Meet Our Leaders: Jillian Droppo, Kristen Miles and Marcia Stewart

Earlier this month, we voted for these three members to become our new group leaders. And here are their bios!  :) 

Marcia Stewart

I started my interest in babywearing when my cousin registered for a pouch sling when she was pregnant in 2008. I thought it looked like something I could sew, so I started researching and came across Jan Andrea's site (sleeping baby productions). In her DiY section, she linked to thebabywearer.com. I joined, and was instantly drawn to babywearing. Before I even was pregnant with my first son (who is now three), I already had a selection of baby carriers. Woven wraps were my favorite from the beginning. I love that the fabric is endlessly versatile: blanket, fort, scarf, washcloth, and baby carrier all in one. I love fibers of all kinds, and the beauty of wraps really draws me in. My first son was very colicky and wrapping saved me. I could wrap him and he would sleep for much longer than if he was in a crib, and I could still get things done, with my hands free! We went on lots of long walks in our wraps, went shopping, and even toured the Statue of Liberty. Now I am wrapping my second son and am so glad I knew about babywearing before I began motherhood. I love sharing the joys of babywearing with my friends!

Jillian Droppo

We have lived in Colorado Springs for 4 years. My husband is in the army. We have 2 beautiful daughters Heidi, 5 years, and Hayden, 14 months. We are hoping to add one more to our family in the near future. I love Colorado and being outdoors, hiking, running, playing at the park...

I started babywearing when my youngest was born. I now wonder how I made it through my oldest's infant and toddler years without it. My first carrier was a Beco Gemini followed by a Moby. I now love woven wraps of all types, WCRS and my KP.

In addition to my love of collecting baby carriers, I also have a love of collecting cloth diapers. Some people just simply use cloth because it is greener, cheaper... I began using cloth for those reasons but now just can't seem to stop buying them. They are just so cute!

This group is full of such amazing women and children. I love that I have found a local group of families that share common interests. I am looking forward to being a leader of this group, getting to know everyone a little bit better & spreading the babywearing love.


Edit:  As of September 2013, Kristen has stepped down as a leader.  

Kristen Miles

My kids are Caleb, age 8, Emery, age 6 and Catherine, 1. We started babywearing almost 9 years ago with a Baby Bjorn - don't judge! We didn't know! We loved it for the same reasons that people love great carriers and babywearing in general, though - I was hands free and my high-needs son was having his needs met. Win win! Too bad it was painful if you wore it for too long. 

When my daughter was born, I had found a WAHM that made these great hemp pouches and she was worn from 2 days old in it! She was tiny for her age, so we could use the pouch for a very long time, and then the Bjorn, too. When she was a toddler we got an Ergo, but I didn't have anyone who could show me back carries, so it didn't get a ton of love. I really didn't know moms who wore their babies then - so it is great for me to have this group! 

Fast forward some years, and our littlest has also been worn from day 1, but I know more about better carriers! We used a Moby (I actually hated it, but I know most people love theirs!) before we graduated to a Babyhawk mei tai. Our carrier getting the most love this go-round is the Scootababy! Works so well for my in-and-out-up-and-down girl! With two school age kids and all of their activities, we are on the go constantly, and babywearing has been a life saver. So many places that I literally couldn't have taken a stroller. I see moms struggling with theirs in tight places and just want to spread the babywearing love to everyone!! At home I wear her on my back in the Ergo (or for longer all-day outings), but the hip carry in the Scootababy works best for us on errands and activities. We try to practice a lot of elements of attachment parenting so babywearing fits well in our lives, but I just like to encourage all parents to look into a good quality carrier - it really can improve your life with baby in so many ways!

April (4/10) Meeting

It was a very cold spring day here in Colorado Springs, so we had an indoor meeting.  Marcia was gracious enough to teach a few carries and answer some babywearing questions!  

Caitlin S. wears her newborn baby boy in a black Moby.

Marcia S. demonstrates a hip carry with her one-year-old son in
a Didymos Indio.

Stella K. wears her 14-month-old daughter in a Didymos Aqua Pfau wrap.  

