I have a pretty small stash by babywearing addict standards - more than 20, but not by much. Still, it would be nice to have a better storage solution than bags in the spare cupboard, or leaving them lying around the house and car. The keys to sling storage are holding in straps that want to escape, and visibility. I don’t want to be opening drawers at random when I’m searching for a specific sling in a hurry, and I tend to forget I have other beautiful slings when I can’t see them.

Here’s some ideas for small storage solutions to go in the spare cupboard:

Left: Clear storage bins from IKEA - the angled lid at the front means you can reach in and grab slings when the containers are stacked on top of each other.

Middle: Storage boxes with clear windows on the front from IKEA - the only downside is that I have different sling types that are very similar colours (eg green ring slings and green mei tais, or blue long wraps and blue shortie wraps).

Right: Hanging storage from IKEA - hang it in the wardrobe where sticky toddler hands can’t easily rearrange your wraps.

And if I had the budget, here’s some ideas for larger storage furniture pieces:

Left: Glass-front cabinet from IKEA

Middle: Shelves from Fantastic Furniture - great for storing carriers in the kids bedroom, and you can write on the front what’s inside

Right: Ladder shelf from IKEA - you could also use an actual ladder - shock! Yes, it is possible to use things for something other than their originally intended purpose, like babywearers who co-opt tablecloths as shortie wraps…

And finally, a lockable cabinet for those who are lucky enough to have a stash that includes a long wrap handwoven on a hundred year old loom in Eastern Europe. If you’ve spent your budget on slings and can’t stretch it to the IKEA version shown above, you can pick up a cheaper, boring grey version from the ex-government warehouse and paint it in whatever shade of enamel rocks your boat.

So what do you like? Or do you already have your own perfect sling storage solution?

Tags: fashion, stash, storage

I’ve had the most fantastic weekend at the Corinbank Festival! I was there to teach babywearing in the Green Kulture village, but I also spent lots of time spotting slings while sipping chai, playing Scrabble, learning about clay-balling, watching circus acts, avoiding infringement notices from the Fashion Police, eating vegetarian feasts, asking chicks in the line for Tableaux Vivants (live nude show - and I spotted a baby in ring sling being breastfed in the audience) if her dreads require much maintenance, listening to Ash Grunwald and heaps of other great bands… well, you get the picture. It was a general festival of family-friendly fun with as little environmental impact as possible. I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story:

Left: Dominique is wearing an Australian brand pouch sling - and her baby is probably keen to grab that coffee because it might have chilli in it from the Mayan Coffee stall!

Centre: Katoomba mum with her big girl chilling out in a blue SSC (soft structured carrier). See, babywearing isn’t just for babies!

Right: I recognised this as an organic Eyes Of The World print fabric (I used to have a woven wrap in this fabric). Turns out this pouch sling was made in Canberra!

Circus Playground looked like a lot of fun - and if you look closely, you might spot a dad with a baby in a camel-coloured SSC on his back!

I had lots of fun demonstrating Ninja Babywearing to save your baby from the invading zombie hoard who want to eat your brain… or just get your baby on your back so you can get on with washing, cooking, chasing other kids, or generally looking good. Even wore my ninja babywearing t-shirt while I did the job I also showed people how to carry a baby with a tablecloth, shawl, or bedsheet so you can rock on at the main stage without losing your toddler, or settle a cranky baby to sleep even when you’re camping in the Brindabella mountains outside Canberra. I had great help from Morgyn (who works at the coolest baby shop in Canberra), plus Moira and Kate from the Canberra Babywearers, who gave me lunch break time. Thanks ladies!

So what did I miss with my camera? A very cool mei tai with feature panel in a brown print, ring slings (only spotted black and blue, where were all the stripes and prints?), and several stretchy wraps and SSC’s. Oh, but I did catch the Fashion Police from Ruby Bloomers Women’s Circus:

In between issuing infringement notices for fashion crimes, these rocking chicks also issued encouragement notices for babywearing and public breastfeeding. And looked damn fine in their leather corsets and stripey tights
I’m already thinking about a bigger and better Corinbank 2011 - what would you want to see in a babywearing demo at a music/arts festival?

Tags: advocacy, back carry, canberra

So I was reading baby industry news this morning (I own a baby shop) and noticed there’s a Melbourne baby shop who have started a sling library scheme. For postage cost, you can borrow a baby carrier for 10 days to see if it suits you before you pay lots of money to buy one. The news editor was quite rightly excited about this: many parents will be able to choose the most comfortable carrier for their needs if they can try on first. Bu there’s a catch…

When you’re looking at sling libraries, baby carrier hire schemes, or try-before-you-buy plans, first take note of the carriers you are being offered. Do they look like something you want to try? As a baby sling retailer, I have been offered all sorts of “good deals” on carriers that aren’t comfortable when carrying a heavy baby for hours at a time. Spending money on something you won’t use is never a good deal. Going along to a sling meet, or trying on a carrier at the shop, will allow you to find out if a suspect carrier is as uncomfortable as you thought it would be, without putting you in a position of having to pay postage or remember to return it on time.

