SewFunky Handwoven Ring Sling

When I first became interested in handwoven carriers, I was trying to reign myself in by only purchasing budget options. One of the first handwoven carriers I ever purchased was a SewFunky handwoven ring sling with a pleated shoulder in a rainbow colour pattern. I bought it directly from SewFunky, and Tanja allowed me to choose my ring colour preference.

Shipping was lightning fast (I think she has an in with Canada Post), and I was so excited to receive this beauty. My first impression was how beautiful the colours were together. The rainbow was bright and vibrant. The material was a bit stiff, so I washed it first thing. It came out substantially softer, but had to be worn often for a week or so before I found it anywhere near soft.

The weaving was a bit thicker than other budget handwoven brands such as Girasol, but this led to a great texture for a ring sling, as it tightened and stayed put easily.

I found this sling plenty supportive for my then six month old, and perfectly comfortable for short trips with my two year old as well.
Overall, I thought this ring sling was amazing for the price, and only moved it along when the collection got out of control.

Action shot with my giant two year old

The Verdict:

Pros: Affordable, Canadian converter and seller, beautiful, handwoven

Cons: Took a bit to break it in

Recommendation: I would recommend this ring sling to anyone who is looking for an affordable and beautiful ring sling and doesn't mind taking the time to break it in.

Stashification

I have been trying to stop churning carriers to enjoy what I have and make memories in them. I am lucky that we have a really great local group of parents who I can do temporary trades with and am fortunate that I am able to have babywearing as both a hobby and a parenting tool. That being said, I don't want to devote too much time to looking at and chatting about carriers, and I really want them to be more about the function than the hobby. I try to be a good, present, parent, and find that being online makes for a large distraction away from nursing, nap times etc... when I could be doing other things.

Why am I telling you this? Well... I just found out that we are expecting baby #3! I am so excited to have another child, and with that I have been reflecting on some of the choices I have made with my first two children. I don't want to be acquiring more things for this baby. Between carriers, cloth diapers, and clothing I truly have everything we will need (unless I need to splice some pink and purple into the mix). I don't want to spend as much time on the computer either. I will try to find useful hobbies (knitting, sewing, writing and yoga have been things I have been spending more time on lately). I want to truly be present when I am playing legos with my children, and not half-heartedly playing while browsing the swaps.

Also, there is the monetary aspect of this. As far as collections go, this is not a cheap hobby. I am blessed that I can afford it, but I should be prioritizing money better. I have amassed 20 carriers, and plan to keep them until my babywearing days are done, making memories with each one. I have carefully planned my collection to suit all conceivable needs from birth to toddlerhood (I sometimes wear the three year old around the house, or for short walks home when tired little legs give out). When I am done wearing my babies *SOB* I plan to sell most of my carriers, and possibly keep some of the more sentimental ones, such as my customs, to make blankets, lovies, and scarves out of.

The stash (missing a couple)

Anyways... here is my stash, and help enable me to stick with what I have and encourage me to buy nothing more for this baby (unless it is a girl... then I may need some new clothes):

Ring Slings:
Lisca Grigio pleated shoulder
UppyMama Frosted Rainbow Cake floating shoulder
Maya Wrap padded shoulder
Szibbo Wayfinder Hybrid shoulder
JackWraps Hummingbird Wing gathered shoulder

Wraps:
Mama Minnow Bluebell Wood size 3
AndalGo Carribean size 3
Didymos Audrey size 3
UppyMama MC Serenity size 4
Didymos Teviot size 4
UppyMama Deep Waters size 5
Didymos Orient size 5
Natibaby Colorado size 5
Cloth of Kin Jellybean Row (ITW) size 5
Alison Addicks Winter Sunset size 6

Other:
Topatop Didymos Silver Waves WCMT standard size (Hoppediz Montreal backing)
Shiny Star Dreamsicle Girasol mashup WCMT toddler size
Boba Stretchy Wrap
Kisskise Water RS
Ergo SSC Galaxy Grey

That is more than enough. In fact, it is probably too much, but I want to wait to sell anything until I am sure I won't use it with new baby (chickpea is the working name). Wish me luck!

Didytai

I love wrapping, but my littlest has always been a seat popping, leg-straightening machine, even when he was tiny. I also really love a sleep-hood. After having tried out a couple of mei-tais, I decided to order a DidyTai from Birdie's Room.