Meet Billie of "Nappies and More... a Wrapper's Paradise"

Billie poses while wearing her youngest son in a 

wrap-conversion mei tai.

Buying your first woven wrap can be a difficult decision. There so many sizes, blends, and brands and the lingo can be hard to learn! Lucky for those of us in Colorado Springs and Teller County, we have local woven wrap retailer Sybille Irby to help us!

Known mostly by her nickname, Billie is the owner of Nappies and More..., an online baby carrier and cloth diaper store she manages from her home in Woodland Park. While there are several local stores that carry mainstream baby carriers, hers is the only one that sells woven wraps, such as those made by Didymos and KoKaDi. A babywearer herself, she is well equipped to help new babywearers in picking out the perfect woven wrap.

Like many moms, Billie's first wrap was a stretchy wrap, which she started using when her third child was born more than seven years ago.

"Woven wraps scared me at first due to their length and a Moby seemed the easier way to start," she says. "Little did I know how long a Moby [would be]. It looked much easier to wrap and then put the baby in it and we both really liked it (despite the hot weather in Texas)."

While Mobys are great for little ones, sometimes a little more support is needed. That's where woven wraps come in! Over time, her baby grew, like babies do, at which point she started looking at other options.

After her family's move to Germany, her husband, "who could tell that babywearing helped our little girl a lot," bought Billie her first woven at the Didymos store that was close to their new home. She learned a few techniques from the owner's daughter and about a helpful babywearing forum online, Thebabywearer.com.

Her babywearing journey continued. She had an opportunity to take a class at the German ClauWi babywearing school. She also met her friend Becky, who was "talking about opening an online business for wraps and carriers," she says. With a husband away on deployment, Billie offered her help.

In 2009, she and her family moved to Colorado. Billie had enjoyed the work she had done with her friend Becky and considered opening up her own stores.  In October of 2009,  Nappies and More... was born.  

“It was very slow in the beginning, but I was fine with it, due to having young children at home,” she says. “I never planned on having a quick start, [but] rather be there and work my way up and have people know and remember me later on."

While her store was basking in quiet success, it was in the summer of 2012 when Nappies and More... boomed in popularity. The store revealed a new exclusive custom wrap: Merlin, a hemp wrap featuring the KoKaDi "Stars" design in black and purple. Even now, nearly a year later, Merlin and its "fraternal twin" Morgan are still in fairly high demand!

"I wish sometimes for the old times," Billie admits. The store's popularity and success, after all, does mean a lot energy and time dedicated to work. She says she has had to learn to “step away from the computer and business and just enjoy" her family.

Since the release of Merlin, Billie has also teamed up with KoKaDi retailer Nadine of Babyleicht. Nadine designed the turtles that become the wrap Tuga as well as Keiko (the orcas), with Nappies and More... offering the exclusives to stateside customers. 

Billie revealed that she is planning to phase cloth diapers out of her store and focus on selling woven wraps. While the cloth diapers are still listed at her old site (http://www.nappies-and-more.us/), babywearing items have been moved to the store's new website: http://wrappers-paradise.3dcartstores.com/.

Additional Q & A with Billie:

How did you come up with the design for your KoKaDi exclusives Merlin and Morgan?

When I was looking at Merlin and Morgan colors, it was actually the Kokadi owner, who asked me about a black and purple wrap. I knew I wanted a purple wrap, like the purple Melody they had just released, but picked natural as the second color at first (Morgan). Kokadi offered me as a second custom wrap in black and purple and I thought, why not? Little did I know...

What is the best part of being a baby carrier retailer?

Best part is that you get to see a lot of different wraps with no obligation to buy! ;)


*This post was written by Paula R.

Want to help break a world record?

Well, if you have a little one still in diapers, you can!  The Great Cloth Diaper Change is coming up on the 20th of April.  The current world record from last year boasts 8,251 cloth diapers changed at once!  And you know what?  I think we can beat that!  

This year, the local event will be held at the Chapel Hills mall with the change taking place at 11 a.m.  Those who cloth diaper should bring their cloth diapers and those who don't will be lent one!  There are a few guidelines/rules that can be found here at the preregistration site.  For more information on the local GCDC event, please check out the Southern Colorado Great Cloth Diaper Change facebook!

