November Meeting

Our monthly meeting will be taking place the 6th of November, starting at 10:30 at the Casa Verde Common House.  The Carry of the Month is the Double Hammock.  We will be discussing babywearing in cold weather.  If you own a babywearing coat, it would be great if you brought it along so other group members can see how they work!  

If you plan on borrowing a carrier from our lending library, please take the time to read our Lending Library policy.

Babywearing Men of Colorado Springs!

Nicole R.'s husband Kris wears their son in a WAHM ring sling in between playing darts.

"Well, I only have two hands."  --Maureen S.'s husband  (He made the mei tai himself!)

"I just like [babywearing] because of being able to use two hands.  Also, when the kid falls asleep in it, it's awesome.  You can't beat snuggling with your kid while getting stuff done."  --Amanda J.'s husband Jake

Marie C.'s husband mini-golfs while wearing their son.

Jillian D.'s husband wears their youngest while shopping for electronics.  

Sarah M.'s husband Aaron wears their son while shopping.  

"He loves to wear him out on family trips.  I think he secretly likes the doe-eyed looks from other women."  -- Carey V., about her husband

Stella K.'s husband Stan wears their daughter while out and about.

Lending Library Revamped -- Again

This is a copy of the document on our Facebook (written by group leader Jillian D.), outlining our new Lending Library policies and the current carriers we have!

Thanks to many generous members and vendors, our library has grown quite a bit in the last few months. To protect the carriers in the library, continue to grow our library and make lending fair for everyone, we have decided to update our lending policy. Our new policy is as follows:

• Any member may have one carrier checked out at a time.
• The lending time is one month.
• Name, address, phone number... will be entered into a spreadsheet to keep track of who has which carrier.
• Contact information, donation and deposit must be given before any carrier can be borrowed.
• A nonrefundable $5 donation must be made each time a carrier is borrowed. This donation will go directly into the group to help purchase more carriers or to cover costs for the group (ex. meeting venue rental...).
• There will be a $5/week late fee charge for carriers not returned on time.
• It is the responsibility of the person borrowing the carrier to return the carrier to a leader in a timely fashion by bringing it to a meeting, playdate or a leader’s home.
• A refundable payment* for the value of the carrier must also be made. This can be done via PayPal or a check. For the PayPal option, funds must be gifted to a leader and then will be gifted back upon return of the carrier. For the check option, a check made out to a leader will be held (not cashed) and then returned upon return of the carrier. *Payment is refundable if the carrier is returned in good condition.
• In the case of a damaged or lost carrier, the refundable deposit will no longer be refunded. The deposit will then be used to replace that carrier for the library.
• If a carrier is not returned in 90 days, the deposit will then be used to replace the carrier.
• Please spot clean carrier upon return; if more than spot cleaning is required, contact a leader for specific directions.
• Carriers can be tried on for no charge at meetings or play dates. The fees apply only if you would like to take a carrier home with you.
• To borrow from the library, you must acknowledge that you have read this policy by commenting "read" on [the document on Facebook].
  
  
  
  

Here is a list of the carriers and their value:

Wraps-

Didymos Nino 4m $100

Easy Care Stripes 4.7m $145

DIY Osnaburg 4.9m $35

DIY Dyed Linen 4.2m $60

DIY Dyed Linen 3.74m $50

DIY Dyed Linen 2.58m $50

Hoppediz Mainland 4.7m $115

Didymos Peacock eye 3.6m $140

Boba Stretchy Wrap Chocolate $38.00

Boba Stretchy Wrap Orange $38.00

Ring Slings-

DIY Dyed Linen 75" $40

DIY Dinosaur 90” $30

DIY Orange 76” $50

Mei Tais-

Babyhawk Tan $99

DIY Print $40

Catbird Whitney $89

Earthy Bliss Heavenly Breeze Ring Waist $219

Soft Structured Carriers (Buckle Carriers)-

Ergo Sport $115

Boba 3G $160

Beco Soleil $130

Beco Soleil Infant Insert $40.00

Lillebaby Complete $135

Ergo Original $130.00
Moby Go $79.00

Pouches-

Seven Slings 24" $40.00

Seven Slings 26" $40.00

Munchkin 26.5" $35.00

DIY Floral $20.00

DIY Muslin $20.00

DIY Beatles $20.00

Group Member Feature: Nicole R.

Nicole captures moments at the Balloon Classic 2013.
(Photo taken by her husband, Kris)

As many moms know, it can be hard to keep with your hobbies when you have a needy infant who needs a lot of your time and attention. There may be constant interruptions that come with having to put down your project to feed your child or give him or her a much-needled cuddle in your arms. Crocheting or knitting with an awake child means that your yarn may get tangled or your work quickly undone with one quick yank. Scrapbooking means your expensive paper may get snatched by grubby little hands or even snacked on. But group member Nicole R. has got it down. Photography is her hobby and for her, taking gorgeous photographs a is very doable while wearing her six month old son, Kyler.

Nicole is a "stay-at-home" mom (except you know, not really, since she does have two school-aged kids), but still takes on photography sessions on occasion for her friends.   

"I am not working currently. Just spending time with my kids and when I have the opportunity I take photos for mostly friends right now as more of a hobby," she says.  "I hope to one day make it [photography] my career as I learn and grow more but right now I am doing it mostly for fun."

She takes her youngest with her on casual photo shoots, as well as the ones she does for favors, if her friends don't mind.  Even on days when her husband is home, "it ends up being easier anyway because I am still breastfeeding and Kyler doesn't (or more so won't) take any bottle I have offered," she says.  "I have brought him to a handful of photo shoots and he has luckily always been so good and calm through the whole shoot."

