babywearing journey

i first found out about the beauty of babywearing from Farrah. i first found her blog through my friend Ieta, who was googleing for more information on delivery (she delivered a couple of months earlier than me) when she stumbled across Farrah's blog. haha. and it became a keeper since.

the only thought i had in my mind at the time was that babywearing would be a good way to keep my hands free while getting around with my daughter. i wouldn't have to deal with bulky strollers. i wouldn't have to carry her in my arms until my arms feel like breaking off. i wouldn't have to rely on others to look after my baby. so this is my babywearing journey.

starting off with pouches =).

my first baby carrier was Joanne's Littlepods pouch. i was a newbie at the time, so i hentam beli a Size L dusty rose LP (the store owner suggested sizing up), which turned out to be humungous (duhh) so i had it exchanged for a Size S navy blue. i wanted a pouch in red, but being small sized, you can't be choosy. i found out much later after attending a swap meet at Tiny Tapir in January that the size i bought was still big for me (thanks Ray!). i first learned how to do kangaroo carry at the meet =D. i joined the mbw forums not long after that to find out more about babywearing.

kangaroo carry at TT

i bought a Hotslings too, Everyday in NYC. i didn't really plan to get this one. but i sold off my Littlepods to a great mama and i was thinking that i might need a pouch to come in handy someday. my friend Sarah wanted to buy CDs overseas so i thought i'd tumpang along her purchase =P. Molina was having a sale for Hotslings at the time but she didn't have the pattern that i liked. unfortunately for me (again) Hotslings in Size 1 is still big for me (i. want. to. scream.) but instead of selling it off, i'm thinking of having someone resize it for me. i have yet to send it off to someone for tailoring, lol.

next... moving on to ringslings!

Syaz held a clearance sale earlier this year for her Jumpsac label and i was itching to try out a ringsling without burning a gigantic hole in my pocket. so i bought myself an earthy brown linen RS with pink rings to try. i wanted one in white but Farrah clicked wayy faster than me =P. turned out i loved ring slings better than pouches. it was adjustable and way easier to learn how to use, in my opinion. i still haven't mastered the hip carry for both carriers. i had the RS returned to Syaz to shorten the tail and resize the zippered pocket. so far, apart from the color, i loved everything about the ringsling.

syaz's jumpsac in earth linen

i met up with Syaz the day mazaa bought her Ellaroo Kristen, and wloo bought Vat Koira =P. Syaz let me try out her Girasol Chococabana SBP RS for a couple of weeks. it was like a wrap + RS combo. at the time i wasn't really impressed with wraps, it looked too tedious to use @@. since she was looking for a buyer for her RS, i though i'd have a go at it. and looked who turned out to be the potential victim T_T. the maid didn't prefer the RS though. she preferred the pouch since you didn't need to adjust anything.

i was so excited over ring slings that i bought an Ulli SBP RS, my first purchase off fsot. i love the Storch's pinkish + reddish tones, and i had no regrets buying this. i was stupid enough to buy another FG SBP RS online on a whim, which i am currently offering it up for sale because i don't like the colorway (i'm not a deep purple fan).

moving on to MTs =P.

my first MT purchase was actually Aidafiq's original MT. i bought this in December last year without even doing enough research. i only knew at the time that MTs was the in thing to get (what a stupid reason to buy, hahaha). all of Aida's creations were instantly snapped up the moment they were posted, so i thought i wanted one for myself too, lol. the thing is, i've kept it in my drawer ever since it reached my home and have not even used it once outside the house (except to try it on for the very first time for action photos). i guess at the time i wasn't much of an MT fan. i'm having that one up for sale too, for anyone interested in trying out MT at a cheaper rate than the firsthand. apart from Aida, Liza and Farid were selling their own brand of MT too, Snuggbaby and Mei's Mei Tai respectively.

so... fast forward a few months. after seeing Aida's delightful Storch OMT discovery at a car boot sale, and also seeing Syaz's lovely Chococabana OMT, i decided one day after a couple of weeks browsing fsot that i wanted one too. Dayana was already getting heavier and sooner or later one-shouldered carriers will leave me with shoulder-ache. but the ready made ones online were crazily expensive. so i contacted Shannan of OMT and asked her if i could have her make one for me. i just needed to get a wrap for her to convert and provide her with measurements. which i did, i bought a Didymos violet waves off fsot and less than a month later, a package arrived at my mom's house =D. hope to put it to use it this weekend *good vibes*.

