More Red, White, and Blue--worn by you!

Marion shared with us a few photos.  This is her with a baby on her front in a wrap conversion Oscha Cairis.  Lovely shades of blue.

Next shows the same mom and baby in a Tiny Tiger Baby American Beauty, a white wrap in a front cross carry.  THe baby is asleep with a hand tucked by the cheek.  So adorable!

 
The baby is looking at the camera and does not appear to be impressed while mom wraps in a Kokoskaa Marshmallow Pebbles.  Let's home the baby was unhappy with the time of day and not the wrap itself.

Jordan shares a snuggly photo of her in a 2012 white/offwhite pamir with an adorable sleeping baby

 Stephanie H and son look calm and serene in a blue ssc standing near trees and runing water.

Araceli shared a selfie of her and and child in a Lillebaby carryon in blue and white hearts.  Both are wearing blue with a bright white background.  I feel like I'm looking at a modern minimalist blog the colors are so vivid.

Lindsy M shows us her her Glory wrap and bamberoo wc.

 

Genevieve shares a photo of a one day old baby in a red mei tai; a six month old baby in the same red Snugli used by her grandmother and the baby wrapped on her front in a blue Storch warp 

Morgan shoes us its possible to wear patriotic colors and be a Wisconsin cheese head at the same time while she stands in the airport wearing a Lenny Lamp stars blue and grey ssc.

Meredith confirms the headgear makes the photo as she stands with her daughter in a blue wrap.  The baby is wearing a patriotic headband in blue and white stars with red and white stripes!

 

Lacey wraps in a wool Natibaby autumn blaze for extra cush and wicking in the summer heat while running errands

Ellen manages a toddler and a baby on a walk in a light colored Didymos Indio

Thank you to all the members who shared photos with us in celebration of Independence Day.  Are you snapping any photos today?  We'd be happy to see and share more of our membership's activities with you!

Happy Birthday America!

The members of our Facebook chatter group responded enthusiastically when we asked for photos of green carriers for St. Patrick's Day and were just as enthusiastic posting pictures for July 4th, the US Independence Day.  They posted pictures of red, white, and/or blue carriers and we're happy to share them with our readers!

Laura M

Lincoln Memorial in the background with brown haired woman in a Pavo Otomi Geranium wrap facing away from the camera in the foreground

Washington Monument  and reflecting pool in background.  Crowd of pedestrians in middle ground and brown haired woman in a Pavo Otomi Geranium wrap facing way from the camera in the foreground

Terri L

Terri stands in a parking lot with her daughter in a front carry in a whales kinderpack

Terri takes a selfie with a toddler in a red Didymos wrap

Terri's mom wears a newborn in a blue linen ring sling

This is just a few of the pictures submitted for the Independence Day celebrations.  Look back later in the day for more photos from our membership!

The Wearing o' (or in) the Green

It's St. Patrick's Day!  We asked our members to share their photos of using green carriers, and you all obliged with a wide variety of greens.  Maybe even 40 shades of green?

The backs of a man and woman wearing a baby and toddler in a St. Patrick's Day parade

A mom wears a toddler in a green Ergo

Only the baby is visible in this green and yellow sling

Baby worn on back in a green wrap with brown birds

A mom takes selfie over her
shoulder of baby on back in light green wrap

Mom wears in a green wrap off camera.  Baby and llama and
another woman are visible

Mom wears newborn in dark olive sling

Mom wears dark skinned toddler in green dot KP

Dad in kitchen wears toddler in front in a
green starry night wrap conversion carrier

Smiling mom wears
smiling young toddler in white and green Tekhni

A toddler is worn by mother in green MT posing with
2  police officers, and another woman wearing a T-shirt.  Target seems to be the background

A mama wears a baby on her back
in a green wrap in front of the Cherry Blossoms

A woman wears a newborn in a green silk sling
in the stands of a ball game

A dark haired mama wears a white older toddler in a green
wrap with Celtic designs

A young toddler is seen on the back of a woman out
of frame.  Toddler is in a dark and light green Ellevil wrap conversion carrier

A newborn is seen in an olive green sling.

