And Then I Discovered Pavo!

My first woven wrap as I have told you was Kokadi Erna Im Wunderland.  When I purchased it, I thought I’ll only buy one or two of these wraps.  Who needs more than a couple baby wraps?  Oh what a silly question that seems like now!  Over the first couple months of babywearing, I realized that I would like to have a shorter wrap to experiment with as well, so I bought a size 4.  I also found a couple more size 6 (my base size) wraps that I liked.  I had a beautiful little stash of five wraps and I thought I was completely satisfied and could stay away from the babywearing swaps and temptation to buy more, but then…then I discovered Pavo!  J

One Saturday in November, I went to a babywearing workshop hosted by a babywearing group in a neighboring city.  These ladies were so sweet and a wealth of knowledge about woven wraps and carries.  During the class, I did my first back carry.  It was a ruck, tied in front in a beautiful wrap that I had never seen before.  It was a rusty orange color.  Coincidentally, orange seems to be Zoey’s favorite color.  I think this is because her pacifiers are orange, but she gravitates to the orange toys first.  If you give her a stack of blocks, she wants the orange ones!  I didn't think too much about the wrap that evening until my husband showed me some pictures he had taken at the workshop.  I really liked the way the wrap looked on us and I had loved the wrapping qualities of it during the workshop.  So I decided to message one of the girls who helped us learn the carry at the workshop to find out what brand the wrap was.  She said it was Pavo Clementine Stripes.  I had heard of Pavo before, but had heard that the wraps sold out very quickly and were re-sold for double or triple retail.  So I had never bothered to even really check out Pavo.  I am not sure if those facts were ever true.  This is not the case for most of their wraps now.  The selling out in minutes (or seconds) is true, but with the exceptions of certain very highly sought after wraps like Klee and Sparkleberry, the resell prices are not double or triple retail.  I spent a few weeks searching for Clementine Stripes and ended up finding one for right around retail.  During my search for Clementine, I discovered a group called The Pavo Society on facebook.  Through this group I discovered the wrap that I fell in love with and that is still my favorite machine woven wrap, Penumbra.  Penumbra comes in three colorways.  I now have Syzygy (black and fuschia) and Shadow (black and silvery/white).  I am not sure which colorway I like best.  I would hate to part with either one!  My love affair of Pavos, quickly doubled my wrap stash.

Pavo Etini Coal, Pavo Penumbra Shadow, Pavo Penumbra Syzygy

 

Penumbra was one of those highly sought after wraps that I have mentioned.  It was going for considerably more than retail when I first started searching for it.  I tried to be patient, as I didn’t want to pay a lot and then have the value drop shortly after I purchased in case it wasn’t love when I received it.  I put out in search ofs on the facebook groups and checked out the prices on every one posted, which was not a lot.  It seemed no one wanted to part with these gorgeous wraps!  I finally caved and went a little above my original target budget to get Syzygy.  I wasn’t disappointed.  It was instant wrap love!  A few weeks after that, a girl who I had chatted with from the Pavo Society group saw a Shadow listed at a great price (only a little above retail – which really is a steal for this wrap).  She messaged me to tell me about it.  I knew I really shouldn’t buy another Penumbra less than a month after I bought my first one, but the price was so good and Syzygy was love.  So I rationalized that it could be a Christmas present to myself and I bought it.  Thus, began my love and stalking of Pavo wraps.  I now have lots of Pavos and they are by far my favorite brand.  They are not only beautiful works of art, they have amazing wrapping qualities.  I fell for the beauty, I've stayed loyal for the qualities. 

Our first back wrap

 And our first Pavo that came to live with us.

Getting Back to Running: Color Me Rad 5K

This is off topic from my usual babywearing posts, but I wanted to share a quick update about the awesome 5K I ran this weekend.  It’s called the Color Me Rad 5K.  This is a very fun, low-key, non-timed event where you run 3.1 miles going through 5 color stations.  We were coated at yellow, pink, orange, blue and purple color stations.  The color is made of corn starch and food coloring, so it is completely safe if it happens to get in your mouth.  Although, I can say from experience that it is not the best tasting stuff around!

As you know, I had a baby in July 2013.  I am close to my pre-pregnancy weight, but still trying to work off those last 5 lbs or so that just don’t want to go away.  Before I had Zoey, I considered myself a runner.  I just haven’t found the time or motivation to do a lot of running since I had her, but this race was finally my motivation.  It looked like a lot of fun and was very close to my office so over the course of several weeks I started talking up the run and eventually convinced 5 of my lovely co-workers to do the run with me.  Some ran, some run/walked and some walked, but all had a great time.  I didn't run it fast, but I got back into doing training runs and I remembered just how much I love running.  I love to share running with others because it is such great exercise and I love the sense of accomplishment I get after completing a race.  I feel so proud of myself for setting a goal and accomplishing it.  I love being able to share that feeling with others!  Here’s to hoping the Color Me Rad 5K will be my push to get back into running on a regular basis.

