Ways to get baby on your back

If you've been wearing your baby for awhile, you might find yourself getting curious about wearing baby on your back. Having two hands free with baby behind you can be invaluable. But we have to put the safety of our kiddos first and foremost. (If you're new to back carrying, please use the help of a spotter or practice over a couch or bed.) 

Here are some great videos to demonstrate how you get a baby on your back depending on your carrier type. 

Soft Structured Carriers are great options for back carrying. The waist belt can offer a lot of back support, and padded straps can make for a comfy wearing experience. Once you have the waist strap secured around your waist, you can use a "hip scoot" or a "superman toss" to get baby into the carrier on your back. Watch this video to see how it's done.

Woven Wraps are incredibly useful and versatile when back carrying. With some practice, you can get baby high and snug on your back. This can alleviate a lot of the discomfort that comes from having them too low or far from your body in other carriers. There are numerous back carries you can use with a woven wrap. A Mei Tai  is a lot like a SSC (soft structured carrier), but has the great comfort qualities of a woven wrap. For both a woven wrap and a mei tai, you can use a "hip scoot," "santa toss," or a "superman toss." The video below gives a great rundown of these methods. 

Again, remember to use a spotter or practice over a bed if you're new to back wearing. If you still have some questions, ask a Volunteer Babywearing Educator on our BWI Facebook page, or come to our next BWI Colorado Springs meeting! We look forward to seeing you there to answer your questions and get to know you better!

July Meeting at East Library

It was so good to see so many new faces at East Library for our July Meeting! Thanks to all who attended. 

We talked a lot about hot weather babywearing and steps you can take to make sure you and baby stay cool. Using carriers that only have one layer like Ringslings or Soft Structured Carriers are really helpful. And if you're using your woven wrap, using carries with single layer passes ensure that baby will be cooler. 

We also discussed cooling towels that you can buy to place between you and baby to help regulate both your body temperatures while wearing. 'Frog Toggs' is a great brand of cooling towel for not a lot of cost. 

Also demonstrated at this meeting was a Torso Carry (also called a Kanga Carry) using a beach towel. If you're at the pool with the kids and you forget your carrier, never fear! You can turn your beach towel into a quick carrier with a few steps. If you've never attempted a back carry, make sure you are comfortable wearing your baby first. Then practice back carrying over a soft surface (like a couch or bed, etc.) and use another person to help spot, if you can. Baby should also be able to sit unassisted while using a back carry. 

If you joined Babywearing International at this meeting, welcome and thank you! Your annual dues of $30 help us expand our library, train our Volunteer Babywearing Educators (VBEs) and help us print materials to get the word out for babywearing! If you haven't yet joined, join here today! $30 also allows you to checkout one carrier from our lending library every month for the year that you've paid dues. A great deal if you're in the market for a new carrier but aren't ready to commit before trying one. BWI membership is also a great gift to someone you know that might be expecting!

Here's some great action shots from the meeting:

Our lending library!

Erin C. tries out a Mei Tai from the lending library.

One of our VBE's, Natalie C. assists an attendee with a back carry.

This sweet little girl is happily wrapped on her mama. 

Erin C. shows off one of her famous sling ring carries!

This cute little guy is comfy in a beach towel torso carry, as demonstrated at our meeting. 

We look forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting, taking place at Cloth Diaper Market on Saturday, July 19th, at 10am. See you all there!

Boba 2G, Boba 3G, Boba Air

Boba is a Colorado-based company and the maker of the very popular Boba buckle carriers.  There are three Boba soft structure carriers that are currently on the market:  The Boba 2G, while discontinued, can still be bought at several retailers, including Amazon; the newer model is the Boba 3G, which can be used from newborn through toddlerhood, with no additional insert needed.  Lastly, there is the Boba Air, the "lightweight" carrier the company offers.  

