I have a pretty small stash by babywearing addict standards - more than 20, but not by much. Still, it would be nice to have a better storage solution than bags in the spare cupboard, or leaving them lying around the house and car. The keys to sling storage are holding in straps that want to escape, and visibility. I don’t want to be opening drawers at random when I’m searching for a specific sling in a hurry, and I tend to forget I have other beautiful slings when I can’t see them.

Here’s some ideas for small storage solutions to go in the spare cupboard:

Left: Clear storage bins from IKEA - the angled lid at the front means you can reach in and grab slings when the containers are stacked on top of each other.

Middle: Storage boxes with clear windows on the front from IKEA - the only downside is that I have different sling types that are very similar colours (eg green ring slings and green mei tais, or blue long wraps and blue shortie wraps).

Right: Hanging storage from IKEA - hang it in the wardrobe where sticky toddler hands can’t easily rearrange your wraps.

And if I had the budget, here’s some ideas for larger storage furniture pieces:

Left: Glass-front cabinet from IKEA

Middle: Shelves from Fantastic Furniture - great for storing carriers in the kids bedroom, and you can write on the front what’s inside

Right: Ladder shelf from IKEA - you could also use an actual ladder - shock! Yes, it is possible to use things for something other than their originally intended purpose, like babywearers who co-opt tablecloths as shortie wraps…

And finally, a lockable cabinet for those who are lucky enough to have a stash that includes a long wrap handwoven on a hundred year old loom in Eastern Europe. If you’ve spent your budget on slings and can’t stretch it to the IKEA version shown above, you can pick up a cheaper, boring grey version from the ex-government warehouse and paint it in whatever shade of enamel rocks your boat.

So what do you like? Or do you already have your own perfect sling storage solution?

I posted a few weeks ago about our short trip to hospital this month and thought you could all use an update. Firstly, the procedure went well and our results were what we were hoping for. Baby girl is on a specific diet and all her symptoms are clearing up. Turns out, babywearing wasn’t the cure for her insanely high needs, but it did help! (OK, so she’s still very intense, but she’s much better now :))

We had some positive and negative experiences at the hospital while babywearing and this information is probably useful, so here’s our experience: I decided to take a short wrap and a pair of slingrings with me for our day trip. I’m very proficient with short wraps, but I do like to breastfeed hands free in a ring sling, so I thought this would cover me well for back, front, hip and breastfeeding carries.

Actually, instead of my streamlined approach, I wish I’d gone a little overboard and brought another carrier. Since A. needed to go under a general anaesthetic for her procedure, she was fasting for an extended period. A fasting baby smooshed up against lactating breasts isn’t conducive to calm behaviour! My intention here was to ruck (under bum or tie in front), but unfortunately, this isn’t the best back carry for a vigorously protesting child (read: tantrum). Short wraps do have some pretty wiggle-proof options like the strap carry and the short cross carry, however the former isn’t great for snuggling and sleeping, while the latter isn’t so quick to tie on a resistant child. What I really wanted was a wrap long enough to SHBC (or a mei tai!). In the end, I had to make do with front and hip carries to avoid a babywearing accident in a back carry and that wasn’t conducive to settling her quickly.

I also found that my no-sew ring sling idea wasn’t the best option under the circumstances. I spent a great deal of time popping my wearee in and out and these kinds of ring slings have a tendency to twist easily. They’re fine once you’ve got them settled, but take longer than a standard ring sling.

Once I got it settled, I found a ring sling (albeit a no-sew variety) was great for settling a child coming out of her anaesthetic. Wrapped up by the nursing staff like a baby burrito, she was popped into a cradle carry and the requisite monitor was easily accomodated. She slept off the drugs, woke up and demanded milk. After that, she woke up some more and demanded food. From that point, it was obvious she was back to her old self in record time.

Although babywearing was ultimately a very positive part of our hospital experience (and well regarded by the staff), I would do things differently next time. I’d accept from the outset that some carriers do different things better than others and that, even though we were only in hospital for a very short time, it wouldn’t have killed me to have another carrier on the day. Or two. Three at the outside

Have you worn your child in hospital? What was your experience? Leave a comment and let us know!