As always, Birdie's Room delivered quickly, and my silver waves DidyTai was here quick as a flash. The fabric is lovely, a beautiful, understated neutral. The carrier had an unpadded waist with a cinching mechanism for tiny babies. It also had a sleep hood with a variety of toggles and configurations for use as a neck support also.

Unfortunately, the hood was not very intuitive, and the instructions that came with the carrier did not describe how to use it. I believe I struggled with the toggles and loops for about two weeks before figuring out the best way for us to use it. I even asked for the input of  Google and several other babywearers, who were equally confused.

However, this became our go-to carrier from about 4-10 months. We wore this beautiful carrier daily, and it carried my son on a trip through the streets of Old Quebec in comfort. I appreciated the wide-unpadded straps, as they allowed me to spread the passes comfortably over my son to give extra support in our carries. I also appreciated how it rolled up so compact to carry in a diaper bag, due to the fact that there was no padding on it. This made it our favourite church carrier, as I could tote it with me and bring it out easily for when my son needed a nap during our service.

I did not back carry often in this wrap. I found the panel to be a touch on the short side, and my son has always been on the 95%+ side for height. Once he reached around a year old, I stopped using this carrier because he was too tall for it and we were using more back carries around this time. This was my absolute favourite mei-tai for the itty-bitty stage though, as it could fit even the smallest baby without much fiddling.

On our visit to Quebec City

The Verdict:
 Pros: Beautiful, available, comfortable, portable, versatile
Cons: Short panel, somewhat expensive
Recommendation: I would recommend this as a first mei-tai for someone with a smaller baby, right from birth. It is so versatile, and will take you from comfortable front squish snuggles through your first back carries. I would caution though that I don't think this carrier will hold up to toddlers or larger babies due to the shorter panel.

Tula Standard Size

Many of the parents in our local babywearing group are fans of the Tula. I've always had my Ergo, so I wasn't sure if I needed to also try the Tula, but finally I broke down and bought one in The Wave pattern from a Canadian shop.

The pattern was a lovely repetition of waves that was a bit reminiscent of Oki on a smaller scale, with a navy blue canvas backing and border. I noticed right away that the waistband was wider and more structured than that of my Ergo.

When I first tried it on for a front carry, my first impression was that it was more comfortable than my Ergo on the shoulders, as the padding is more substantial in the Tula straps. I really appreciated how the fabric molded around my son's body more like a wrap, which made it seem a bit more comfortable and snuggly.

Helping decorate for Poppy's birthday celebrations - by sleeping :)

Where I found the true strength of this carrier was when I tried it for back carries. At first, I put the waist belt in the same spot I was used to using my Ergo, which I found very uncomfortable, as it pulled my pants down. I found by putting the waist belt up higher than I was used to it was much more comfortable, and baby was able to sit up higher and look around better than he had been able to in the Ergo.

I really enjoyed this carrier for outings where it was impractical to wrap and through the Winter under and over our Kindercoat.

I started to find it difficult to use over a coat though, as I had to pull the panel up and over my son after getting him on my back rather than hip scooting him with the carrier (otherwise my coat was a tangled mess). The canvas is a bit grippy, and would often not let him slide easily into the pocket of the seat when used in this manner. It was fine if my husband or someone else was around to help me bounce him down further, but this was inevitably what made me sell this carrier.

Overall, this was a great carrier, but I am not much of a buckles gal to begin with.

A lower back carry and the pattern

The verdict:
Pros: Readily available, easy to use, beautiful patterns, great for back carries, great structured padding
Cons: Straps not crossable, hood detaches (easy to lose for me), canvas is grippy and can make getting a seat difficult
Recommendation: This is a great SSC, and I would recommend it to anyone who was looking for a main carrier for back wearing. For front wearing, I might recommend something with crossable straps, but this is still fairly comfortable.

Wrap Art

I follow a lot of groups on Facebook where creative mamas make some beautiful wrap art with their collection. One snowy day last winter, my two year old and I decided to try our hand at this.

He happily helped me put the wraps in order to make a scene. Then I asked him to sit in the balloon.

This was our one and only attempt at wrap artistry. 

Happy New Year!

We've all made it safe and sound to the year 2015! Woo hoo! This year, my mother and I have made a pact/resolution together to not purchase anything needlessly. This is a good thing for my excessive churning ways, and means I will have to get creative with temp trades and borrowing from some of my good babywearing friends if I would like to continue my mission to #TryAllTheWraps. 

A lovely, outdated stash shot for your New Year's perusal.

Wish me luck, and my wish for you is a happy and healthy New Year full of snuggles!