Fun in the Sun and Spray!

In May we found out about the new sprayground that was  opening at Lee District Recreation Center. On a whim, we decided  to go. My family includes my husband Jermaine; two-year-old AJ; three-month-old Callie; my sister-in-law Sha-Nae; my four-year-old niece Kyaria, and their grandparents.

When we first got the the sprayground, Callie was asleep so I let her sit with her grandparents under the tent in the shade. Once she woke up (5 minutes later, of course), we didn’t want Callie to miss out on the fun. We’ve always been the family that likes to do everything together so I never want one of us to miss out on something just because of the baby. I knew that it would be an awesome time to have a water sling, but I hadn’t ordered one yet. At first my husband Jermaine just held her and put her feet in the sprinklers. She hated it. So then I just decided to go ahead and wrap her so that she would feel nice and snuggly and close to  Mommy and wouldn’t be so scared of the water. I decided to use my Easycare woven wrap because it’s so thin in the heat and not that long (~3.7m) so it would be easy to wrap out in public. I put Callie in a kangaroo (front) carry because so that it would be easy to cuddle and nurse her and ease her fears. It turned out to be awesome. Callie jumped and was a little scared the first time that the water hit her in the wrap, but being so close to me made her calm down pretty quickly.

My next task was getting AJ to have some fun. He *hates* water so he was literally hanging on my leg
at first. I had to act excited and jump through some fountains to get him to warm up. Eventually, he
started having fun as you can see in the pictures. He really liked the water table and the steering wheel
on the boat.

I also had my niece to chase around. She likes the water much more than my kids so it took all of us working together to keep up with her. Having Callie wrapped made entertaining and keeping up with the older kids so much easier.

When I needed to nurse Callie, it was pretty easy although I did make the mistake of wearing a shirt that wasn’t the best for nursing (Sean Taylor jersey – go Redskins!). I slid her down in the carry and sat in the shade for a few minutes and nursed. By the time that we finished nursing, the kids were tired and it was time to go. The carrier also helped make herding everyone and everything back to to the car a lot easier.

We had a blast on our first trip to the Lee Rec Sprayground. I was able to help my husband chase the kids, and Callie was able to be a part of everything. At the end of the day, I just hung my wrap up to dry, and it was fine in the morning. I still decided that I would get a water sling for our next trip to the sprayground so that it would dry fast, and because my Easycare is my car wrap, and I always like to have it ready to go.  We've been back a few times this summer, and the water sling has definitely come in handy.

Posted by Raagen

Wearing in the Water

Pools across the area opened this weekend, and mamas who gave birth during the previous year discovered that babies are really slippery in the pool.  If this is your second child, you discovered that holding the baby or getting the baby to sit in one of those boat things doesn't leave you the ability to hold/help your older child(ren) in the water.  What to do?  Avoid the pool all summer?  With the temps soaring over 90* this week, a summer without the pool sounds awful!  So, how do you take your kids to the pool without losing your mind?  We can help!

Water carriers can be an excellent way for mom and baby to enjoy the pool.  There is a wide variety of water carriers available on the market, so lets explore them:

Ring slings:
Nearly every sling maker has a water sling in the works this summer.  However, there are plenty of options around on the used market as well.  I love a ring sling for the water.  I find the weight on one shoulder isn't such an issue when the water is helping to buoy up the weight.  The easy of getting in and out is nice for slippery wet babies.  My older kids also like using the tail as a kickboard.  The tail can also make a nice sun shade when needed.
Fabrics are varied - solarveil is a popular choice from the past few years.  Unfortunately the fabric was discontinued and at this point these are only available on the used market.  This is very light and airy and offers the sun protection of about a t-shirt by the way it was woven.  Some describe the fabric as scratchy though.  Jeanne demonstrates:

Solarweave - This fabric has a UPF40 coating.  It is smoother and would remind you of men's swim trunks.
These can be found new from Kalea Baby through Zerberts or on the used market from Zanytoes and other vendors.

Mesh- This is the fabric that seems to be becoming quite popular for water slings.  Many vendors haven't quite gotten their fabric in yet.  TaylorMade has been using it for years though, so they have some in stock.
Don't Heather and her little one look happy?