Reading the fine print is also important. What happens if you’re late sending it back? Do you need to pay a large deposit? If the carrier is damaged while you’re borrowing it, can you afford to pay the repair fee?

If you’re already committed to using a sling or baby carrier, start by doing your research on styles and brands. Baby Carriers Downunder have a forum where you can read the opinions of other parents, or check the reviews at The Babywearer. The Selection Guide at Baby Carriers Downunder will explain the basic styles and their uses. There’s also a sling library as part of the Baby Carriers Downunder group, where you can try carriers if there’s no sling meets in your area to try them on - but with the added benefit of no profit to the Baby Carriers Downunder group for promoting one brand over another.

Once you’ve short-listed some carrier styles and brands that are worth trying, look for a sling meet in your local area. This is the best way to try on - no fees, no stress about borrowing carriers that get damaged in your care, no pressure from vendors to buy what you’ve tried. Plus you get the opinions of other parents at the same time.

If there’s no sling meets in your area, look for a baby shop that stocks the brands you’re interested in. Try on carriers at the shop, but make sure you go for a proper walk around the shop with your baby (not a lightweight doll) in the sling to see how it really feels. Talk to the shop staff about their returns policy - if you get it home and change your mind, can you exchange it for a different brand? Is there a guarantee or warranty on the carrier fading in the wash or breaking with normal use?

For people who have made up their mind that babywearing is a good choice, it’s not hard to justify spending money on a quality sling. You’ll use it far more than a pram, and prams are often much more expensive than a sling. But when money is in short supply, you do need to make careful choices. If you’re really worried about making the wrong choice, consider your fall-back plan. Can you sell this sling second-hand and put the money towards buying something else? Can you buy your preferred sling second-hand in the first place? When you’ve finished with this sling, can it be used for other purposes like a spare travel blanket or hammock? If you’ve got sewing skills, good quality fabrics always have potential for re-use. Is this a sling that can be used from babyhood through to pre-school years, or will you need to sell it and buy something else in six months or a year?

So how do I know this stuff? Because I’ve been there. I was committed to babywearing, but had no way of trying before buying. So I bought random stuff online. And let me tell you, I bought some total rubbish before I found the gems! When I started my own shop, I had a hire scheme. Which ended up being a try-before-you-buy scheme. Because nobody - not one single person - ever returned a carrier. And I realised that it wasn’t the hire offer that got them to choose that particular carrier. What they needed was to try on a few different styles at once, so they could compare the comfort. Going to a sling meet or a shop that allows customers to try on a range of brands will tell you if the brand you were considering is merely mediocre.

Buying a sling means making a choice from a huge variety of offerings from online and in-store retailers. Just be sure to start by trying out something that interests you, and be aware that a “good deal”you’re offered is only worth it if it’s a sling you actually want to use.

Tags: buying, meeting, sling library, try on

It’s Australia Day (aka Invasion Day, for some of Australia’s indigenous population) on 26 January 2010. Which means lots of families heading out to BBQs and picnics, visiting friends and family, goint to festivals and major public events, or just staying out late to see the fireworks.

On my way to work this morning on the bus, I passed Commonwealth Park in Canberra. This is where the early morning citizenship ceremony was held, and a short walk from last night’s Australia Day Live concert. I spotted parents carrying their babies in stretchy wraps and SSCs (soft structured carriers that clip on) with hoods - both great choices for sun protection. I also noted that most of the carriers I saw were in shades of beige - very sensible when in the park on a dusty day. And that the carriers I saw were mostly machine washable - so zinc cream or sunscreen should wash out.

And here I am, in my tragic 1980’s blue sequinned pop-star jacket, trying to decide which carrier would go best with it for this afternoon’s BBQ after work finishes. I’m leaning towards a red shorty wrap - a quick and easy way to get a toddler on my back, and keeps to the red white and blue theme. Or perhaps I’ll change into green and gold, and go with a bright yellow woven wrap, to coordinate with a green skirt. If I had a little baby, I would show my support for our indigenous Australians in a stretchy wrap with indigenous art panel on the front. Or perhaps I’d wear a black ring sling with red and yellow ribbons pinned onto the shoulder - fun for baby to play with.

What are you wearing today, and how are you keeping the kids happy while you’re socialising?

Tags: australia, BBQ, canberra, fashion, indigenous, party, style

Everyone else is doing it, so why can’t we? Yep, it’s a year in review for the Baby Carriers Downunder blog.