Unless you’re a mum who’s been under a rock for the last few months, you’ve probably heard that there was a huge Homebirth Australia rally in Canberra on Monday 7 September. As the ACT Branch President of Maternity Coalition, and being the organiser of the Australian Breastfeeding Association’s baby feed & change tent, I was there for the duration of the event. Unlike your average protest rally, this rally turned out to be the biggest mother’s group meeting ever, with homebirth as the special topic of the day. And it was one mega sling meet! Here’s some of the cool stuff I saw - minus brand names as this wasn’t a brand-spotting exercise so much as a celebration of the vast variety of babywearing styles:

• Mei tais in a million different prints - my faves were the retro 1970’s style prints, and a funky green stripe with cream straps that I’m pretty sure is made from organic cotton in a fair trade workplace.
• An embroidered SSC (soft structured carrier). The lady wearing it said she got it direct from the USA as it’s not yet available from Australian retailers (although as I’m a retailer of the brand myself,  I know it will be available soon).
• My friend Kate was wearing baby Nell on her back in the grooviest shade of purple I’ve seen in a while (and I’m not a big fan of purple, so that’s saying something!).
• Seeing a lady successfully breastfeeding her older baby in an SSC while standing and chatting with friends, totally looking like she wasn’t multi-tasking
• All manner of protest signs pinned onto mei tai feature panels.
• A very cool coat with extra zip panel to fit the slingling in - a great choice on a cold, rainy Canberra day.
• A mum with her baby on the front in a stretchy wrap, and toddler on the back in a mei tai.

Seeing so many happy babies was wonderful. It was cold, raining, many people had travelled across country (flying from Perth, Darwin or Brisbane, driving from Sydney, catching buses from Melbourne and more) to be there. It was exactly the place you’d expect a small child to lose their patience and have a major meltdown. But I kid you not, I saw only a few babies crying despite the crowd numbering between 2,000 and 4,000 (depending on who your source is). Slings kept them warm and comforted, and when they got overstimulated and overtired they could just tuck their head onto mum’s chest and have a nap. A truly beautiful experience.

Thanks to Jess, who always puts a smile on our faces. What’s been your most glamourous babywearing moment?

You may have noticed, this blog has been a bit quiet. I’ve dropped the ball on this one, but I know you’ve all forgiven me already. Things have been a little tough around here lately.

My little one is not 100% well. She’s not nearly as ill as some of the BCD babies have been in the past (their stories are here and here), for which I’m very grateful. But we’ve been taking steps to make life better for her.

She’s going to have a (very minor) procedure done in hospital sometime this month. Of course, the first thing I thought was what am I going to wear her in? Because if she’s naked in hospital- meh, it’s not like there’ll be ice on the walls. But there’s no way I’m walking in there without a carrier of some kind, that’d be… not me. I’m perfectly capable of forgetting clothes, nappies, the day of the week. But not a carrier. Ever.

So I’m opening the floor. What would you take to wear a 12-month-old in for a day procedure where she’ll be under general anaesthetic? I’ve had some ideas, but I’d value yours.

(For those of you who are concerned about A., she’s fine her usual self. There’s nothing seriously amiss at this stage, but we’re going to make sure it stays that way Thanks to Lara for a beautiful photo.)

It’s probably time for an update on my high needs cherub. As I blogged about awhile ago, I’ve been spending the last couple of weeks wearing her as consistently as possible and as often as practicable. The theory was that it would offer her enough security to help her move through this permanent state of mindblowing neediness stage.  She’s been worn daily, coslept and breastfed on demand since birth, but something told me that perhaps it wasn’t enough physical attachment to me for this child to be fully secure. So I stepped it up.

It’s working. I think.

She’s not a suddenly altered personality, she’s still (very much) a high needs kiddo, but something tells me we’re on the way up. We’ve also been working on helping her trust her Dad to put her (gently) to sleep and she’s turned a corner there too. It may not have anything to do with babywearing,  it may be the natural shift in her development. At least it’s made me feel like I was doing something to help! She’s still anxious if I am around, but not actively engaged with her, but babywearing helps with that one way or another.

She’s 11 months old and the smiles I catch in the mirror as we pass by (or stop and make faces) make me want to wear her forever. I think we’ll keep this up. Just in case.

What worked for your high needs baby? Leave a comment and let us know.