Pictures from our February meeting

It was a gorgeous day and we had an awesome turn out!

Cora K. and Kate B. spot Melissa S. as she tries her first Double Hammock.

Cora K. tandems babies with an ETLA "Sock Monkey" wrap.
(Photo by Kate B.)

Jillian D. wears her daughter in a Didymos Black Hemp Pfau.
(Photo by Gretchen M.)

Stella K. carries her daughter on her hip in a Didymos Orient.
(Photo by Gretchen M.)

Lauren F. wears her baby in a Bamberoo buckle carrier.
(Photo by Gretchen M.)

Saying Goodbye to Beth

Earlier this month, Colorado Springs babywearers had to say goodbye to one of its members Beth White; the military has sent her away from the mountains of Colorado and to the cold state of Alaska.  Beth reflects on her babywearing journey, both as an individual and as a person who has helped the group develop into a close-knit community of babywearers:

Many wearers can pinpoint exactly how they came across the idea of babywearing, whether it was a chance encounter with someone wearing an Ergo, or coming across a picture of someone wrapping on an online forum.  But not Beth; she is a second generation babywearer!

“I’m not sure when I learned about babywearing,” she says.  “I think I always knew about it.  My mom wore me and my sisters in a frame pack and some sort of ring sling.”

“I started researching carriers when I was pregnant and bought a Sleepy Wrap and used that when Faith was just two days old. I loved it and so did she!  I went to my first babywearing meeting when she was two months old,” she says.  “I really liked being around other moms that I had a lot in common with and I wanted to make sure I was wearing my baby correctly!”

Over the course of the next few years, since that first meeting, Beth has watched the group grow, as babywearing has slowly gained popularity.

“[When] I first joined the group there wasn't a meeting for over six months after I went to the park meet-up. We slowly started getting together more regularly and formed a group of solid ‘core’ members that came to everything,” she says. 

The online move of the group from a Yahoo! Group to Facebook, she says, was also “really instrumental” in its growth.  With Facebook’s popularity and ease of use, it allowed for more interested mothers to find and connect with the group more easily.
 

Despite being a member of the group for over three years, Beth (who now also has a one-year-old son, Titus) feels that she can’t take much credit for the successful group the Colorado Springs babywearing group has become: 

“One of my favorite things about our group is that it’s a community effort…There has always been a wonderful group of mamas working to make any changes,” she says. 

But fellow babywearer and friend Courtney Kempe knows that Beth’s contributions deserve to be acknowledged.  In the past, she has organized events to teach people carriers, connected the group with other local organizations and ordered the group’s business cards for members to carry and pass out.  Additionally, “she is really cool about showing people how to babywear without spending a ton,” says Courtney. 

Fitting with babywearing (and the tenet of keeping a baby close as nature intended), Beth also has a fairly natural parenting style, one that includes something that, in theory, should come very “naturally,” but doesn’t always:  Breastfeeding.  She first started attending LLL meetings when she was pregnant with her daughter.  For the last year and a half, she was a La Lache League leader in Colorado Springs, sharing her personal experiences as well as supporting and educating mothers on breastfeeding. 

“I am very passionate about breastfeeding and I love being able to help others,” she says.  Also, “babywearing inevitably comes up at nearly every meeting so I love how everything overlaps.”  

The Colorado Springs group members are sad to see Beth go, but she will undoubtedly be a valuable member to whatever parenting-related groups she decides to join at her new base. 

Q&A With Beth

What do you love about babywearing? Do you have a favorite carrier/carrier style and what makes it your favorite?

I love how much more productive I can be while still meeting the needs of my baby. Faith was very high needs and I wore her a lot at home. Titus hasn't been "high needs" but when he is teething or sick and I have a three year old to take care of too - I don't know how moms manage without babywearing! And it makes running errands a piece of cake, especially if Titus wants to nurse while we are out. I love woven wraps (right now my favorite is our Didymos Marigold) for all ages and soft-structured carriers (Kinderpack) for 6+ months for back carries when running errands.