My fave photo from 2009 - yes, I do have the most gorgeous wearee ever

January 2009 kicked off with a couple of sling meets, in Melbourne and Sydney. Sling meets are a great way to keep the kids busy during school holidays, especially as they usually happen in parks rather than busy indoor play centres.

February was when we got stuck into more regular writing. There was the very entertaining It’s Time to Get Serious: Zombies; a run-down on babywearing retail with If these slings are so cool, why can’t I buy them at KMart?; and Babywearing and Post Natal Depression.

By March, the weather was starting to cool down in the southern parts of the country, but Australia being such a big place it was still nice and warm up north. We had a mix of the serious - How do I start - with TWO babies? - and the not-so-serious - Could Angelina Jolie be a tandem babywearer? Yep, we had a bit of a tandem babywearing theme for March. Whether it’s twins, or a toddler and newborn, lots of parents carry more than one kid at once out of practicality.

In April, we discovered why wrappers are really cool froods, how to breastfeed hands-free, and spent the whole month sharing the love - with a series of posts talking about babywearing when the wearer isn’t the child’s parent.

May was Newborn Babywearing Month on the blog. One of my favourites was Can we please go home now? A personal story about leaving NICU with a premmie (or two). I also loved the glimpse into another culture in Kandy, about babywearing in Sri Lanka.

June saw a week in the life of a wrapper. My fave was a great example of Extreme Wrapping - Day 4, wrapping on a moving bus. Coming up to the end of financial year, there were also some great babywearing economy posts like Babywearing Affluenza and How to buy: pre-loved slings and carriers.

There were more great personal stories in July, like the famous Paulus’ Babywearing Birth Story, and Steph’s plan to support her high needs baby with lots of babywearing.

Australian weather (and climate has a big impact on what slings we wear) is quite varied in August: cold and rainy (even snowing) down south, warm and dry up north. We covered advice on how to wash your stash, and a WOE (wrap once every day) challenge - my fave is the ruck.

September, the start of Spring, was huge! We had International Babywearing Week from 21-28 September 2009. There was also the mother all sling-meets at the huge Homebirth Rally in Canberra on Monday 7 September 2009. But among the advocacy and community spirit, there was still time to blog the personal - like Steph’s posts on babywearing in hospital.

I think we were all a little exhausted in October and November, or perhaps just getting out in the nicer weather, because the blog was much quieter. But there was a cute post with photos of mei tai used as a swing harness. And WOE challenge became WOEvember.

We got back on track a little more in December, with a beginner’s guide to using pouches, and a series on travel and babywearing.

Got any ideas on what you’d like us to cover in 2010? Do you have New Year’s babywearing resolutions? Or perhaps you’re doing an end-of-year destash and declutter? Did you have a personal babywearing hightlight in 2009? Post your comments below!

Tags: review

Did you go to a Walk Against Warming 2009 event on Saturday 12 December? ABC News says there were more than 90,000 people at rallies around Australia, including over 2,000 at the Parliament House rally in Canberra. I spotted ring slings (hemp and cotton), soft structured carriers (SSCs), and stretchy wraps at the Canberra rally. Check out what the tweeps thought with tags #waw09 or #walkagainstwarming. So what does this have to do with babywearing?

Babywearing is, without a doubt, more environmentally friendly than using a stroller or pram. A good quality baby sling or baby carrier is made from biodegradable, natural materials: cotton, hemp, silk, and wool are the most popular fabrics. Some carriers use padding made from bamboo, cotton, or recycled PET. Other carriers include metal or plastic rings, or hard plastic clips. While PET padding, aluminium rings, and hard plastic clips are not biodegradable at end-of-life, they will take up far less landfill space than the amount of plastic or metal in a stroller.

Traditional-style baby carriers can also support economic development programs in developing countries. Hand-woven cloth, such as the slings made in Guatemala or Timor Leste, or traditional printing techniques such as those used in India and Indonesia, preserve traditional craft skills and usually make use of renewable materials in the artisan’s local area. Making carriers from this cloth also enables artisans to earn a real wage from their work. This means they have an alternative to forms of work that may be less environmentally sustainable.

But the best thing about babywearing is how easy it is to get into nature with the kids. I can’t take a stroller up Mount Taylor, but I can carry a three year old on my back in an SSC when her legs get tired. I can’t push a pram around the cracked footpaths and dirt tracks through the reserve in my suburb, but I can put the newborn in a ring sling and walk him to sleep in the evening. You don’t need the knowledge of a park ranger or make the effort to plan guided activities on bushwalks. Simply being in a place with real trees and grass, checking out birds and lizards and bugs, will pique most children’s curiosity about the world they live in. By showing them there’s a world of living creatures and growing plants, children can begin to understand that their actions have an impact beyond the four walls of their house.

Tags: advocacy, canberra, environment