Wraps
For all around support which may be more important for parents with injuries, or who just need symetrical carries, a wrap can be a great water choice.  Water wraps can be DIYd by purchasing either bathing suit fabric or athletic mesh from the fabric store and hemming or surging the edges.  Water wraps can be purchased from Wrapsody Baby, or from a variety of WAHMs on Etsy.
This one was DIY'd by Pamm.

Pouches
There are a few pouches made of a mesh that works well in the water, like this one:

But Angelique has hit on an ingenius solution.  She bought a cheap regular pouch from a consignment store.  She paid $3 for this Hotslings pouch and doesn't care if it gets faded or ruined in the water.

As you can see, there are many options for water wearing.  A couple safety notes... ALWAYS pay attention to where your little one's head is in relation to the water.  Sometimes while playing with an older child, you can get a little deeper than you mean to and a rogue wave can get in baby's mouth.  This doesn't take the place of closely monitoring your child, it just gives you free hands while you monitor your child.  Stay safe, and have a super fun summer.  Send us pics of your summer adventures while babywearing!

Finally, go "like" the International Babywearing Conference 2012 Facebook page.  We are in the process of planning for this major event next summer.  You want to be involved, it's going to be awesome! :)

Babywearers Have More Fun

We have some mamas who come to a meeting and ask, "now that I've found a carrier, why would I come again?"  Well, the answer is that we have a great group of mamas who have fun with each other.  Our kids enjoy playing together, and we've grown to be good friends.  This morning, a group of us had a playdate at a local playground.  This summer, we hope to have regular playdates all around the Metro area.  If you want to plan one, post on our forum!

Now, on to the pictures.
Children played while mamas talked:

Mamas got a chance to learn a new carry:

And to practice some old ones:
                                     

Babies got some mommy cuddle time:

And a few even caught a nap:

And how gorgeous is this picture?

Anyway, as you can see, much fun was had by all.  You should come out to the next one, you too can have more fun!

Fun with Wraps: Wearing Optional

We often talk about the wonderful ways we enjoy using our carriers to carry our children, but our children really enjoy our wraps too.  Wraps are terribly versatile.  Our children are often the first to point out something fun for which they can use a wrap (or two or three).

Our first suggestion would be to use the wraps with your little wrappee as part of peekaboo or tummy time.  This little one had fun peeking out from under it.  You can hold it in front of you for early peekaboo, and as baby gets older and can better manipulate his environment, you can toss it over and let him find his way out of the edge.  This is a good developmental activity for older babies.

It can also make a good tummy time mat. Depending on the pattern baby can explore the pattern and then use his/her gripping muscles to gather the fabric. Because it smells like the parent that usually uses it with baby, it is comforting and familiar for baby.  Of course, stay nearby so your little one doesn't get tangled in the wrap and become distressed or injured. (Note: it also makes an awesome picture prop). 

Wraps don't stop being fun just because your little one gets big enough to walk.  Wraps can make fantastic play forts, castles, pirate ships, whatever the imagination can conceive.  These girls were planning a princess show (I'm still not clear on what a princess show is about or what happens in a princess show, but something tells me that wasn't the important part of the play).

Wraps can aid in imaginative play in a variety of ways.  Shorter wraps can be shawls, capes, dresses, mummy wrappings, togas, rivers for the "jump the river" game, tug-of-war ropes, or in this instance, they can help transform adorable preschoolers into wiggly inchworms.  Let your kids loose in your wraps and you'll be amazed at the cool things they imagine them becoming.

The final idea we want to share today involves a little more effort from the parents, but in my experience, it is totally worth it.  We have put up hardware in a sturdy beam in our house to have a wrap swing.  Wrap hammocks can also be hung by tying wraps around a table or under a loft bed.  This winter when the kids were stuck inside because of snow/rain, we had a physical outlet in the swing.  This swing has taught them to be better at taking turns, helping (the little one can't sit in it without a little help), problem solving (my two year old swings on her tummy and both twist when no one is available to help push), and the swing has become a variety of imaginary things including a hammock for dolls to take a nap.

Do you have any more suggestions for ways to play with your wraps or carriers?