Ring Slings, Mei Tais, and Pouches, Oh My!!!!

As I wrote yesterday, I made it through many years (and four babies, to be exact) with only my lowly Snugli. I was simply addicted to babywearing, and couldn't imagine life without it.

So it came to be that I gave birth to my 5th child, David, and my sister generously lent me her NoJo BabySling. And so, my odyssey into babywearing diversification had begun. The ring sling was a new concept for me, but several of my friends in seminary had Maya Wraps, and I was eager to test the concept. The main difference was that my Nojo was padded, and the Maya wraps were not. Adjusting to the ring sling took some time. There was a bit of a learning curve, I must admit. But I eventually got it all figured out. And my trusty, faithful Snugli was finally retired. I think I might still have it - I will have to dig around and see...

And so, my love affair with ring slings began. I used the heck out of that sling. I carried David everywhere. My parents gave me a second-hand swing, but I rarely used it. Both David and I were happier with him being worn. It was natural to me by this point, and we were homeschooling. It made it so much easier to be able to have David happy in the sling that to have him whining on the floor or somewhere else wile I was helping the kids with school.

But the fall that David was 9 months old, my sister was getting ready to have her 4th baby, and so, like the good sister I am, I packed up our shared stash of newborn clothes and the sling. *sniff* We had no extra money, with Brian being in seminary, so I couldn't replace it. But I have the most generous friends in the world - my on-line mommy=friends... And several of them very kindly sent me replacements - either from their own stash, or brand new. You ladies are angels! I was now the very proud owner of a mama-made ring sling (unpadded, unlike the Nojo, which was heavily padded), an Over The Shoulder Baby Holder ring sling, and a Kozy Carrier Mei Tai. A whole new world of possibilities had opened up to me...

I liked the OTBH in the house, for naps. The padding was nice and comfy for David. I used the mama-made RS when we went out, because it fit neatly and compactly in the diaper bag. It was also the RS of choice as he grew, because it was more adjustable than the OTSBH, and I am very short - the padding would get in the way. But I absolutely LOVED the versatility of my Kozy. It was everything that the Snugli of old had been, but better. And WAY cooler. Front-carry, back-carry, hip-carry. I get so many compliments when I wear the Kozy.

And so I was able to continue to wear David. And then, when Hannah cam along, another one of my on-line mommy-friends offered to sell me her Lucky Baby pouch sing. And I took her up on her offer. Boy, am I glad I did! I am a total LB convert. It's my go-to sling, now. It has that nice, soft, buttery minkee lining. *sigh* It is compact, and multifunctional. And oh-so-stylish. It's pretty much perfect! This lovely lady threw in a Comfy Joey silk pouch sling, too, for free! It's been wonderful for those formal outings. I've attended a couple of weddings and brought it along. So chic!

But I still have all of my stash accessible, and I do still use them all. The Kozy is great for long walks, and she loves the back-carry. The kids use my ring slings, because they are adjustable. Yes, my children (girls *and* boys) wear their siblings. It warms my heart... They are going to be such good attached parents, some day... And the LB lives on top of the diaper bag, ready to come with me, and ready to grab if I need to comfort a teething, cranky little girl. ANd the Joey for hot summer days, and for when I'm in the mood to be stylin'.

So there you have it... My babywearing journey, in a nutshell. I've come a long way in 14 years, from that light blue Snugli. But I wouldn't have changed it for the world. Now, maybe I ought to work on pics of the stash...

Babywearing - A Love Story

From the moment I gave birth to my first child, in December of 1994, I knew that I would want to keep this child always close to my heart.  I knew nothing of babywearing.  All I knew was that being attached to my child made sense.  It felt right. It made me happy.  I was babywearing before babywearing was cool or hip.  It was, in fact, quite hippy - a bit granola, even, for the Dallas suburb where we lived at the time.  But then again, I was parenting by instinct - an AP mom before I'd even heard of Dr. Sears or Attachment Parenting.  I just followed my heart. And I knew my baby belonged close to it.

I have been wearing my babies for almost 14 years, now. It all began with Sarah, and a Snugli. Yes, I know. Please don't throw anything - I was young, and didn't know any better. It was a front-and-back carrier - very versatile. I had wanted a Bjorn, but they were very expensive, and the Snugli was about half the price. I couldn't find a pic of my first one, which burned up in the fire (it was similar - but blue chambray with white trim). So here's the one I replaced it with.

I loved it. Yes - I know... How much more I would have loved a ring sling, an Ergo, even a Bjorn... But it did what I needed it to do... And I even got Brian to use it. Yes - real men *do* wear their babies! He liked to wear them on his back, mostly. But hey - I think it's sexy when a man wears his child...

