Tag Archives: babywearing

Funki Flamingo *Review

Posted in Babywearing by


I love to babywear and luckily for me my babies love to be worn (well carried but you know what I mean). It really helped me to develop a bond with baby boy when he was newborn and I carried him whenever I could. If he was ever unsettled I would just put him in one of our wraps and within a few minutes he would relax. When baby boy reached the age of about 20 months however he stopped wanting ‘ups’. I was gutted. Luckily though I was pregnant with baby girl and so I knew that I didn’t have long to wait until I had another little squish whom I could carry around to my hearts content.

Now I’m not one for sticking to just one baby carrier. We have a large variety in our house. You never know which type of carrier will come in handy; ring sling for quick up and downs, structured carrier for longer trips, woven wrap for everyday. However, for the newborn stage and first few months the only carrier I like to use is a stretchy wrap. I had a moby wrap for baby boy which I was going to use again for baby girl but I happened to see a Facebook post from an American company who were moving into the UK market. Funki Flamingo were looking for people to try their stretchy wrap! I jumped at the chance.

I couldn’t wait to try it out when it arrived but I still had a way to go before baby girl was due. A brand new stretchy wrap was sat there staring at me and I had no baby to wrap. Well what was a girl to do? Bribe the toddler of course! In a ‘very bad Mummy’ moment, I promised him chocolate in return for cuddles in the wrap. It worked and a few minutes later he was snuggled up to me, securely held in the funki flamingo. Now he is small for his age but he’s not exactly tiny so I was shocked at how supportive this wrap was. If he hadn’t wanted to get down after only 5 minutes I think that I could have carried him around for a good hour if not more in this stretchy. If it felt this good carrying a toddler then I was very excited to carry a newborn.

It was a few weeks before I could put baby girl in the funki flamingo after she was born. A Caesarean section meant that I was too sore to carry her to begin with but once I felt able I went for a little walk with baby girl in the wrap. It was bliss! The fabric was smooth and soft and had just the right amount of stretch to it. Baby girl was instantly weightless and I could have carried her all day long. Some stretchy wraps are very wide but the funki flamingo is narrower than most. I see this as a good thing because it means that I didn’t have to fold it in half and therefore add an extra layer to the wrap. It made it much easier to keep baby girl at the correct temperature. Wrapping with the funki flamingo was and still is easy. The fabric glides over your shoulders and tightens really nicely. I have never had a problem with it sagging halfway through wearing and so unlike with some stretchies, I have never had to readjust it. The neutral colour means that Mr K is happy to wear it, although he still prefers a structured carrier as he hasn’t got the patience for wrapping. Despite this I would still love to see a range of colours. A bright pink one would suit me! When you are not using it it has its own little fabric, drawstring bag to keep it in. This saves room and keeps it from getting dirty. It is a little bit like wrestling a crocodile trying to get it in though. You have to roll the wrap very tightly.

Baby girl is now 7 months old and I still carry her in the funki flamingo wrap. It is still extremely comfy and I can honestly say that I will probably still be able to use it when she is well over the age of 1.

Have you tried the funki flamingo wrap? What are your thoughts?

I was given this wrap in exchange for an honest review on Amazon. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Love to wrap – babywearing at its best!

Posted in Babywearing by

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I have loved babywearing since baby boy was tiny, using a stretchy wrap, woven wrap and semi structured buckled carrier. I enjoy carrying with all of them but recently I have found that wrapping is my favourite way of carrying. I think the reason is that we have started to work on back carries.

I still enjoy front carries with baby boy snuggled against me. If he is struggling to sleep in the day I know that I can pop him in a front carry in the wrap and he will quickly nod off. However despite being small for his age he is getting heavier and so I decided that it was time to bite the bullet and get to grips with back carrying.

I had intended to go along to my local sling group but unfortunately couldn’t make it to the recent meet. I am fully intending to go to the next one! I had no choice but to watch a few tutorials on YouTube and just basically have a go. The first few attempts were a disaster but very slowly I started to get the hang of it. I still need a lot of practise to get it perfect and I want to learn some better carries (I can only do the most basic) but I am happy that my wrapping ability is improving. I even managed to walk half an hour to a relative’s house on New Year’s Day with baby boy in a back carry. I was very pleased with myself.

