Baby Wearing

We use two different kinds of carriers for Mavry.  The one we used the most at first was the Moby style wrap.  Our hypnobabies instructor recommended this one to us, so it was one of the projects I got done before she was born.  I went to the nearby discount fabric store (we are lucky to have a great one nearby) and bought 6 yards of thick, not very stretchy knit fabric.  I cut it in half lengthwise to make two 6 yard long by 30 inch wide strips and tapered the ends.  I serged the edges (I was lucky enough to borrow a friend's serger for this and a few other projects.)  I also downloaded and printed out the Moby instructions since this wrap takes a little getting used to.  After Mavry was born and we started using this wrap, we realized it would be helpful to know where the middle of the wrap is so I sewed a felt heart at the center of the length of the wrap. 

I think the Moby (whether you purchase the original or make your own) is the best for newborn babies.  It takes a little getting used to at first - you have to learn how to wrap it and wrap it around yourself tighter than you think before you put the baby in.  Even before we learned how to do it "right," Mavry would spend hours contentedly napping in there, which was so freeing for me.  It was usually Colin who used this one at first, and he loved the feeling of little warm Mavry sleeping on his chest.   This is how we took her to church in the first month or two and she usually slept the whole time, all snuggled up.  (People marveled that Colin would wear the baby in public, but he really loved it!)

While the Moby style is great, it does take a little time to wrap it around you and get all situated.  So, after Mavry was born, I looked into an easier way to wear her.  I found these instructions online to make my own Maya wrap.  (I think it's really great that they have these very thorough instructions to make your own on the same site where they sell them!)  I got 2.5 yards of cotton fabric (a long tail is nice to have for covering up on top when nursing) from the same favorite discount store and ordered a set of rings from here.  I bought the nylon ones because it said they are stronger, but if I were to make another one, I would get the aluminum ones because they are prettier.  The fabric I bought has a yellow and turquoise selvage edge that I really liked, so I decided not to hem it.  This made the project pretty easy - all I had to do was hem the cut end of the fabric and do some heavy zig zag stitching on the ring end. 

While we still use the Moby some, this Maya wrap style sling gets the most use these days.  If we are out and Mavry gets sleepy, some bouncing in this wrap (with the top pulled over her head for darkness) will usually put her to sleep pretty quickly.  If she's fussy at home, I'll put her in here and do whatever I need to do.  It's easy to get her in and out of this one, so sometimes she'll fall asleep in it and then I'll put her on her bed.  She is getting heavier and this puts all the weight on one shoulder though, so I have considered getting a soft structured carrier like the Boba, or Ergo, but we will probably just make do with what we have for a while as long as we don't go hiking or something!


Do you use a baby carrier?  What's your favorite?