Mindy N. has owned and used all three and here is her experience/review of them:

I started with a 2G from Zulily, when they were liquidating their stock before releasing the 3G. I heard about it from a friend who thought it might be up my alley, even though my third child had just turned 3 years old. We were at Fort Campbell at the time, and we used to visit downtown Nashville a lot; a stroller or wagon is really inconvenient when going into many of the stores there, so I was willing to give a carrier a shot, after not wearing her since she was less than a year old.  We were planning to have another baby in the future, too, so I figured we'd eventually use it even if it was a failure for her. Anyway, I got the carrier and LOVED it for hiking, exploring record stores in Nashville, etc. Since she was pretty old when we bought it, we only ever back carried her. My husband was deployed when I bought the Boba, and started using it once he came home. He liked it, too. When Baby #4 came along, I used the Boba with him straight out of the gate. I wore him frogged, without an insert or adaptive use. He was 8 pounds and 20.5 inches and he fit very comfortably that way. 

I was so happy with the 2G that I wasn't even interested in upgrading to the 3G -- until I bought a second Boba in the Diaper Dude camo print, for my husband to use. I had no intention of wearing a camo-print anything, since I try to keep a low profile as an Army wife, but I really liked the higher back and the purse strap. I decided to buy a solid Boba for myself, in grey. The purse strap wrangler is so helpful, as well as the ability to adjust the chest strap vertically. It's also more adjustable than I remember the 2G being; the webbing straps between the end of the padded shoulder strap and the seat are adjustable at both ends.  I think it makes it easier to tweak the fit while a child is in it, since you can grab either end and make your change. 

Mindy N. wears her baby in her Boba 3G at Cheyenne Cañon.

The main con I've found is that I'm not quite flexible enough to clip the chest strap when I'm wearing him on the front. I manage to get around that by having one of my other kids clip it for me, since I'm rarely without at least one of them. I can deal with it if I go to the store alone with the baby and don't have someone to snap it for me, but it's kind of annoying that I have to hike the straps up every so often. (I have no issues getting an arm behind my back to unsnap it with one hand, though.) The other potential con is that my daughter hates using the foot straps/stirrups. She would probably be better supported if she used them, but she finds them annoying. Still, the seat is pretty big, so she's not dangling when she's in it.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Boba Air when we set out. As enthusiastic as I am about our 3G, I wondered if the Air was going to be as comfortable. It turned out to be surprisingly so! I am not a frequent flyer, so I wanted to travel as minimally as possible on our trip to North Carolina. The Air was perfect: lightweight and breathable while running through the airport, compact when settling into our seats on the plane. It stuffs into its self-bag easily. It collapses down like a reusable grocery bag, without a lot if hassle to make it fit, and it took up about as much room as my makeup bag in my carry-on. 

I also used the Air at our destination, not just in transit. I walked for over three miles on the beach one day during our trip. Despite its lightweight construction, I didn't find the straps digging into my shoulders. (It might be worth noting that my son is pretty petite. He's only about 20 pounds at 15 months. People with older or larger children might not have the same experience.) The Boba 3G's more padded and rigid structure is still definitely superior to the Air in terms of support and comfort, but the Air stands on its own pretty well. My son also seemed to like it, as he fell asleep about a mile into our walk.

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What were your personal experiences with Boba carriers like?  Comment and let us know!

Where We Wore in April

Kate B. PCS-ed away from us earlier this month, but here she is in front of
the White House, with her daughter in her Oscha Starry Night Forget Me Not
wrap conversion mei tai by Blissful Squish.
  

Lizzy D. and her husband Richard took their daughters and their
Ardent Tula to visit Mount Rushmore!  

Erica N. wore her toddler in a Kinderpack in Prague,
where she is a missionary.

Rebekha R. tandem wore her kiddos in an Earthy Bliss Wrapture (made from a
Lenny Lamb woven wrap)and a Didymos Lisca Azzurro at the Grand Canyon!

Cora K. took her daughter to the beach in California in a Kanaluti
KoKaDi Diorite Stars wrap conversion half-buckle.

Avelynn M. found her Didymos Katja handy during their trip to California!