What's Wrong With Carrying My Child?

When I had my first two children I'll be honest, I'd never heard of babywearing. I researched a little when I had my third daughter and carried her for a while. By the time I had my fourh child I couldn't wait to ditch the pushchair and carry my child.

Apparently my choice seems strange to some.

Now carrying children in slings/carriers isn't a new thing and in recent years it has become more popular amongst parents but there are still people that like to question those that do it, something that really annoys me.

I get the same old questions and statements :

1. Isn't she heavy?
2. Doesn't she hurt your back?
3. That must be really hard to do.

So let me answers those quickly.

Snugiwraps Deluxe Mei Tai Review

Since having Layla, I've become a huge fan of babywearing. I wish I had done it with my other children, not only does it mean you get the best cuddles with your little one, it also leaves your hands free to get on with all those day to day tasks.

The lovely Steph at Snugiwraps recently asked if I would like to review one of her carriers. You all know I'm a pushchair addict, well I'm a sling/carrier addict too, always looking for which one to buy, so I of course jumped at the chance to try out a new carrier.

Snugiwraps stock and create a variety of baby carriers including stretchy wraps and buckle carriers, I opted to review one of their deluxe mei tais.

Kiddy Heartbeat Carrier Review

As I am sure you are aware by now, I am an avid fan of babywearing, infact you can find my review of the Calin Bleu wrap here. So I immediately said yes when Kiddy asked if I would like to review their new baby carrier.

Kiddy is a German company that is best known for being manafacturers of children's car seats, they pride themselves on maximum safety, superb comfort and innovative designs. Now producing pushchairs and baby carriers as well, Kiddy continue to wow us with the ideas that they come up with.

The Kiddy Heartbeat is a 2 in 1 baby carrier, this means that you are able to carry your baby on your front or on your back. It is available in four different colours : denim, racing black, sand and riders club (brown) and in two different sizes, small and large. I received the racing black version in size small, as I am only a tiny 5ft 1.

What I loved straight away is that they really think of everyone, there are two instruction booklets purely because they have tried to translate the instructions into as many different languages as possible.

This carrier unlike some, can be used from birth when you use it with the newborn insert, which I am happy to say comes included, no need to buy any extras. It is suggested that it can be used right up until your child weighs around 14kgs, this means that you will only need the one carrier, rather than having to purchase another ones as you little one grows bigger.

There are so many features on the Heartbeat that really make it stand out from other baby carriers.

* padded shoulder, waist and back straps : this means that you as a parent are kept comfortable whilst carrying your little one, the strap that goes down the back (or front when carrying on the back), really supports your body and holds you so your posture is correct, I love this, no straining yourself, even if your child is on the heavy side.

* padded head rest : this is comfort at it's best, your child remains nice and snug, but the nice thing is, is that there are zips on the front which you can undo and fold the head rest down if your child no longer wants it there.

*reflectors : this means that even when out at night or in poor weather, you will be visible to everyone.

* newborn insert : giving newborn babies that added support, but also holding them in the correct ergonomic positioning, this insert really is invaluable, wrapping around your little one, keeping them snug as a bug.

* intergrated rain cape : hands down the best feature!! I think one of the main worries when babywearing is what to do when it rains, you don't always carry an umbrella, well worry no more, this cover is cleverly hidden away in a pocket at the front and when clipped in, covers the whole of your child, offering protection from rain, wind and even snow.

The picture to the left shows you the rain cape in use. Your child can have their legs out of the rain cape if they wish as shown.

This is the front carrying position. Easily achieved by placing the carrier over your head and shoulders. Adjusting the buckle straps before placing your child in and then sitting them in their seat. I did struggle with adjusting the straps at first, I think they were stiff from little use but this isn't such a bad thing as you don't want them sliding up and down freely.

Your child is kept close to you but because it is a separate seat, they have their own space as such.

I love how wide the carrier is, keeping Layla in the correct "m" seated position, she was very happy to be in there.

The picture to the right shows me carrying Layla on my back.

Before now I have never been a big fan of buckle carriers when it comes to back carrys as I always found it hard to get baby on my back and correctly positioned.

I found this revolutionary. Made a lot easy because you place your little one in their seat before you put the carrier on. You do it whilst your child is sat on somewhere like a sofa. Once baby is safely strapped in, you sit in front of them and put the straps over your head and shoulders. You then do up the wais belt and adjust.

The size and style of the carrier meant that both Layla and I were both comfortable and supported, I had her in there for over 3 hours and was left with no discomfort at all and because of how tall the carrier is, when Layla fell asleep, her head didn't roll backwards.

With a RRP of £99.99 I don't think you can go wrong with this carrier. In line with the rest of their products, it really is innovative but not only that, it offers both parent and child the upmost comfort whilst remaining stylish, as you would want any accessory to be. With it's breathable material, it is suitable for use all year round and with the added newborn insert and adjustable straps, the carrier really does adapt as your child grows and it is always nice to keep your children close to you as it won't be long before they decided that having cuddles with mummy is just not cool anymore!!