Here are a few pictures of me and my friends at the race.

Celebrating finishing the race!

The Before Shot!

And the After Shot!

Getting Out of the Carry Rut

So let’s be honest, new moms are extremely busy people.  We find something that works for us and our schedule and we tend to do it over and over again, exactly the same way.  I have definitely fallen into this pattern.  This is great for some things, like the bath time routine and the bedtime routine, but it can get a bit boring for other things like which wrap carries I am going to use.  I am a full-time working mom, so I don’t get to wear Zoey nearly as much as I would like now.  I have found that my fastest front carry is a front wrap cross carry (FWCC) and fastest back carry is a ruck.  So these tend to be my go to carries.  They are also very comfortable for us and happen to work well for a lot of the size wraps that I have in my current stash, but this can get a bit boring.  So I wanted to challenge myself to use more carries and to learn new carries and not just rely on our old faithfuls.  Around the same time that I was coming to these conclusions about the carry rut I was in, I saw a post in a facebook group called 30 Days 30 Carries Wrap Challenge.  Again, let’s go ahead and be honest, this working mom is likely not going to manage to do all 30 carries in 30 days, but I decided to save the list and work through them all in my own time.  I was also able to persuade several members of my local babywearing group to take the challenge with me.  It’s always fun to see other moms trying out new carries and new wrap sizes as well!

Here’s the list of carries:

The first carry is one of my go to carries, but I still decided to start with it.  Here we are in our FWCC.  Daddy also likes this carry, so we have a picture of him in FWCC, too.

I thought I would share why we love this carry so much.  First of all, it is very quick to wrap her up in this carry.  I can pre-wrap a portion of this before I pick her up and that helps on days when she is in a particularly grumpy mood (we are going through teething, so those can be more often than I like to admit!)  It is somewhat versatile for our walks.  I typically start with the cross passes not spread over her body, but if we are out for a walk and it feels too cool out, I can spread these passes for another layer of warmth and support for her.  Also, if she falls asleep in this carry, I can spread the cross passes to support her head as she naps.  This is a great beginner carry to learn how to make a seat, to tighten your rails and build on for learning other carries.  It worked great for us when she was 2 months old and is still working great now that she is almost 9 months!

We will be working through the rest of this list over the next several weeks!  I’ll be back to share my progress!

Navigating the Facebook Babywearing Swaps

Okay, so what happens if you don’t want to stalk the releases (or you stalk and are not successful), but you want a Pavo or Tekhni or other popular limited release wrap?  Well this is where buying used comes into play.  Babywearers have a term called “churners.”  This refers to babywearers who love to try lots and lots of wraps, but don’t keep them for all that long.  These churners will buy the wraps, use them for a while, and then sale or trade them.  The largest of the facebook swap pages is called The Babywearing Swap.  You can search for it on facebook and request to join.  Once you join The Babywearing Swap, you will also need to join the feedback group.  There are files on the site with information on how to set this all up.  The feedback links are very important.  Sometimes large amounts of money are changing hands for these wraps.  You want to know that you are doing business with someone that has good feedback.  You should always read through all of a seller’s feedback before completing a transaction with them.  When buying on the swaps, you will pay for the wrap via PayPal.  You should always send the money as payment for goods and services, so that you have PayPal protection if the seller were to not send the wrap or if the wrap was not in acceptable condition.

The Babywearing Swap is a huge group!  I have found the best way to utilize this page is if you already have a general idea of what you want to buy.  So let’s say for example you want to buy your first woven wrap.  A good place to start for a first wrap is a base size wrap.  If you are average size, your base size is likely a size 6.  The best way to shop for a size 6 is to go to the photo album section and look through the size 6 woven wrap album.  You will see abbreviations such as FSO (For sale only), FTO (For trade only – meaning they want to trade to another wrap), or FSOT (For sale or trade).  You may also see terms such as EUC (excellent used condition) and ppd (postage paid domestic – indicating that shipping in the US is included in the purchase price).

There are also facebook fan groups for most of the wrap companies.  The group for Pavo is The Pavo Society.  The group for Tekhni is Talk About Tekhni.  The group for KokoSkaa is KokoSkaa Wrap Factory Friends.  You can request to join each of these pages and find used wraps from each of these brands for sale on these pages.  These fan groups are actually the best way to find highly sought after (HSA), hard to find (HTF) wraps.  One thing to take into consideration is that some of these limited release wraps may end up being sold for much higher prices than retail.  If you want to know what retail was for a wrap, you can look that information up on the company’s website.

