Volunteers

Our chapter couldn't exist without the work of our volunteers. Our chapter is run by Volunteer Babywearing Educators, Advanced Babywearing Educators, Master Babywearing Educators, and Chapter Support Volunteers.

Chapter Board:

Erica H.

Erica is the mother of a daughter, born in June 2014. She started babywearing at around 3 months, trying out all of the different types of carriers offered in the lending library at the chapter meetings. She is partial to SSCs, especially the Beco Gemini and Soleil. She loves the flexibility that babywearing provides for moms! Erica started helping with sign in and library checkouts at Maryland meetings in early 2015 and is excited to continue her involvement with the chapter as a Volunteer Babywearing Educator! She regularly attends the Maryland Saturday meetings. Erica serves as our chapter's President.

Cynthia C.

Cynthia began volunteering as a teen, having attended a school that had community service as a graduation requirement. While earning three degrees and now into her banking career, Cynthia has continued with volunteer work—including with St. Louis Cares, Greater D.C. Cares, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and a group home for teenage mothers. Teaching financial literacy to young mothers and to elementary school children has been among her favorite “jobs.” While pregnant, Cynthia registered for a stretchy wrap. She and her newborn loved it so much that she quickly switched to woven wraps. Babywearing enabled Cynthia to salvage a floundering nursing relationship with her newborn, commute to daycare and to work on the Metro after maternity leave, keep her small child close while continuing to do volunteer work, navigate plane trips with her daughter, and babysit nieces and nephews. Most importantly, babywearing empowered her when she went from being a married mom to a Super Single Mom. Cynthia serves as the chapter’s Vice President and plans to become an ABE. You can find her at D.C. meetings trying not to seem too eager when a parent asks her, “Do you mind holding my baby?”

Erica C.

Erica is the mother of one daughter (Feb 2015). She started babywearing with a Moby that quickly grew too hot for her and her little furnace girl. She switched to SSCs and then decided to check out woven wraps after seeing all the beautiful colors and patterns. She learned to wrap at a BWI meeting when her daughter was 6 months old. She stuck around the meetings for the camaraderie with other caregivers of young children. Erica is a VBE who can usually be found at the Northern Virginia meetings and serves as the Treasurer on the Chapter Board.

Laci T.

Laci is mom to one son, Phoenix. She started attending babywearing meetings while still pregnant. She fell in love with wraps before her son even arrived and, determined to prove to her husband that she did NEED a wrap, she started her babywearing journey from day one of motherhood. Now that Phoenix is older and more mobile, she is branching out and exploring new carriers. Laci is trained with the Center for Babywearing Studies as a babywearing consultant and looks forward to growing in her skills as a VBE. She can often be found at the Alexandria and Springfield meetings and is in charge of Education for our chapter.

Emily S.

Emily has two daughters (August 2013 and November 2016). She started wearing her first at two weeks old in a stretchy wrap, then moved onto a meh dai, SSCs, and woven wraps. Babywearing was crucial to everyday life, helping navigate a big, foreign city and providing warm, bouncy snuggles for almost every nap. Then it helped contain a very fast and fearless toddler when out and about. With baby number two, babywearing has made it possible to keep her newborn close while playing with or caring for her preschooler. After moving to the area shortly after her first turned one, BWI meetings soon became a source of much-needed social time and a break from stay-at-home-mom monotony. Emily is a regular at most Northern Virginia meetings and serves as Secretary for our Chapter Board.

Teruko L.

Terri is a full-time parent to one daughter and one son. She started wearing her daughter when she was 6 weeks old, but wasn't having much success until she came to a babywearing meeting a month later and learned about the many other options available to her. Babywearing has gotten her through everyday life since her daughter was an infant, in addition to moving, traveling and home renovations with a child who has always been calmest when she's held close. Her favorite carriers have been soft structured carriers and ring slings, but she's done more wrapping since her son arrived. She often attends Centreville, Springfield and Tysons meetings and is the chapter's Librarian.

Babywearing Educators:

Angelique M.

Angelique has three girls, currently 8, 6, and 3. She started babywearing when her oldest was just a couple months old. Her first carrier was a pouch sling. That did not work out so well. And so she got a soft structured carrier…but somehow it just didn’t feel quite right. A quick search on Google showed that there was a babywearing mom’s group that met right down the street from her house. (BWI was not in existence yet.) Her first meeting resulted in someone sharing with her that her carrier was too big for her and that they recommended another brand. The switch to another carrier MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE, and she became a regular attendee at meetings. Throughout the years, she has used all of the different types of carriers, although she prefers to work with wraps. She has been with BWI since the very beginning and has worked in all of the roles with the local chapter. Angelique is an ABE for our chapter. She is trained with the Center for Babywearing Studies as a babywearing consultant. You can find her at most meetings close to the Tysons area.

Rosemary C.

Rosemary is the mother of two boys, a rambunctious 2-year-old and a sweet 2-month-old. She started wearing her oldest at around 3 months after coming to her first BWI DC-MD-VA meeting. Ring slings really clicked for her, so she wore her oldest in one until...well, she still does! She started using woven wraps and SSCs when she learned to back carry her oldest at around 6 months. Now that she is mom of two, babywearing has become an indispensable skill allowing her to meet both kids' needs. She haunts the Centreville meetings as VBE, and sometimes the Springfield meetings, too.

Ellen S.

Ellen read Dr. Sears back in 2005 and got a heavily padded, closed tail ring sling that was impossible to adjust. Her sister-in-law’s sister saw her trying to use it and invited her to check out a few carriers with some friends. Ellen has been involved with baby wearing one way or another since then. Now in 2017 she has six kids and 11 years of babywearing experience. While she has experience with each carrier type, her favorite is a ring sling. She is so well-versed in them, she has escaped being trapped on her deck while wearing one as well as broken back into her house after being locked out while wearing one. Ask her about a ring sling. Go on, go ahead. Ellen is a VBE.

