Preparing for Babe – A Sling of Their Own

We are avid babywearers around here. Still finding ourselves, from time-to-time, wearing Ewan. For vacuuming. For a little closeness when the stress of the day is too much. For calming down before naps. We have many carriers, which I’ve talked about before, but it seemed that this new one deserved a new, special carrier (or two or three) of their own.

First on the list was a ring sling. You see, Ewan is rather attached to his. We still use it with him on a daily basis and he often snuggles with it during his naps. I knew this would be one thing that I couldn’t ask him to share. The sling is his.

We thought for awhile about buying another Maya Wrap Ring Sling. It’s been a fave and it’s worked well for us, but given my recent surge of making (and the near $70 price tag for a duplicate sling) I decided, instead, to set off and make my own.

For the most part I like the design of the Maya Wrap, but knew that if I was going to make my own I wanted to modify a few things.

I wanted a larger padded shoulder that would fit my shoulder better and provide a little more support.

Done!

I wanted a wider sling width than the standard 34 inches in the Maya Wrap to provide more support and help with discreet nursing.

Done! Mine is about 38 inches.

I wanted pretty, symmetrical pleats. A detail that only someone as anal as me would find important.

Done!

I wanted the pocket, for keys and other small essentials, but I wanted it in a cute print.

Done!

And, I wanted it before the baby came. Fabric was ordered a week ago today. It was delivered on Monday. The sling was finished yesterday and, despite being 39 weeks!!!, the babe still isn’t here.

Done!

But now, seriously, you can come little one. Your diapers are washed and ready, your clothes are too, your family is eager to meet you, and now you have a sling all your own. Today would work for me…

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An Unlikely Lovey

We’ve been in a sort of temperature battle around here. I’m on the side of keeping things chilly, putting on extra layers. First of all, we have a big space and we’re paying to heat it now (I’m a not-so-closet-cheapskate). Second, well, I have this little incinerator growing in my belly and I run hot. Third, well, it’s good for the Earth, right?!

Unfortunately, the two boys I happen to live with aren’t closet-cheapskates and they don’t run nearly so hot as I do. Though I think they do love the Earth.

Even with my strict temperature regimen (62 during the day and 52 at night), I’m often a little warm and flushed. Aaron and Ewan, on the other hand, are frequently bundled and still a bit chilly. During the day we have been managing, but nighttime was a struggle.

Even with flannel footy pajamas, Ewan was still a bit chilly. He hates sleeping with covers. Kicks them off and wakes up all ornery if you try to cover him up. No good. He would seek heat by snuggling in, but he could only get so close and he was still a bit too cool to sleep comfortably.

Enter the fleece sleep suit.

It keeps him warm and keeps him from waking at night because he is too chilly. There are still a million other reasons he wakes at night, yes we’re still fighting that battle, but at least we’ve eliminated one of them.

While I expected that the suit would work to keep him warm, I didn’t expect him to get so attached to it.

I’ve posted, previously, about the fact that Ewan doesn’t have a lovey and that was, partly, by design. Loveys are easy to lose and, when cosleeping, they really aren’t necessary. Parents are loveys.

I thought we were golden. At almost two years old without an attachment item in sight, I thought we had passed that stage. Wrong!

Ewan decided. His sleep suit is his lovey. He loves it. He is eager to put it on at night, reluctant to get out of it in the morning, and won’t go to sleep without it at nap time. While he doesn’t get all suited up for his nap, he has to snuggle it. If we forget, he cries out, “suit,” in the smallest, most pathetic little voice he can muster.

For now we only have the one, I’ve been thinking that it might be a good idea to pick up a spare, just in case. I’m not sure how long this attachment will last, or what we’ll do when the suit just doesn’t fit (or when spring comes and the suit becomes massive overkill). I suppose we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

For now, his suit is his lovey but I like to think that Aaron and I are as well. He has three. Lucky little man.

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My Seven

Welcome to the May Carnival of Natural Parenting: Role model

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have waxed poetic about how their parenting has inspired others, or how others have inspired them. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

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The carnival topic this month is a tough one for me. Because, when it comes to parenting, I’m not sure that I’ve inspired anyone. If I have, I don’t now, nor may I ever know.

As nice as it would be, it isn’t everyday that someone walks up and says, “Wow! You really inspire me.” But, maybe it should. Maybe we should let people know that they inspire us. Maybe we should toot their horns and give credit where credit is due. Now that I think about it, yes, we should.

With that in mind, I’d like to take a moment to share a few of the people that have inspired me on my parenting journey. The people that have helped me to become the natural parenting mama that I am today.

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Babywearing Week

There’s a babywearing celebration going on over at the Lusa Organics blog! And I’m so glad that I got to take part. One of our photos is here, and an essay I wrote is here. Check it out and spread the word. Babywearing is safe and fun!

To celebrate along in this space, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite babywearing photos to highlight all the good times we’ve had babywearing and to share our babywearing collection.

Baby K’tan

Beco Baby Carrier

Rockin’ Baby Sling

Maya Wrap Padded Ring Sling

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Knocked Down

Built

Some days I feel like I spend all my time building towers, only to have them knocked down.

Crushed

Right now we have been struggling with a 10-month old babe who, for some reason unbeknownst to us, is having trouble sleeping. For the past few weeks he has been waking an average of 4-6 times per night, needing something. Milk, diaper changes, snuggles, sling. We have exhausted our bag of tricks and we are still exhausted. Still struggling. Still searching for answers. Still coming up empty. A trip to the pediatrician, to rule out medical causes, is necessary I think.

The trouble with sleep, specifically infant sleep, is that it seems that everyone has an opinion about it and a strong one. Mentioning it, especially the lack of it, is bound to bring forth a slew of advice, some helpful, some interesting, some so-not. Sleep seems to be one of those polarizing topics and dealing with it, and helping your babe and family get more of it, should almost be on the list of things not to talk about in mixed company – religion, money, politics, sleep.

Where we stand. Well, like it or not, we jumped into this parenting gig with two feet. Ready to parent around the clock. If our babe has needs during the day we are eager to meet them, ready to offer food, nursing, a companion, a snuggle buddy, a friend, a playmate. The same is true after the sun has set. While we may not be quite so eager at 3am we are still there, ready to do what we can, to meet his needs in the best ways we know how. But, that’s just it, we don’t always know how, do we.

Last night, as I walked Ewan around in circles in the living room, hoping, desperately, that he would let go and succumb to slumber, I was doing some searches on the internet, trying to find answers to several weeks of sleep woes. After just a few minutes reading desperate message board postings, followed by countless responses advocating letting the baby cry-it-out, I put away my iphone needing to shut out that advice and focus on what was at stake here.

Sure, I wasn’t sleeping and I knew I would need an extra cup of coffee today, but I also knew that the advice I was finding, the purported magic bullet that had the potential to solve all of our struggles, isn’t for me. It isn’t for us (and it isn’t for others, as well).

Bring on the coffee. Bring on the naps and earlier bedtimes. I’ll gladly do that so that I can walk my babe around in circles at night, so that he doesn’t have to cry alone.

In the meantime, we’re seeing the doctor tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll find an answer, or we’ll find that this is just a phase, one that we know will pass. After all, it is a rare child that still needs to be walked in the sling when they go away to college.

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