It can be hard to decide what is a reasonable price to pay for a used wrap.  As long as the wrap is in EUC, I am willing to pay the retail price for the wrap.  Lots of wraps are pretty stiff straight out of the bag, so I don’t mind if someone else has already given a wrap some love and attention to start the breaking in process for me!  My preference is to try to find the wraps I am searching for as close to retail as possible.  I am typically willing to pay, retail plus shipping and fees.  This means the shipping from the retailer to the original purchaser, the shipping from them to me and the PayPal fees.  This would usually add up to around $30 on top of the retail price.  Pricing on used wraps can become very controversial.  In my opinion, it just comes down to supply and demand.  You have to decide for yourself what is reasonable for you and how much you want a particular wrap.  I have found that if you can be patient and wait a few months after release, the market value will typically decline a little and it is easier to find the wraps for closer to retail.  Sometimes it can be so hard to be patient and wait though!

This is a wrap that I fell in love with after it had already been released.  It is one that I searched for on the swaps and was willing to pay market value for.  It is Pavo Penumbra Syzygy in a size 5.

Where to Start in the Online Babywearing World

In my opinion, the best way to get started in the babywearing world is to join some facebook groups focused on babywearing and start learning what works for you.  The first groups I joined were Babywearing 102 and Babywearing Love and Support.  These groups are huge and have members ranging from newbie through experienced, veteran babywearers.  Babywearing 102 has lots of helpful files, including different carries you can do with each size of wrap, babywearing terminology, safety tips and lists of vendors and websites related to babywearing.  To join these groups, just search for them on facebook and request to join the group.

When I first joined the facebook groups and started reading about babywearing in woven wraps, I have to admit I found it overwhelming.  I felt like I was reading a secret code that no one had shared with me at times!  But don’t despair, once you hang around the groups for a few days it all starts to click and you suddenly find yourself writing in these abbreviations that used to seem like a secret code.  For example, one of the easiest carries to learn when using a woven wrap is FWCC (front wrap cross carry).  Another easy carry to learn is FCC (front cross carry).  When asking what carry you should try first with a base size wrap, these are common answers you may receive.

This is a FWCC in a Pavo Sparkleberry, which is a size 6 woven wrap.

This is a FCC in the same wrap.

There are lots and lots of options for babywearing:  stretchy wraps, ring slings (RSs), soft-structured carriers (SSCs), which are divided into full-buckles (FB) and half-buckles (HB), Mei Tais, woven wraps, etc.  I am mainly going to focus on woven wraps because those are what work best for me.  I do have a few SSCs.  I have a full-buckle that stays in the car for quick trips in the grocery store and a half buckle that gets used around the house some.  Personally, I love the diversity of the woven wrap and so those make up the majority of my babywearing stash.

When shopping for a wrap, you can buy new or you can buy used.  My stash has been split about 50/50 between new and used.  Let’s start with new because that is easier to explain.  Some of my favorite vendors to shop with are Marsupial Mamas (www.marsupial-mamas.com), Hip Mommy (www.hipmommy.com), and Heart Hugs (www.heart-hugs.com).  In my opinion, Marsupial Mamas probably has the best selection out of these vendors.  They all three have great sales from time to time.  I highly recommend liking them on facebook and joining their mailing lists to find great deals.  These sites will have in stock wraps available.  They sell brands such as Natibaby, Kokadi, Oscha, Girasol, and Didymos.

You can also buy directly from the wrap companies, but for some popular companies this may require stalking their facebook page and/or website to know when they will release.  My favorite US wrap companies are Pavo, Tekhni and KokoSkaa.  These companies are all very popular and their wraps sell out quickly at release.  Pavo (www.pavotextiles.com) has been around the longest of these three and now has some of their Form line of wraps in stock on their page, but most of their releases sell out in a matter of minutes and will not be restocked.  They sometimes do timed releases, where they will announce a few days ahead of time the date and time a wrap will be released.  More often they will post a preview on their facebook page and then sometime in the next business day or so they will release the wrap.  Scoring a Pavo at release can be a challenge for their most highly sought after (HSA) releases, but it is so worth it!  Tekhni (www.tekhniwovens.com) and KokoSkaa (www.kokoskaa.com) are newer companies.  So far their releases have been timed releases that are announced in advance on their facebook pages.  They are also selling out very quickly.  

If you miss out on these wraps at release, then the facebook swaps is the best place to look for these wraps. I’ll post more on buying used wraps from the facebook swaps in my next post.

My First Woven Wrap

 

After a few days of wrapping with my stretchy wrap, I was able to attend a local babywearing group meeting and learned about woven wraps.  As babies get bigger, woven wraps are a great option.  Wovens are more supportive than the stretchy wraps and can be used safely for back carries, unlike the stretchy wraps.  So shortly after the babywearing meeting, I found myself on the hunt for my first woven wrap.  There are so many choices out there!

