Didymos Copper (Kupfer) Cashmere Indio Size 6

While I was pregnant with Little Miss, I was consumed with finding the perfect "squish wrap". Beautiful, thin, soft and comfortable were my requirements. This led me to purchase Didymos Kupfer Indio in a size 6, which was described as incredibly soft. It had quite a journey from Russia to my house, and it arrived on the same day as a vintage size 1 black and white indio, so it was quite the exciting mail day!

 

 

Though it had been lovingly handwashed and well cared for, a previous owner had used a strong scented detergent on this lovely wrap, which took several handwashes for me to feel comfortable with the scent so close to me. The black dye ran a bit in the tub while washing, which made me wonder how many times in its previous 6 years this wrap had been washed, but not enough to stain anything. 

Once dry, I was able to say that this was the softest wrap I have ever felt. It was so thin it felt like tissue paper, and the colours were so rich and classy. It is a very difficult colour to capture on camera, so I've included a stock photo to show you how awesome it actually looks in case my photos do not do it justice.

When Little Miss arrived I took her on her first walk down the road in this wrap on a windy day. She was so snug and cozy. It had very little grip or texture for an indio, making the passes slide easily. The knot was so teeny tiny small because of the thinness of the wrap. However, this wrap is deceptively strong for how thin it is, it never felt saggy or uncomfortable. It always wrapped like the most delicious stretchy wrap, snug and easy to tighten. It is absolutely perfect for a small baby, and it brought a smile to my face to have it in Little Miss' early days. When we outgrew it, we sold it locally to another mama who wrapped her squish in it too, and I imagine it will wrap many teeny babies in the years to come.

The Verdict:
Pros: Soft, so soft. Thin and ace bandage-y. Glides in place easily.
Cons: Not supportive for larger babies
Recommendation: A luxurious first ride for teeny babies, this is a beautiful piece of Didymos history that I encourage you to try with a squish, or to wear as the most delicious scarf.

UppyMama Deep Waters Fuchsia weft 4.2m



When I first learned about wrapping, Uppymama was the epitome of luxury at the time. I drooled over these beautiful handwoven wraps, and was so excited when I won a ring sling by this amazing Canadian company (see: Uppymama Linen RS).

I stalked, and entered draws, and watched prices, and agonized... and finally I pulled the trigger and bought an UppyMama wrap in my base size from a swap page. This wrap is Deep Waters, which was a custom colourway for a small group of parents, and only five of these wraps were woven. Of those, mine is the only one that has a fuchsia weft, so all of the others are pre-dominantly blue, whereas mine has more of a purple hue to it.



My Uppy "stash" when Deep Waters (top) arrived, frosted rainbow cake (bottom)



At the time it arrived I was primarily wrapping my son, who was about 18 months old. We mostly did front carries with this wrap for bedtime walks and snuggles, as he was not much of a fan of back carries at the time. I did not find any digginess with this wrap at all, despite it being relatively thin. For back carries, I often used it in a ruck tied knotless, and found it comfortable for relatively long periods of time.

When Little Miss arrived on the scene, this wrap was immediately a favourite. It is soft and was immensely comfortable for front carries at the ittybitty stage. It is the perfect colour and length for us, even at over a year old now. We still use it nearly daily for fwcc and double hammock tied at the shoulder with a candy cane chestbelt (our fave!).

Squishy, tiny, Little Miss... oh my ovaries.

This is an older Uppy, and they are known to be slightly heavier weight than newer Uppys. This wrap is strong, thin, and resilient. It has the perfect amount of grip, glide, and cush. I do not worry about wearing it on any occasion, as it is easy to wash and comfortable for any period of time, with any size of child. It has comfortably rucked my now three year old son in parking lots, and dragged its tails along wilderness paths. We will keep this wrap until our wearing days are done, and at that time might even keep it as a cherished momento of all of the snuggles it gave us.


Prices have significantly declined and rare unicorn Uppys such as this one pop up all the time at insane prices, under retail most times. If you see an old cotton uppy and are on the hunt for a versatile wrap that can take anything you throw at it, then I strongly encourage you to buy it!


Little Miss is all smiles in our fave carry



The verdict:

Pros: Beautiful, comfortable, classic, and fun

Cons: None, now that prices have dropped

Recommended for: Everyone. Seriously. Buy the old Uppys.

 

Lenny Lamb Babywearing Coat/Jacket NOT softshell

It's been awhile, and I have so many reviews from this past whirl-wind of a year to share with you all!


First up... my truly adored Lenny Lamb babywearing coat!


After having tried the KinderCoat and not finding it to be exactly what I was looking for, I did some more research on other coats for winter babywearing and stumbled upon the Lenny Lamb winter jacket. I ordered it in a size small from Lenny Lamb and it arrived in about two weeks to my door.

The interior is a soft fleece that isn't overly thick, and the outer material is a sturdy feeling water resistant layer.

The interior (grey) and hood

There were two different panels included, one for front carries and one for back. There is a hood for baby, which is one of my favourite things about the coat. For the first year I owned this coat, I mostly wore it on my own without the panels. I received compliments about the colour many times, even in my place of work. When I became pregnant with our third child, I wore the back carry panel as an option for my growing belly. With a wool sweater or a fleece under the coat, I found it warm enough on even the coldest of Ottawa days. There are great toggles all over the place to pull things tight and keep the wind out.



Demoing my coat sans baby

When Little Miss was born in October, it was still too warm to use the coat. I mostly used my Lenny Lamb fleece or Kokoala panel during this time. However, when the snow and wind came, this coat was invaluable. The wind-proof outer lining was so wonderful for the very cold days of school pick up and drop off for big brother. I would use the baby hood and was happy that the Velcro from the baby hood could hook to the Velcro of the adult hood, which made a tiny wind-proof wall for baby's head, and kept both of our hoods up well.



A very cold and windy day in Ottawa, but we were warm!

When the temperatures dropped to -20 Celsius or more I found we needed an extra fleece layer each to keep warm underneath the coat, but we were toasty as long as we did so. I have now worn this coat for two winters as my main winter coat, both with and without baby. I have worn this coat nearly every day for walks and in tough weather. There have been no issues with the quality of this coat, and it is still looking as good as new. I look forward to using it for back carrying this winter, as I did not use it much for this way of wearing in previous years.

The verdict:

Pros: Affordable, available, well made, comfortable, attractive

Cons: None I can think of.... maybe not cold enough for -20 degrees without an extra layer?

Recommendation: Great coat for wearing in even the coldest Canadian winter days, with an extra layer.