I used it everywhere - to the grocery store, on walks around the neighborhood, at the mall. It was just so much easier than dealing with the stroller. This was back in the dark ages - before travel systems where you could just pop the bucket into your stroller. I simply buckled on the Snugli, and tucked Sarah in. I was able to do laundry, cook, and clean, all without putting my baby down. I put her on, and she was happy. She slept. This was ingenious! Why wasn't EVERYONE doing this???????

And when Amanda came along, I was able to wear her, and keep Sarah in the stroller. When you've got a newborn, and a 20 month-old, babywearing is a lifesaver. When we found out that Nathan was on the way, we went ahead and bought a double stroller. So I was still able to take all 3 kids out by myself. (By myself??? What was I *thinking*???) Having a 3 year-old, a 21 month-old, and a newborn -I could not have survived without the Snugli!

And after the fire in the fall of '98, I replaced my Snugli, but not the swing. I found that I would rather wear my babies than put them in the swing. We both liked it better, actually. And I've had 3 more kids, and still no swing. But my collection of baby carriers has increased exponentially... *grin*

I truly love wearing my babies. It just feels so natural - keeping them close to my heart, where they grew for 9 months. And a carrier is much more user-friendly that a swing or a stroller, and takes up much less space than either one. And I've grown accustomed to the inquiring glances and the strange looks - even gotten to enjoy them. Kind of like nursing in public... *grin* Like I said - I never knew any better. I just did what came naturally. And babywearing did. Still does. In's a wonderful fringe benefit of my job. I love it.

Tomorrow - My first ring sling - and beyond...

Wordless Wednesday - International Babywearing Week!

Me, wearing David, in my mama-made ring sling, Summer of '06, at the Museum of Natural History in DC



David, in my Kozy, hip-carry, trying to climb out to pet the doggies at the Feast of St. Francis, Blessing of the Animals, Fall '06

I just realized that I have no pics of Hannah being worn, mostly b/c I am the one always holding the camera!  Must change that...  And the others are all non-digital pics, and our scanner is less-than-adept with good quality pics.

And make sure you check out Adventures in Babywearing this week, for lots more info on babywearing.   You, too, could be entered to win a free sling from Nonny & Boo!

More on my love affair with babywearing to come...

Meditation for Tuesday

I have been trying to get back into the habit of daily devotionals. I tend to be woefully neglectful in that department - something which really bothers me. But finding any sort of quiet time in my days is difficult at best.. *sigh* So it remains a catch-as-catch-can sort of thing.

I have picked up an old standby, recently - God Calling. The meditations are short enough for me to read over in a minute or two, but have enough substance for me to ponder throughout the day. There is an online version here. Today's message really spoke to me...


November 11 - Heaven's Colors

Looking back you will see that every step was planned. Leave all to Me. Each stone in the mosaic fits into the perfect pattern, designed by the Master Artist.

It is all so wonderful!

But the colors are of Heaven's hues, so that your eyes could not bear to gaze on the whole, until you are beyond the veil.

So, stone by stone, you see, and trust the pattern to the Designer.

This really spoke to me, today.  So often, we stumble through our days, just trying to get from one thing to another, and hoping that we don't leave anything behind in the process.  And when we stop to catch a breath, all we can see is a pile of stones and mortar.  

I do find myself, from time to time, having to step back and remember that there *is* indeed a bigger picture, one that we can't see.  I am often reminded of all the seemingly random things that happened to Brian and me during our lives which have prepared us for his ministry, things which, at the time, appeared to be tragic at worst, and inconvenient at best.  But God wastes nothing, and He has redeemed all things.  We will not see the masterpiece of His perfect will until our days on this side of the Cross are done, and we dine with Him at His great banquet feast in the life to come.

And in the meantime, I keep telling myself that even though all I may see is a cracked stone, a broken shard, God is using that to create something of surpassing beauty, something so perfect that it can be appreciated only  by His eyes.  And I must trust that He can, and will, honor that promise, no matter how shattered and broken things look to my clouded eyes.  And I hold onto that hope with all of my heart.

Confessions of an Untidy Housewife

I think it's entirely possible that I have the messiest house on the planet. No matter what I do, I never seem to be able to get it under control. Yes, I realize that I do have six kids, and that does, in fact, contribute to the disorganization, but I feel that I ought to be able to keep up with things much better than I actually do. *sigh*

I have tried FlyLady, but the best I can seem to do with that is to have my sink clean before bed. And forget about the whole putting on shoes to clean your house... I wear shoes outdoors under protest, only when necessitated by weather conditions and the fact that Target won't allow me in with bare feet. Having to wear shoes inside my house is just WRONG. Period.