A brown haired mom wears a blond baby in front in a light blue/green wrap

A mom wears a baby in a multi-green
striped sling in front of the white house

A dad with tattoo around his arm
wears a sleeping baby in a multi-green and
brown striped wrap

A mama wears her young toddler in a light
green and white wrap.  They are in the grocery store

Mom in green shirt wears a baby on front and
toddler on back in green tone KPs.

Photo over shouder at grocery.  Toddler asleep in light green wrap with white stars

Mom poses with Cat
in the Hat while wearing baby on back in
shamrock wrap

Family photo of family all in green posed
at the St. Patrick's Day Parade

Mom with red hair poses in green wrap with
small baby in front of lake.

Dad in ball cap wears baby in front in light
olive green Ergo.

We hope you have a fantastic St. Patrick's Day!

Annual Report 2015

Admittedly, we're closing in on the end of the first quarter of 2016, so this annual report is a little later than we'd hoped, but we are excited to be able to share a picture of where we were in 2015. There are areas in which we hope to grow.  We hope to continue to make strides toward increasing the diversity of our reach as well as improving our accessibility.  Our goals for the coming year will reflect our desire to reach as many caregivers as possible with the wonderful opportunities provided by babywearing.  We look forward to spending the rest of 2016 getting to know your family and working together to spread the babywearing love!

We are aware that placing the information in an infographic, while a visually pretty way of presenting a bunch of boring numbers, makes it impossible for our friends using screen readers or braille displays to read the information.  So, this link should get you to the document version, and if it worked as we hoped, we've turned on screen reading and braille functionality (let us know if it doesn't, we're still learning).  

Learning to Wear as a Blind Mama

K wears her son in a blue ring sling in the kitchen

As someone who is blind, I knew that I would need to babywear before ever becoming a parent. Setting aside all the great benefits and philosophical reasons, all of which I love, it really came down to practicality. Guide dogs and strollers really don’t mix! So, babywearing was the only way I was going to get around with my son independently.

But the babywearing world is a very visual world!

I quickly became overwhelmed trying to research that one carrier that would last me from baby to toddler. Having very few friends who were parents, let alone wore their babies much, I was on my own. I’m sure many expecting parents feel the same way, struggling to sort through all the information comparing carriers. Adding in the pictures, instructions, and YouTube videos that were all very visually oriented made me feel lost.

K wears her son facing out in a
Beco Gemini on the sidewalk

Eventually I picked a carrier and figured out how to use it, but the process was frustrating. Had I not known that babywearing was an essential skill for me to learn I might have given up. Having someone who knows nothing about babywearing trying to explain very visual instructions to someone else who knows  nothing about babywearing is…well…challenging.

I didn’t hear about BWI until my son was a few months old. At that point we’d figured things out enough, and I didn’t see the need to drag myself to a meeting. Living in Capitol Hill, none of the meetings are very convenient.

As my son got older our wearing needs changed. In the process of finding a new carrier that would work for us, I got more curious about the other options. I had friends who were wearing their babies now, and I envied the ease at which they perused new carriers and babywearing skills. I had several friends talking about wanting to try woven wraps, and I was curious.

K wears her son in a back carry in a multicolor
 soft structure carrier on a brick sidewalk

So, when my son was 18 months old I was motivated to go to a BWI meeting to learn the basics of using a woven wrap. I’ll admit that I was reluctant. I was nervous about getting help in a group setting, generally not the best for teaching visual skills to someone who is blind. But I got individual attention, and I was hooked on in person help!

K wears her son on her back in a navy with
multicolor elephant print soft structure
carrier inside a living room

I wish that I had made myself go to a meeting much sooner. Finally I had actual people who could answer my questions and let me touch step by step. I could feel what different carriers were like, rather than relying on friends or my husband’s descriptions. A whole new world of babywearing opened up when I attended that first meeting. Now, I have resources to help navigate the crazy visual world of babywearing, and I’m so glad of it.


 Posted by Kim

Editor's note: At BWI of DC-MD-VA, we want to help parents and caregivers wear no matter the challenges in their path.  Please let us know if you need accommodations to learn at a meeting.  We have educators who are fluent in ASL, our meeting locations are accessible with elevators or ramps, and we will work with you to make any arrangements needed to help you learn.