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.