It's not like I dislike housekeeping, either. I have done it for pay, for years. I did light cleaning for an elderly widow when I was in high school, after her husband died. He was the tidy one, and she just couldn't bring herself to take on those chores after he passed. And I worked as a housekeeper in a B&B summers in high school and college. I don't mind cleaning someone else's house, but when it comes to my own, somehow I just can't quite keep up. *sigh*

I suppose one contributing factor is that my husband doesn't really mind the mess. If he did, I'd probably be more motivated to do something about it. But he'd rather relax during his off time than help me with the chores, and there's something to that - there is a true need for a Sabbath which is often neglected in our busy-busy culture. And I'd rather spend my time interacting with my kids than sweeping the kitchen floor for the twentieth time this week.

A wise friend of mine once commented to me that she discovered that she was a much nicer person when she had a dirty floor. Clean floors would always bring out the b*tch in her - yelling at her kids to keep everything just so, and generally becoming not a very nice person. But once the floor wasn't so pristine anymore, she discovered that she had mellowed, and the little things would slide off her back much more easily.

I have tried to learn from her wisdom, as she is a mom of 4. But I am afraid that I take it to the extreme. My kitchen floor is beyond dirty, most days.. Shoes, coats, toys, school papers... And that's not even mentioning the crumbs, wrappers, and other assorted  gunk that accumulates and reproduces under the kitchen table...

I have been told that as the wife of a priest, I need to be ready for drop-in visits at all times. Ummm - no. Not here... But fortunately, most of the people in our parish respect that I have 6 kids, and are kind enough to call first, giving me enough time to shove and sweep things into some sort of pretend order.

Am I proud of this??? No.  But I am trying to improve, bit by bit.  One day, I do realize, the wee ones will be no longer wee, and I will have more freedom to engage in orderly homekeeping.  But for now, I will settle for clean enough, and hope the guests don't mind...

Settling in...

I think it's official.  The cold weather is here to stay.  We've been spoiled, here in Iowa, by some extraordinarily warm weather, late in the season.  Getting my kids to accept the fact that they do, now, in fact, *need* winter coats has been more of a battle that I would have liked it to be.  And then, there's the annual sorting out of who has grown out of what, and what can be passed down to whom, and who needs new boots, mittens, etc.  And trying to remember exactly where I put all this stuff last spring... *rolls eyes*

And as I sit here, snuggled up with my fuzzy socks and warm fleece pants, menu-planning for this coming week, I am dreaming of all the yummy winter comfort foods I have to chooses from.  Chicken pot pie, chili, French onion soup, lasagna, enchilada casserole...  And that's just for starters...  Too much good food... 

The kids had hot chocolate after church.  I buy this in bulk, you know...  And I was informed that I need to get marshmallows, too, because no self-respecting mug of hot cocoa is fully dressed without those sweet white puffs.  And whipped cream, if I'll let them...

Soon, it will be more than just flurries I'm watching out the window, and wind chills will be in the unspeakable range.  And I'll be making Christmas cookies, and lighting Advent candles.  And, at some point, the cold will begin to seep into my bones, and I'll begin to yearn for spring.  But right now, I think I'm just going to grab my own warm, chocolate beverage, drop in a few marshmallows,  squirt on the whipped cream, and dream of homemade cream soup and the scent of baking bread, and entertain visions of my sugar plums snuggled up around the fire.

Reflections on my weekend

Well, we have returned home from the 156th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa.  And although my husband had to endure all of the minutia of plenary sessions, resolutions, budgets, and voting, ad nauseam, I was able (for the most part) to simply enjoy the worship services.  Well, in between dealing with the 3 boys and Hannah - spotty child care and meal planning by the organizers (which is, in all fairness, light years better than past conventions, as there actually *was* childcare...)  And Hannah is teething. Again.  More molars... *sigh*   So she was velcro-baby - all-mommy-all-the-time...  The big girls were safely ensconced across the street at a lock-in, though... 

But anyway...  In my moments of quiet, (and some not-so-quiet) I was able to be reminded again of exactly why I am an Episcopalian.  I love the liturgy.  Love it.  The pageantry and the mystery speak to my soul.  The familiarity of the prayers, the power of words spoken in community - in communion, the power of coming to the Table together.  The knowledge that I can walk into any Episcopalian or Anglican church, anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world, and pray those same prayers, and worship together, just fills my heart.  It really *is* all about Jesus, and how, despite all our many differences, He can bring us together.  And that's a beautiful thing...