What was your motivation for cloth diapering?

Saving money and avoiding the chemicals in disposables. We use flats with wool longies/shorties.

What are you going to miss about the group?

Awww :( everything! I am so very blessed to have been a part of such a wonderful support system for the last three years. Mostly I will miss getting together with other moms and chatting for hours while we get sunburned outside in the summer.

*Written by Paula R.

Meet Local Babywearer Raina

Business owner Raina Seabaugh knows all about juggling motherhood with being a busy working mom. She and her husband own Little Monkey Bizness (a Denver-based franchise) here in Colorado Springs. They had always talked about owning a business, but it wasn't until after having their two children that they decided that it needed to be one that was child-centered.

“We looked at multiple franchises but couldn’t see ourselves working there on a daily basis, or having it be a place that our kids would enjoy coming,” Raina says. “Our very active son is five years old and he prompted us to look at opening a place where he could get out his energy, especially in the winter.”

A friend introduced them to Little Monkey Bizness, which seemed to fit the bill.

"We felt Colorado Springs needed an indoor play area that was safe, clean, and open for anyone to come in seven days a week," she says.

Despite working six days a week, owning a business where children can play has its perks. Raina can bring her own children there with her, including her two-year-old Mackenzie.

She occasionally wears her daughter in her ErgoBaby Carrier while she works. As a toddler, Mackenzie doesn't need to be worn much as a young infant; however, Raina thinks it is wonderful to have the option of being able to wear her if needed.

"Owning a business has definitely been an adjustment and I think it is important to assure my kids that I am still here for them," Raina says. "I feel that wearing Mackenzie helps in those times when I still have lots to accomplish at the business but she needs me to pay attention to her. She can say hi to people and talk to me about other things and I can still do my job."

She first discovered babywearing with her older son, who she carried in a Baby Bjorn. Mackenzie, however, wasn't as fond of that particular carrier, so they turned to the Sleepy Wrap (now known as the Boba Wrap), which Raina fell in love with. Her daughter was six weeks old when a new swim season started and babywearing helped Raina succeed in her role as a swim “coach on deck,” while continuing to fulfilling her role of a mother physically with her daughter close to her in their wrap.

For more information on Raina's business, Little Monkey Bizness, check out their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/monkeybizness.colospgs.

***

Q&A with Raina

What carrier do you use and what do you like about it?

I currently am using an ErgoBaby Carrier. I like it because Mackenzie can be on my back and I am still able to work at Monkey Bizness. I can work the register, make coffee, clean the art room, and interact with customers easily. She’s also very comfortable and can fall asleep there if she is tired. I struggle with working-mom guilt and I love the ability to have Mackenzie close to me more often.

What benefits have you personally found in babywearing? How does babywearing help out in your home life? Does your husband babywear as well?

I think having my children close to me is the best thing about babywearing. It is the easiest way to calm an upset child and help me feel close to them even when I have to multi-task. Being a mom isn’t easy! We have to make so many things happen at once, but don’t want our kids to suffer because of all the other things going on in life. I like the conversations I can have with my daughter when I am wearing her. I think she benefits from seeing first-hand a lot of what I am doing, and I believe her speech is better because I can introduce her to more things around us. My husband did wear our older child more than our younger one and he loved it as well. I have passed on our Baby Bjorn to my brother, who just had his first child, and he loves having his daughter close to him as much as possible.

Have you gotten any comments about "wearing" your child from customers?

Customers have commented that it is nice that my kids can be at work with me, and I agree. It’s a huge benefit to owning our own business.

Would you recommend babywearing/toddlerwearing to other parents?

I really would! I think close, physical touch is so important with your children, for both the kids and the parents! As a new mom, wearing my first child made me feel less trapped, like I could get other things done and wasn’t bound to my house. It helped me get out and meet other moms, it was a conversation starter, and it calmed my baby whenever he was fussy.

***
I noticed that we had some extra traffic in the last 24 hours!  If you are interested in learning about babywearing or cloth diapering, please join our facebook group to chat: Colorado Springs and Teller County Babywearing and Cloth Diapering Group.

**This post was written by Paula R.