Shannan's OMT in violet waves

now... how i entangled myself in... wraps.

another type of baby carrier that i didn't dream of getting myself tangled with are wraps. i find this to have the highest learning curve. pusing sana sini and voila! (voila my foot). i was around when mazaa bought her first wrap from Syaz. my first impression was that i would be sweeping the floor more than actually wrapping my baby, lol. but wraps came in lots of beautiful colors. which is why i turned to slingified wraps =P (i got to try out wraps without having to wrap! haha). just for the sake of trying out wrapping, i temp traded my Fresh Grapes with Syaz for her DIY wrap. turned out to be bloody long for me though. but i managed to attempt an FWCC, thanks to a very helpful babywearing website (some mamas first attempt was back carry, which i am amazingly amazed, hehe).

all of a sudden everyone started to go crazy over wraps, even the newbie mothers on mbw have gone slightly mad. i guess it's the current phase. and you know la me, pantang orang suka, i also sibuk wanna suka too. i am easily influenced (previously it was CD, then TRs - don't ask!). anyway, i managed to get an Ellaroo Claudia on fsot. i wanted Christiane, but i couldn't find one that was selling at a decent price. turns out i like Claudia's colors - red, i likey!. it measures at about 3.5m, a bit too short for my liking though. i could still manage a tight FWCC with it. if i'm not wrapping i'm sleeping with it, it makes a good snuggle blankey. lol.

my affair with Claudia

i decided that i wanted to try an indio after asking 1000 questions to hani (thanks hani!), she has a travelling didy seeing the world at the moment and i've read raves that linen indios are really soft and yummy. so off i went to hunt fsot =P. i wanted to get a Lago but there weren't many for sale. i finally settled with a mandarin linen (which apparently was the same kind as hani's didy). it's now residing at Houston with a good friend until she comes back to Malaysia for raya (hi good friend, muaks... pst, jgn bocor rahsia ok! =P).

frequently stalking fsot resulted in understanding more about wrapping - the material, the brands, the colors, the gradations, the mystical pamir (!), etc cetera. the good thing with these wraps is that if i don't like it, there will always be a mama out there who will gladly relief the item off your hands (too bad the same thing can't be said for the items that i'm having up for sale at the moment, huhu). i have a bunch of ISOs at the moment due to my color indecisiveness =P but i think i should see first if i really love wrapping or not =P. later jadi hot hot chicken shyte again!

is this the last? ssc.

the last carrier i forsee i will go crazy over in the future is an SSC. but not at the moment.my daughter is still at a reasonable weight to be carried, and SSCs are expensive, so i can hold this one off for now =P.

so what do i have now in my stash?
-> 1 hotsling - nyc i want joanne's xs Littlepods!
-> 3 RS - jumpsac's linen, ulli storch, soon-to-be choco giras (soon ok!)
-> 2 wraps - claudia, mandarin on the way lilly, enough already!

for sale:
-> 1 Aidafiqs MT (rm95)
-> 1 violet waves OMT (170usd)
-> 1 Fresh Grapes RS (82usd)

ok. that's it for now. you should've seen some of the stashes, some mamas own up to more than 15 wraps! one to match every outfit, i expect. in a way i am lucky i am partially color blind. i might get every color of the rainbow i wasn't. my daughter is One at the end of the month. i hope she'll allow me to wear her as long as it takes (she already weaned herself off, long before i was ready to let go ;(... )

mind you, this is an entry to remind me of my babywearing journey and how dangerous it can be to go crazy over babywearing. it's a reminder to me to not go overboard the next time the babywearing bug hits me (or any bug pertaining to babies, for that matter!). oh and i hope i don't get labelled as a babywearing collector freak. huhu.

but it's fun to share. and i don't care if anyone says that babywearing is equivalent to having a third boob. you should try going shopping with a not-yet-walking baby all by yourself without any form of baby carrier (including a stroller ok, don't cheat) and see how long you can last with just your two bare hands. i've tried it. and i'm happy that there's such a thing as babywearing =).