The Snarky Momma occasionally (okay, sometimes) reviews products on her review blog related to parenting, domestic goddess-try, and personal care. Her opinions are honest, based on her own experiences, and will be published even if she does not find the product satisfactory. She will always disclose how she got a product and whether she was compensated to talk about it. If you want to send her a product, contact her via email at tiffany [at] snarkymomma [dot] com.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Baby as Accessory
We didn’t do a lot of babywearing with Rosco. He was kinda heavy and most of the time the stroller was easier to use. Every now and then we’d go somewhere that strollers were hard to navigate in, such as the pumpkin farm, and would strap him into the carrier then. He was an absolute back killer. I think part of that blame is due to contraptions like the Snugli, though. It doesn’t distribute weight all that well (at least as far as my back was concerned; Scott’s mileage may have varied).
With Em, I knew I’d need to do something different as far as carrying goes. Rosco needs pretty consistent management (‘cause he’s sneaky and kinda destructive), and I can’t set Em down somewhere without risking her being carried off by the cats. I can’t just sit here and hold her all day, as cute as she is, so if I plan on getting anything done she has to be worn some.
While I was pregnant I researched different products that would allow me to wear Em without breaking down my back, and that lead me to things like Mei Tais, ring slings, pouches, and wraps. I focused in on the Moby Wrap because it’s one-size-fits all, the amount of fabric ensures a more even weight distribution, you can breastfeed while wearing it, and because it doesn’t have any seams or fasteners. You can position your baby in several different holds and it doesn’t look completely crazy when you wear it without a kid inside.
I ordered a hot pink one and it arrived Wednesday. Yesterday I took it out of the package and washed it per the recommendation. Was a bit skeptical here - the thing is really. Really. Long. Like, longer than our station wagon long.
While Em took her afternoon nap I practiced wrapping and tying it using the handy dandy instruction booklet that came with it. It takes some doing to get it flat and snug against your body, but once you’ve done it once or twice you’ve basically got the maneuver memorized.
The hard part is getting the baby into the pockets you’ve made.
I was pleasantly surprised by how secure Em felt in it. If you load the baby in properly it’s a hands-free device. The problems I’m encountering, though, are that Em doesn’t like having her head inside the wrap and that she won’t tolerate it at ALL if her diaper is wet. And, well, she’s a non-stop pisser, so when ISN’T her diaper wet?
She did take a pretty good nap in it last night, though, so this may simply require some practice. Really she has no choice but to be worn, though. I’ve been holding her for the past two hours or so in my arms because she can’t nap and it’s taken me that long to type this post out. I can’t make lunch until I put her down (I don’t want to put her in the sling for her long nap because it’ll limit how active I can be). Hopefully she’ll take it in stride and keep her expressions of displeasure to a minimum when she has to go in this evening.
I loved loved loved the Moby early on. Lifesaver. I transitioned to using a strip of muslin fabric from the fabric store (super cheap) when she started getting too heavy and I learned a few back carries from youtube. Man the modern era is *awesome*.
It really is comfortable. That extra fabric really does make a difference on the shoulders. Of course, my kid isn’t a whopping 20-pounds yet, so we’ll see what it does to my back in the coming months.
Baby as Accessory
We didn’t do a lot of babywearing with Rosco. He was kinda heavy and most of the time the stroller was easier to use. Every now and then we’d go somewhere that strollers were hard to navigate in, such as the pumpkin farm, and would strap him into the carrier then. He was an absolute back killer. I think part of that blame is due to contraptions like the Snugli, though. It doesn’t distribute weight all that well (at least as far as my back was concerned; Scott’s mileage may have varied).
With Em, I knew I’d need to do something different as far as carrying goes. Rosco needs pretty consistent management (‘cause he’s sneaky and kinda destructive), and I can’t set Em down somewhere without risking her being carried off by the cats. I can’t just sit here and hold her all day, as cute as she is, so if I plan on getting anything done she has to be worn some.
While I was pregnant I researched different products that would allow me to wear Em without breaking down my back, and that lead me to things like Mei Tais, ring slings, pouches, and wraps. I focused in on the Moby Wrap because it’s one-size-fits all, the amount of fabric ensures a more even weight distribution, you can breastfeed while wearing it, and because it doesn’t have any seams or fasteners. You can position your baby in several different holds and it doesn’t look completely crazy when you wear it without a kid inside.
I ordered a hot pink one and it arrived Wednesday. Yesterday I took it out of the package and washed it per the recommendation. Was a bit skeptical here - the thing is really. Really. Long. Like, longer than our station wagon long.
While Em took her afternoon nap I practiced wrapping and tying it using the handy dandy instruction booklet that came with it. It takes some doing to get it flat and snug against your body, but once you’ve done it once or twice you’ve basically got the maneuver memorized.
The hard part is getting the baby into the pockets you’ve made.
I was pleasantly surprised by how secure Em felt in it. If you load the baby in properly it’s a hands-free device. The problems I’m encountering, though, are that Em doesn’t like having her head inside the wrap and that she won’t tolerate it at ALL if her diaper is wet. And, well, she’s a non-stop pisser, so when ISN’T her diaper wet?
She did take a pretty good nap in it last night, though, so this may simply require some practice. Really she has no choice but to be worn, though. I’ve been holding her for the past two hours or so in my arms because she can’t nap and it’s taken me that long to type this post out. I can’t make lunch until I put her down (I don’t want to put her in the sling for her long nap because it’ll limit how active I can be). Hopefully she’ll take it in stride and keep her expressions of displeasure to a minimum when she has to go in this evening.
Posted by Tiffany on 07/23 at 10:30 AM
_______________________________________________________________I loved loved loved the Moby early on. Lifesaver. I transitioned to using a strip of muslin fabric from the fabric store (super cheap) when she started getting too heavy and I learned a few back carries from youtube. Man the modern era is *awesome*.
Posted by Krissy on 07/23 at 12:54 PM
***It really is comfortable. That extra fabric really does make a difference on the shoulders. Of course, my kid isn’t a whopping 20-pounds yet, so we’ll see what it does to my back in the coming months.
Posted by Tiffany on 07/24 at 10:27 AM
***I like it
Posted by Keya on 07/24 at 11:55 PM
***shes gorgeous, she looks sooo alert or a newborn!!!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/25 at 11:52 AM
***