I struggle to find anything negative to say about the Heartbeat, the only thing I don't understand is why it is available in two sizes? It is much better to have a one size fits all because I wouldn't want to be buying one carrier for me and one carrier for Daddy Hazelden.

Overall I would highly recommend the Kiddy Hearbeat 2 in 1 carrier. It is definitely one to consider, especially if you have never used a carrier before because it is so simple to use.

To keep up with all the latest news from Kiddy why not look at their Facebook and Twitter pages.

xxxx

Disclaimer : This carrier was sent to me free of charge for reviewing purposes, hoever all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Look mummy I can do it too

I'm sure most of you with daughters will have at one point bought them their own pushchair. I certainly have, my house is over run with not only mummy's pushchairs (little obssessed, just a little) but the children's too because they have all had one each over time.

I also like to wear my youngest it a wrap/sling too. This leaves me with my hands free to be getting on with other things. It also means that when we are going out all day I can put Gracie in a pushchair and carry Layla, makes things a lot easier!!

So when my 5 year old started copying me and trying to babywear her dolls by wrapping them in her dressing gown, as shown below, I decided it would be nice to buy her her own child size baby carrier.

Surprisingly there are a lot to choose from on various sites. Most of them made by WAHMs (work at home mums).

Here is Freya with her custom made mei tai carrying her baby.

Of course her little sister then became jealous, so she was bought her own ring sling on her birthday to carry her dollies in. Rapunzel was nice and relaxed being walked around the house.

I love watching them play like this, pretend play is fun, I just hope they don't try putting their baby sister in one!!!

Have any of your little ones got their own carriers or would you consider buying one, would love to know.

xxxx

Calin Bleu Gauze Wrap Review

If you didn't know, I am a huge fan of babywearing, so when Calin Bleu sent me one of their gauze wraps to review, I couldn't of been happier.

Calin Bleu is a company based in Suffolk, England. It was established in 2005. They produce high quality, 100% cotton stetchy and woven baby wraps, as well as ring slings, bags, that are available worldwide and the best thing is they are made in the UK.

I was sent one of their gauze wraps to review.

The wrap itself has a RRP starting from £39, which is a very reasonable price in my opinion and if you were to buy more than one then you would save money.

Available in many colours, even in a limited edition Union Jack design. I received one in the teal colourway, stunning colour that can be used for either boy or girl. Some people pick the colour of their wrap based on the gender of their child, I however pick a colour that I like regardless of gender.

Made from 100% cotton gauze, the material is extremely lightweight, I would say more suitable to the Summer months because of how thin it is. It's machine washable, which is always handy when you have little ones, stains seem to appear from nowhere!! And because of how thin it is, I can tell you from first hand experience, it dries very quickly.

The wrap is available in two sizes, either medium or large. It is suggested that the larger wrap is more suitable for a parent that is a size16 or above. The medium is 4.6m long and the large is 5.2m long. I was sent the medium, which was more than enough wrap for me as I am only a small 5ft1' and a size10. If you were to choose size large then it adds £3 on to the price which I think is more than fair for an extra half a metre of fabric.

I was pleased to see that the wrap came with a fantastic set of instructions included, showing detailed pictures on how to wrap your little ones in different carries.

Of course to really review an item, you have to test it fully so I tried the wrap out using a variety of different carries on both my 9 month old and my 3 year old.

First I tried the Front Wrap Cross Carry (FWCC). This I found very comfortable for both myself and Layla. I was able to tighten the wrap easily and keep Layla in the correct seating position. 

Next I tried the Hip Cross Carry (HCC). The is almost the same as the Front Cross Carry except you are placing your little one on your hip. I find this position a good one now that Layla is getting taller and a lot more nosey!! Again very easy to do, the only problem I found, was that I was left with quite a bit of fabric so I had to wrap it around my body one more time to prevent having really long tails. I like to have the wrap slightly more gathered on my shoulder but you can easily move the wrap so that it covers your shoulder too.

And then it was my 3 year olds turn. We did a Ruck carry, which is a simple back carry. Gracie is quite small for a 3 year old, so I would say this wrap probably isn't as suited for an older sibling because the material becomes quite diggy with a heavier child wrapped in it. However I think with wraps it is a personal preference as what one person finds uncomfortable, another person finds the best wrap ever.

These are just 3 of many other carries that you could try. I would recommend looking on places like You Tube to learn how to do the different carries, they really aren't that difficult after a bit of practice.

I really love this wrap. It is a well made wrap that when worn properly, spreads the weight evenly around your back, shoulders and hips. The material is breathable, lightweight and can be folded down to be very compact. I've already decided that it will be coming on holiday with us in July!! 

You can find Calin Bleu on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with all their latest news.

Disclaimer : This wrap was sent to me free of charge for reviewing purposes, all thoughts and opinions are my own