on because wearing and feeding our babies can be very easy and simply done most anywhere.

My husband has even gotten into wearing our babies. He has worn them to do everything from mowing the lawn to cooking dinner. My oldest son (4) was also excited about the Beco because he’s pretty sure it’ll work just right for him to carry baby Levi.

We are a babywearing family and the Beco is a wondeful tool that we will use often! Thank you again for your generosity! God Bless You!

Karla

Photo Contest Winner: Leigh Ann

To celebrate International Babywearing Week, we had a photo contest on Facebook to give away a Beco Butterfly 2 baby carrier. Although we intended to give away one Beco, we had so much participation that we ended up giving away TWO Beco Butterfly 2 carriers!

Everyone has their own babywearing story. Here’s what our first winner, Leigh Ann Hernandez, has to say:

Leigh Ann and Rio in a borrowed ErgoBaby carrier

I have 3 sweet children; Dalton (15), Sophia (just turned 2) and sweet Rio (8 months.)  I had never even thought about wearing Dalton when he was little. I just wasn’t as educated then, and being in my early 20′s I had no idea there were so many options.  Things have come a long way in the last few years in educating mothers on many subjects.

When my little Sophia was born I bought a Moby.  Needless to say she LOVED it.  I loved the freedom it gave me to be able to do other things while I was still able to hold and cuddle with her.  She seemed to be a very calm and satisfied baby.

When I found out I was pregnant again with Rio I had no idea how important babywearing would become.  Sophia still wanted to be worn, but with my protruding belly I had to find a new way. I found a sling that would let her rest comfortably on my hip and not disturb my belly. It worked really well. Once Rio arrived I wore him in the Moby as well.

It is very difficult carrying around a 25+ lb 6-month-old without the help of some type of carrier. In the last month I’ve needed a more confident way of carrying him around. I posted on Babywearing International of Birmingham’s wall asking people to recommend carriers to me. In doing research I found out how expensive some of the carriers are.   I was very bummed because I just couldn’t figure out how to fit that into my budget. I have an awesome friend that was sweet enough to loan me her Ergo. The first time I used it was in the picture I entered in the contest. It seemed so perfect, but I just couldn’t figure out how I was going to manage buying one. I began searching for used ones, but they were still pretty expensive. I was even talking to the winner of last year’s contest and I told her “maybe someone will have a contest sometime soon and I can win one myself.”  I believe that was said on Saturday and I saw the contest on Sunday evening and entered our picture! It was the most ironic, God-sent thing I could imagine! I was determined I would win the Beco!

The only thing that made winning that Beco for myself and Rio better was you guys giving one to me and to Karla! Thank you Babywearing International of Birmingham for making two mommies and several babies very happy!

You’re very welcome Leigh Ann! Your letter really highlights why our group exists: to educate parents about babywearing and to remove obstacles to babywearing, all so that families can reap the benefits. We have donated carriers to a Women’s Shelter, taught people how to make carriers, and given away several carriers in contests or drawings. We also maintain our lending library as a benefit of membership, which at $30 per year provides an affordable way for many parents to always have access to a baby carrier.

New carriers from BWI

Our parent organization, Babywearing International, Inc., sent us five lovely new baby carriers to help us celebrate International Babywearing Week. Wanna see?

An organic mei tai from Catbird Baby

A TaylorMade mei tai

A Boba carrier

A Didymos Labyrinth wrap

And a Wrapsody breeze in the beautiful "Alice" design. Happy International Babywearing Week!

International Babywearing Week: Make it Monday!

It’s the first day of International Babywearing Week 2011, and the theme for the day is Make it Monday. As it happens, we developed a very popular and easy project a few years ago that fits today’s theme perfectly: The No-Sew Fleece Babywearing Poncho. All you need is a yard and a quarter of good quality fleece and some scissors. If you find some fleece on sale, you might make this project for about $5. Enjoy!

 

Make a Mei Tai Workshop!

Susie and Ryan in a Ball Baby Overall mei tai, circa 2006

Celebrate International Babywearing Week by making your own faux Ball Baby Overall mei tai with us on Wednesday, October 12, from 10a.m. to noon at the Hancock Fabrics store on Hwy. 280. Basic sewing skills are needed. This project involves some straight seams, but there are no zippers, buttons, rings or other hardware to install. Space is limited and advance registration is required. Click here for all the details and to register.

New location for May and June meetings

Because of library programming in the conference rooms when we normally have our meetings, our May and June meetings will be held at Hoover Fire Station #7.  Take Hwy. 280 to Valleydale Road, then turn right onto Inverness Center Parkway. The fire station will be on your left. We will meet in the upstairs conference room unless we get bumped for fire department business, in which case we will meet on the enclosed playground at the fire station. Click here for a map. (Do not attempt to use GPS or Google Maps.)

December meeting postponed

Due to illness, we are unable to have a meeting on the first Wednesday of December (which is tomorrow, December 1). We will have a meeting on Wednesday, December 15, instead. Because of the change, items borrowed from our lending library in November will be due at the January meeting.