Thursday, March 31, 2011

a woven wrap.

A woven wrap is the most traditional of all baby carriers and it never fails to evoke images of women throughout the ages with babies tied to backs while hands are busy fulfilling daily duties of life.  Strangely, it's the only carrier I've used that draws strangers to comment on how "those things" didn't exist when their babies were small.  Um, okay.  I'm pretty sure long strips of fabric have always been around. Just saying.

This was the only carrier I had when Henry was a baby and I certainly thought it was the best thing ever created.  Now that I have more options for babywearing with Liza, the wrap is simply not my go to carrier.  However, it seems that mamas who like woven wraps really really like woven wraps and feel they are far superior to all other carriers.  I certainly do appreciate the traditional and simplistic design and the fact that this one woven wrap is all I really need to wear my baby from the newborn stage to the toddler years.  

Introducing a woven wrap:



Can you tell it's long?  Different lengths are available depending on your body type and length needed for different holds.  My wrap is about 9 feel long and 18 inches wide.  The fabric is strong 100% cotton that is strong and durable, yet surprisingly lightweight.  It's long but it folds up tightly.  This particular wrap is a Girasol brand although I'm not sure of the weight.  It's pretty.  Right?  I love the contrast of the beautifully gender-neutral pink and yellow on the different sides.

There is a definite learning curve in wrapping your baby but no more than any other carrier.  Watch a few youtube tutorials over and over again, practice with and without your baby and you will quickly be a hands-free mama in the most traditional sense.

Have you ever wrapped your baby?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just had my 6 month old in my Moby wrap today! I've been thinking about trying a new carrier but this is my 3rd (and last) baby so I'm not really motivated to buy anything new.

I've really been liking your blog...I recently read something you wrote about cloth diapering (a link from a home birth blog) and keep coming back to see more. :)

Misty

Laura @ our messy messy life. said...

Misty, thanks for reading! I think the Bring Birth Home site is doing a great job of spreading the word that homebirth is a good thing and i was glad to contribute my thoughts on cloth diapers.

Let me enable you -- you need another carrier!

BrownFamily said...

The woven wrap reminds me a little of the wrap my mother in law uses when she watches our girls. She is from Korea and the traditional wrap they use is called a podaegi and she brings one over when she babysits. When my 2 year old wants to be worn now she says "oh ba!" because my mother in law says "oh boo ba" for carrying :) kinda neat!

Laura @ Our Messy Messy Life said...

Andrea -- am I right? -- very interesting!! ! I just spent a lot of time reading about this new-to-me carrier.

Basically, it seems like it's just a blanket with long straps that's more more mei tai'ish than woven wrao ---although my first photo makes the wrap look wide rather than veeeerrrry long.

http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/podaegi.html

oh ba!

Jude and Alisha said...

I love my Moby and I love getting those comments, too - really? these weren't around 20 years ago...?!

BrownFamily said...

After reading a bit more I think it is more like a mei tai than a woven although I don't think it's normally worn with the straps over the shoulders like the pictures in the link show. Funny story actually..I was sooo excited to show my mil my mei tai when I got it, I thought she'd think it was neat, she didn't like it bc she doesn't like straps over her shoulders. As far as it being like a blanket with straps, this is a perfect description! If she forgets to bring hers she will actually just use a blanket around the house lol! I uploaded a couple pictures to photobucket of my mother in law carrying my babies when they were 3 months and 18 months old if you want to take a look :)

http://s1139.photobucket.com/albums/n553/morrea89/

Laura @ our messy messy life. said...

Love these pictures!!! She is a super cute mil and of course, your girls are precious. Is her podaegi stretchy at all? The pictures almost look like it is a waffle material like those aden & anais muslin baby blankets.

BrownFamily said...

It's not really stretchy..I'm not much of a fabric expert but I'd say it's more like a quilt material. It's neat because I'd never even thought about wearing my girls and seeing her wear them got me thinking about it :)

Lindsay said...

YAY! I love my woven wrap. It is my favourite thing that I have purchased for Henry. So I guess I am one of those women who really, really love them! lol. I also get those comments and I just say that I am pretty sure fabric has been around for a while ;) haha.