Kendra from ShoppingForTwo sent this suggestion to us last year.
She wrote: Keep yourself and your baby snuggly warm this winter by making your own baby carrier. I learned how to make this just a week before my baby was born and not only is this the most comfortable baby carrier, but it’s also the least expensive. I made two carriers for about $16.
Take a trip down to the fabric store and pick out five yards of either woven cotton (you will need to hem the edges to keep from unraveling) or fleece (no need to sew at all). Cut the five yards in half horizontally, so you end up with a 20″ by 5 yards piece of material. Then follow the instructions at wearyourbaby.com to learn how to wrap your baby.
Kendra wrote that her baby instantly falls asleep when he’s wrapped up which makes running errands or taking a walk more peaceful. “I wish I had found out about this when my older son was a baby, it would have made life so much easier!”
Heather secretly made me a wrap just like Kendra’s as a Happy Pregnancy present. I wore it proudly when Scarlett was tiny.
Congrats Kendra — I’m going to have to try this in a couple months when my #2 son is out and about! Or, more realistically, make it now while I can still get one hand free from Holden.
Thanks again for choosing my post as the winner! And congratulations to you Heather on the upcoming son #2. Yes, definately make the wrap now, free time is certainly hard to come by these days!
[...] Thanks to rookiemoms for picking me as the winner of their Little Leaps contest! They were looking for suggestions on what to do with your baby and I suggested ‘wrapping them up’. Since Charlie’s been born, I’ve been using a wrap to carry him instead of Bjorn and I can’t tell you how much more comfortable it is to wear him. I don’t get a sore, achy back anymore like I did with the Bjorn. [...]
[...] Even as a second time mom, with a higher level of confidence about wearing my baby than I had way back in 2005, I still found the lack of padding and protection frightening. I feel more secure with my little man tied to my body, Moby-wrap style. Maybe when he can sit up in a cross-legged fashion, I’ll give it another shot. For a newborn sling, however, this is just a little too scary for me. [...]
[...] This morning I found myself walking up the street, wearing my baby, when she woke up. She, being five weeks old, was going to need to eat ASAP, and I was still two blocks from home. I noticed that the way she was positioned in the faux-by wrap I was wearing put her face right against my breast. So I did what any flipping awesome second time mom living in Berkeley would do and nursed her while I walked. When I approached my door and entered the house with a key in one hand and a coffee cup in the other, diaper bag over my shoulder and baby’s mouth on my breast, I thought, “damn, I’m good.” [...]
[...] “Park in the spot next to the cart return, or next to an abandoned cart. Put toddler in the cart (do not be tempted by the carts with the cars on the front..as toddler will think it’s super funny to run out of the car and all around the grocery store every time you stop…it’s not funny) and ride him around to the side of the car where baby is. Put on baby carrier, place baby in baby carrier. Have a list to shop by and know the layout of your grocery store. Shop quickly and efficiently. In returning back to the car, place baby back in car seat. Put bags into the trunk, put toddler back into his car seat and drive home. When you get home, unload the groceries just inside the door first, then bring in the baby, then the toddler. Once you’ve got them occupied, then unload groceries.” [...]
[...] New goodness from Little Lark. Check out the baby wearing in the bottom left corner! Hooray for babywearing. You can check me out wearing Charlie over at Rookie Moms. [...]
[...] The Lowdown: I came across Rookie Moms when they sent me a link about how to make your own baby wrap.The site is written by two moms who wanted to track their first year of motherhood and make sure they had an activity ready for every day of the year. The site isn’t aimed specifically at budget living, but definitely tends to focus on projects you can do easily at home without spending loads. You can search by child age, which is divided into months, or by activity (eating, crafts, etc). [...]
I bought my wrap – in the summer – in the midwest – and found out in October that I had the warmest possible wrap – which was great news for October – and explained a lot about how I sweat off a bunch of pregnancy weight over the summer months
Thanks for the tips. I was looking at sites all day and shocked at the cost of a ‘name brand’ wraps. This is just what I needed to see to inspire me to save my own money and make one myself. Baby and I are traveling by plane soon and I need something to help me carry baby around the vast airports that will help be keep my hands free as we travel. This is just what we need!
[...] How to Make a Wrap – that’s me and my son in the picture! [...]
Thanks for the tips. Really a great kind of baby carrier to carry the baby wherever without any painful and discomfort ness. This baby carrier really looks quite cool and useful. Actually there are lots of features embedded in this kind of baby carrier or you can call it baby wrap too. It helps the baby to stay asleep by reducing sudden arm and leg movements. Baby carrier is really a very good discovery for the mom like us as it promotes bonding, due to the happiness and comfort of the baby.
[...] And I was able to make my own Moby Wrap… it was a little more expensive ($10?) but super easy! Fortunately my grandmother’s sewing machine still had the user manual so I was able to [...]
Nice site and I love that you know how to make wraps and shared the knowledge. Thanks!
Gotta get thesis….
[...] just bringing it to your attention because if you are a lover of the muslin swaddler, you might try making yourself a front carrier. You’ll be able to swaddle your baby to your chest basically, and reduce crying, which I [...]
I have a wrap like this (one that I purchased) and I LOVE it. I started using it when my daughter was about 6 weeks old or so, and at 15 months, we still use it.
It’s great for shopping, airports, walks, anytime, anywhere!
[...] a long swath of muslin fabric and create a “faux-by wrap” (yes, that’s faux-Moby wrap, we’re into puns) using the easy-peasy tutorial from [...]
[...] Wanna just buy one? Voila, le moby wrap on amazon. Related links: Rookie Mom Challenge: Go to the fabric store Wrap your baby and stay warm [...]