I just hope that my love of babywearing doesn’t turn into an addiction like my love of cloth nappies. I already have a stretchy wrap (soon to go on loan), two woven wraps, a ring sling and an ergo. I think that is enough – for now!

Do you love to babywear? What is your favourite carry?

Babywearing – how I came to love it!

Posted in Babywearing by

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It seems as though babywearing is the new parenting trend. Gwen Stefani is rarely spotted without her Ergo baby carrier and even Peter Andre was spotted with a baby bjorn (albeit with bad positioning).

“Babywearing” simply means holding or carrying a baby or young child using a cloth baby carrier. Holding babies is natural and universal; baby carriers make it easier and more comfortable, allowing parents and caregivers to hold or carry their children while attending to the daily tasks of living.          http://www.babywearinginternational.org

Whilst pregnant I joined an online forum to discuss all things pregnancy. A number of experienced Mums extolled the benefits of babywearing. Not only did it leave Mums with free hands to get things done but apparently it resulted in calm, happy children, they explained. I was intrigued and so decided to find out more. I discovered that babywearing has been practised for centuries all around the world. Reading that carried babies often cry less, develop better and learn to be more confident in social situations was an interesting concept. I thought that I would give it a go, at least some of the time anyway.

During my research I came across what seemed like thousands of different slings each claiming to be the most supportive and comfortable and ranging from cheaply priced to ‘oh my goodness, I need a loan to buy that’! I eventually decided on a Moby wrap which is in essence a long piece of stretchy, jersey fabric. It came with good reviews online and despite looking extremely difficult to tie I was excited to use it. To learn how to put it on I watched many YouTube videos, one of the best being a tutorial by NaturallyThriftyMom How To: Moby Wrap Newborn Hug Hold, who gives step by step instructions using her own child in the demo. Obviously I practised using a cabbage patch doll and although I felt reasonably confident that I could tie it safely, I was a little hesitant to think that soon I would be using it with a real live baby!

That first month after baby boy was born I didn’t even consider babywearing. The pain from the caesarean was still there and I didn’t want to risk anything pressing against my scar. One night though baby boy just wouldn’t settle. He just didn’t seem to know what to do with himself and Mr K and I were quickly running out of ideas. I decided to try the Moby. It took me while to get it on and tied correctly but within seconds of baby boy being put in, held close to my chest, he stopped crying. It was a miracle. Within minutes he was asleep! Over the next few months the Moby became my go to accessory. I used it around the house, for walks to the shop and even used it to carry baby boy around The Baby and Toddler Show. We received mixed comments. A lot of people had never seen a stretchy wrap before and were intrigued, asking how it worked and was it complicated. Other people dismissed it straight away saying that they wouldn’t have the time or patience to put it on. A small number of people told me that I would spoil baby boy by carrying him too much! What nonsense!

I recently acquired 2 more carriers, a woven wrap and an Ergo (which I believe to be fake but that’s another story). The woven wrap is pretty much the same as the Moby except that it is made from a stronger, non stretchy material to enable me to carry baby boy as he gets heavier. The Ergo is what is called a soft structured carrier. It is done up using buckles and so is quicker and easier to put on. The Ergo is Mr K’s favourite whilst I love the brightly coloured woven wrap.

As baby boy grows I will need to learn how to do back carries to ensure comfort for both of us and despite YouTube having a number of videos for this, I think that I will need to visit my local babywearing group for guidance. For anyone considering babywearing I would seriously suggest looking online to see if you have a sling library/babywearing group in your local area as they can offer advice and support as well as allowing you to try different slings and carriers to determine which ones suit you and your child.

Mr K and I only tend to babywear now when out and about but the benefits are still numerous and I look forward to carrying for a good while yet.

Do you babywear? Which carrier do you use?

 

image credit- http://aajdaafrin.blogspot.com/