The first question I had was what size wrap should I buy for my first woven wrap.  Woven wraps come in a variety of sizes, typically ranging from size 2 – size 7.  A size 2 is 2.7 meters, size 3 is 3.1 meters, size 4 is 3.6 meters, size 5 is 4.2 meters, size 6 is 4.6 meters and a size 7 is 5.2 meters.  I asked on my local babywearing group’s facebook page and in a very helpful, large facebook group called Babywearing 102.  The general consensus was that for my body build I should start with either a size 5 or 6, which would be my base size.  The majority recommended a 6, so that’s what I decided to search for.

So now I knew what size I was going to buy, the next big question was what brand.  There is no right or wrong answer to this question.  I was given several pieces of advice on this, but one that has really stuck with me and that I now share with beginners is find a wrap you love.  If it is beautiful to you and you absolutely love it, you will learn to use it.  I considered several brands such as Natibaby, Girasol, Kokadi, and Oscha.  I ended up going with a Kokadi Erna Im Wunderland.  It was beautiful turquoise and pink colors and had a whimsical pattern that I loved.

After deciding what I wanted to buy, the next step was to figure out how exactly to buy it.  There are several facebook groups called Babywearing Swaps, where you can buy, sell or trade wraps.  I perused some of these, but at the time this seemed really overwhelming (more on buy, sell and trading in the swaps in later posts).  So while lots of people recommended buying a used wrap for your first woven wrap, since it would already be broken in, I decided this wasn’t the right choice to for me.  Luckily, Erna was still in production by Kokadi and I could purchase it new from a vendor.  It took a bit of searching to find a vendor with a size 6 in stock, but I finally did.  Then I ordered it and anxiously awaited the arrival of my beautiful new woven wrap.

My first wrap job was a little sloppy.  See first picture, but I posted this picture to the babywearing facebook groups and was given helpful critiques to help me improve my wrap job.  The second picture was taken just hours after the first.  I improved dramatically between these two attempts, if I do say so myself!  I am so grateful for the kind women in the babywearing community who have answered the “How does this wrap job look?”  “Did I do this right?”  “What should I buy for my first wrap?”  and “What size should I get for my first wrap?” questions of us beginners dozens of times.

The carry in these pictures is called Front Wrap Cross Carry (abbreviated FWCC).  This is one of the easiest carries to learn and a great place for a beginner to start.  In fact, it was my go to carry for the first few months of my babywearing journey.

My rails are not properly tightened here in my first attempt and Zoey was too low.  She should be high enough that I can easily kiss the top of her head while she is wrapped.

In the next picture, my rails are much tighter and she is much more secure.  She could have still been a little higher, but overall this was a much better more comfortable carry.

The Beginning of Our Babywearing Journey

I am amazed by what a huge part of my life babywearing has become over the last six months.  I had a difficult pregnancy, which ended with a month of bed rest followed by delivering six weeks early via an unplanned c-section due to severe pre-eclampsia.  My amazing little premie, Zoey, was in the NICU for just under two weeks.  This was actually a much shorter stay than the doctors had predicted when she was born.  We were very blessed with how well she did, how quickly she was able to come off the oxygen and how quickly she was able to start eating on her own.  Still the trials of having a baby born and whisked straight away to the NICU can be a very emotional and difficult thing to deal with.  In the moment, I didn’t realize quite how much I was struggling with it all.  I was still having my own health issues as well, while Zoey was being treated in the NICU.  For most moms, delivering stops the pre-eclampsia symptoms.  I was one of the minority who continued to have issues for several days after delivery.

Looking back on it, I can easily see that I was becoming depressed from a combination of my health issues, going home without Zoey, dealing with the daily stress of the NICU and post-partum hormones.  At the time, I continued to insist I was fine.  I eventually listened to my husband’s concerns about my frequent crying spells and I talked with my doctor.  She was able to put me on a medicine that helped me.  When Zoey was about two months old, I discovered babywearing through a small facebook group of new mom’s.  The babies looked so happy in the wraps and it looked so convenient for the moms.  I ordered my first wrap off of Amazon within a few days of learning about babywearing.

My first wrap was a hot pink Boba, which is a stretchy wrap (similar to a Moby).  I loved my Boba and how close it helped me to feel to Zoey.  I hadn’t admitted it to myself, but I had been struggling to bond with her.  I’m not saying that wrapping her up and snuggling her suddenly made everything perfect, but it was certainly a step in the right direction for us. 

I am so grateful for all of the wonderful babywearing moms I have met both in person and through facebook groups.  My first few attempts at wrapping were not the best, but with constructive criticism I improved my technique and we enjoyed hours of safe snuggles in our Boba.  We have since moved on to woven wraps and soft-structured carriers (SSCs), but the Boba will always have a special place in my heart for leading me to an activity that has brought so much joy to my life.