Ann Marie R.

Ann Marie is the mother of three girls. She failed to successfully wear her oldest, so when her second came along, she was grateful to find the help from what eventually became BWI of DC-MD-VA. Ann Marie is an MBE. She has previously served as the President of the Board of Directors for Babywearing International and served as the Chair of the International Babywearing Conference in 2012 that was hosted here in DC. Ann Marie trained with the Center for Babywearing Studies. She is a bit of a meeting hopper;, she might turn up anywhere. As her youngest is now getting too big to be worn, she loves to borrow babies to wear.

Reilly D.

Before becoming a full-time parent, Reilly worked as a Youth Services Librarian and greatly enjoyed the time she spent helping families and children engage their natural curiosity through reading and early literacy. Her interest in babywearing began in 2010 while pregnant with her oldest child, and she managed some early successes with a ring sling and stretchy wrap. As a first time mom and new to the Northern Virginia area with a nine-week-old, she began attending BWI meetings when she was desperate for some adult company. One year and many wonderful friendships later, she became a VBE with the group. She credits babywearing as one of the many tools she used to manage severe postpartum anxiety after the births of her two children. When she's not wrangling her two high-energy preschoolers, she can usually be found knitting under an obscenely large yarn stash or holed up with a large pile of library books. Reilly can usually be found at the Centreville and Vienna (formerly Tysons) meetings.

Jessica B.

Jessica is the Eastern Regional Director (USA) of the Association of Professional Sleep Consultants, and the Founder/President of Eat-Sleep-Love. She graduated from Emory University and the New York University School of Law, after which she worked as an intellectual property counselor and litigator for four years and as an education, technology and disability law policy consultant for over ten years. After becoming a mom to her two kids, she shifted her focus to working with new parents. She indulges her love of helping others and volunteering as a VBE with Babywearing International of DC-MD-VA. Jessica serves on the BWI National Legal Committee and can be found attending meetings in MD and DC. She trained with the Center for Babywearing Studies.

Michelle D.

Michelle started babywearing when her daughter was born. Her first carrier was a Sleepy Wrap, and it helped snuggle her tiny girl close to her. When her family moved to the DC area, she found this chapter of Babywearing International and began trying soft structured carriers and mei tais. Babywearing allowed Michelle and her daughter to take the Metro, visit museums, travel, and get things done at home with two free hands. Later, when her son was born, she used a mei tai, woven wraps, and soft structured carriers to wear and nurse him on the go and to have free hands to play with his big sister. Babywearing snuggles proved to be an excellent way to relax him, especially front wrap cross carry. Michelle also has experience tandem wearing her kids. She cannot imagine parenting without babywearing. Michelle has trained with the Center for Babywearing Studies. She is a VBE at Maryland meetings.

Céline

Céline is the mother of two girls (November 2010 and August 2013). Her first experience with babywearing was in France, two days after her first daughter was born, when she had the chance to have a babywearing meeting within the hospital. Her first carrier was a ring sling, homemade by a dear friend who taught her all the basics. Then she quickly fell in love with woven wraps. Her second daughter was born in Canada (Québec). By then she was working in a baby shop where she was helping new parents choosing their carriers and using them. Then her family moved to the DC area. She was very happy to find BWI DC-MD-VA and be a part of a babywearing community. She became a VBE a few months later. Céline is familiar with all types of carriers but her favorite one is woven wrap. Babywearing has a very big part in her life and has helped her with the everyday life, and still does, but also with travelling, moving, visiting cities, museums and hiking. Céline is a VBE at the DC, Silver Spring and Bethesda meetings.

Rachel S.

Rachel is the mother of four boys, ages 11, 8, 4 and 1.5. When her oldest was born in 2004 she knew she wanted to wear him, but struggled to find good carriers in local stores and (bad) dial-up internet made internet research difficult. When her second was born in 2007 she had found thebabywearer.com, and wore him in a DIY (do-it-yourself) wrap from birth. Shortly after that, curious about other options and needing to get out of the house and meet people, she found the group that would become BWI of DC-MD-VA. After that first DIY wrap, she branched out into all the other carrier types and can these days generally be seen wearing her youngest in an SSC or wrap. She became a VBE in 2009 but took a hiatus from the group in 2010/2011, prior to the birth of her 3rd baby. In addition to being a regular at our Centreville and Springfield meetings, Rachel is also the co-founder of The Carrying On Project, a 501c3 non-profit that provides baby carriers to military families that couldn't otherwise afford them.

Lesley Y.

Lesley started her babywearing career with a ring sling, a K’tan, an Ergo, and a Dream. She learned to wrap at a BWI meeting when her son was two months old. The one time he cried without explanation for an extended period of time, a Natty hemp blend in a front carry was the answer. She’s been a believer ever since. Inspired by the freedom and confidence babywearing gave her as a first time mom, Lesley is excited to share the range of possibilities with all kinds of families. Her favorite carrier is whichever one that she is is working with at the moment, but she wears her toddler everyday. Lesley is a full-time teacher in addition to serving our chapter as a VBE at MD and DC weekend meetings.

Esther T.: Coming soon!

Chapter Support Volunteers:

Morgan H.

Morgan is the mother of one small boy, born in 2015. She started babywearing with a stretchy wrap as soon as he came home from the hospital and made her way to a BWI meeting a few months later. As an adoptive mom, she found babywearing to be key in the bonding process and she credits her ring sling for getting her through her preemie's "don't put me down ever" months. Now her soft structured carrier is her go-to for corralling her constantly moving toddler, but she likes to play with woven wraps. She regularly attends the Maryland meetings.

Teresa B.: Coming soon!