Nicole has also had the opportunity to photograph family portraits that feature babywearing.

"I love catching parents, siblings, etc interacting with their child while babywearing and seeing that bond that ties them together being so close," she says.  "It goes hand in hand with photographing breastfeeding. There is just something so special to capture that moment, because before you know it your kids are nine and seven and running away from you and you reflect back to when they were tiny and wish to relive that moment again."

Nicole recently shot group member Sarah M.'s
family photos.

Nicole recently participated in a photography event called ClickinWalk.  Although she originally had reservations about taking her youngest, babywearing allowed her to easily take him with her while exploring the city.

"The ClickinWalk was awesome. It was my first one and I am so glad I went," she said.  "I debated on bringing the baby because I wasn't sure how it was going to go but I am glad in the end I chose to bring him. My daughter came along as well and we had a great time walking around Manitou snapping away. It's so nice when you find a group of people that share the same interest as you and are as passionate about it. All the moms were so calm and easy going and there was one other mom [CEO of Clickin Moms, Sarah Wilkerson] who was wearing her daughter...So it was nice seeing another mom wearing her baby too."

To check out more of Nicole's photography, you can go to her Facebook page, NicoleRenee Photography.

**This post was written by Paula R.

Celebrating #2013IBW: Cottonwood Creek Park

On Wednesday, we celebrated #2013IBW with another playdate, this one at Cottonwood Creek Park.  Photos are provided by the lovely Amanda J.

(Adult Babywearers, L to R: Maureen S., Katie K., Marie C. Lauren B., and Amanda J.)

To see how we've been celebrating #2013IBW, see our previous post here.  Today's (Wednesday's) Facebook topic is Woven Wednesday, where we are sharing "tips, tricks and links" that relate to woven wraps, as well as any questions we may have!  

Library Donation From Group Member Megan H.

Megan's son shows off the ice dyed fabric.

Our lending library recently grew by four!  Group member Megan H. donated one ring sling and three linen wraps (in sizes three, four and five) that she dyed using a technique known as “ice dyeing.”    

What made you decide to donate these wraps to the lending library?

I am extremely aware of the benefits babywearing offers. I also remember the many hours spent researching what the options were and balking at the cost. When I first started, we lived in an area where few wore at the time. Because of that, and the fact we live in an area with an amazing and helpful group, I wanted to help how I could because I feel it's an important gift to mothers and babies alike.

Why did you decide to try your hand at ice dyeing?  Can you tell me about the process?

"Dyed linen with the remaining unmelted ice.
The rest has turned into water and run through
the fabric and is resting below in the open space."

I was going through a dyeing phase. I am not interested in grad dyeing, solids, etc, and especially do not wish to start a business, but it was middle of winter and so cold, so ice and snow were abundant so it seemed to be easy, and to be a fun project to tackle. The ice melting does the design work so it's just scrunching the fabric, adding the ice, and sprinkling the dye... Then lots of waiting.

What was the approximate cost of materials

The linen was around $70 for 7 yards including shipping. The dyes were three different colors and around $4 a packet from Joann's.

What advice do you have for someone wanting to ice dye something?

Read, and just do it.  It was a lot of fun and super easy, aside from the waiting for the ice to melt in the dead of winter.

Celebrating #2013IBW

Are you celebrating International Babywearing Week?  Use the hashtag above (#2013IBW) for Instagram, Twitter and other forms of social media!   Join us on Facebook as we discuss special topics this week!  Yesterday was "Made It Monday," where we chatted about DIY carriers.  Today is "Tutorial Tuesday," where we are sharing our favorite babywearing tutorials. 

Photo provided by Nicole R. of Monday's playdate

For information on upcoming events for this week, check out this post.

October Meeting

(I, Paula, was unable to attend this month, but the lovely Nicole R. took great photos of the meeting.  I heard there were a lot of brand new faces and we welcome you to the group and hope you had a great first meeting experience!  For those of you who missed it, October's Carry of the Month is the Rebozo.  The video below is a great place to start.  While it's geared toward newborns, the carry is older baby-/toddler-friendly as well!  We also implemented new rules for the lending library, which can be read about here.)

Members listen intently.

Group leader Marcia S. demonstrates the Carry of the Month, the Rebozo.

Jennifer P. and Erica N. follow along as Marcia S. teaches.

More members learn how to make the knot required for a rebozo.  

Galen D's worn baby shows off his blue eyes.

Amanda J. wears her baby in a wrap.

Group Photo

International Babywearing Week Events

International Babywearing Week takes place October 7 - October 13.  Join us for a playdate on the 7th at Memorial Park at 2 p.m.  As Jillian D. said on the Facebook event, "We will be meeting at the playground on the SW side of the lake with the big yellow flower. Come out and enjoy some beautiful weather (fingers crossed) and wonderful company while we spread the babywearing love!'

If you miss that one, there is another playdate on Wednesday at Cottonwood Creek Park at 10:30!  We're also discussing a possible hike for Friday.  

Where We Wore in September

Maureen S. watches her older son on the playground while wearing her baby in a Girasol Neapolitan ring sling.

Nicole R. participates in the ClickinMoms ClickinWalk in Manitou Springs with her son in a Maya Wrap ring sling.

Amanda J. wears her daughter in a Beco Butterfly 2 at Garden of the Gods.

Kristen M. takes her family to Santa's Workshop.  She is wearing her youngest in a Scootababy.

Jen C. wears her baby in an Infantino Wrap & Tie at the red rocks.

Tiffany S. wears her daughter in a Moby at the Air Force vs. Wyoming game.

Maureen S. tries out the September Carry of the Month in a DIY Osnaburg.