Babywearing Basics Site Plan

Overview

Purpose

I’ve been helping people learn how to use baby carriers with their children for over 5 years now as a babywearing educator and what I am hoping to create is a concise educator website with basic pages about each carrier type - including how to use them, and recommended brands. In my experience there are a lack of good, regularly updated websites that show babywearing and brand reviews in a concise way. There are many educator representatives who are feeling the pressure to constantly churn out new information so they stay relevant for brand ambassadorships and the like. So they add more tutorials, they add challenges, they add more carrier reviews - eventually their sites become bloated and still certain information remains outdated. Then on the other hand you have old institutions which rarely update their site unless there is an extreme reason to do so. Wouldn’t you love to have a reputable babywearing source for concise, easy to use information that you know will stay current?

Audience

My primary audience is caregivers and parents who are new to using baby carriers. While those who have zero experience will find the site approachable and full of the information they are looking for, they will not be the only ones who will benefit from the site. It will also serve those who are returning to babywearing after a long absence and want to know more about their current options, and those who are only familiar with one style of carrier and want to branch out.

Branding

Website Logo

Style Guide

Color Palette

Typography

Heading Font: Quicksand

This font has a nice open spacing so it appears relaxing and welcoming. The curves on the descenders are friendly and inviting as well. This font presents a stylish variation that is still very easy to read.

Paragraph Font: Open Sans

A simple, easy to read, sans serif font for quick and easy scanning of paragraphs. This is a suggested pairing with Quicksand and they look very compatible together.

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Babywearing is the practice of using baby carriers to carry a baby or child on your body. There are so many different styles of carriers to choose from, but all of them allow great bonding opportunities and hands-free convenience. With the safe knowledge about babywearing and a trusty carrier, you can feel empowered to handle babywearing as a tool in your life.

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Content

What is Babywearing?

Babywearing is a word that is used to describe the practice of using a carrier of some kind to carry your child on your body. This is a practice that has been in use for generations in many cultures throughout the world. Babywearing has deep roots with different styles of carrier in many indigenous and traditional practices. What we practice in the western world as babywearing today owes a deep debt to these cultures as our carriers and carrying styles are modeled after traditional methods. Due to the fact that this site is run by a white educator in the United States, the site will focus on these western style baby carrying methods and not traditional carrying methods. Please if you are interested in connecting to your own traditional babywearing culture, seek out educators from that culture to correctly teach you your traditional practices. If you feel overwhelmed at the amount of information there is on babywearing and baby carriers - you are NOT alone! There are so many models and brands available that it can be difficult to sort through what is the best solution for yourself. At the time of this writing, we are in the middle of a deep pandemic - so the solution that has previously been so helpful to babywearers of the local lending library is not really accessible. However, I do still truly believe that local babywearing meetings with hands on help and carriers to try on are the best way to narrow down your options. With that not being currently accessible, and with many babywearing groups unfortunately closing due to a variety of reasons, I am here to help.

The most important thing to know when beginning to babywear are the basics of babywearing safety. The key elements are a secure carry and a clear airway. A secure carry means that you have confidence in the support and hold of your carrier such that you do not need to use your hands as additional support or a safety net. A secure carry is one that carries your child close to you so that they are not moving around away from your body as you move your body around. A clear airway is something that is particularly critical during the newborn and infant stages - a secure carry is part of achieving this, but it is not the only criteria. One key aspect to look out for is that there isn’t a slump in a baby’s back, an exaggeration of a natural C-curve indicating that baby is not supported but collapsing a bit into the carrier. Another key aspect is that baby’s chin is off of their chest, at least two fingers width. If baby is tummy to tummy against their caregiver, having their head turned to the side and cheek resting against the wearer is ideal. Another important factor is making sure small babies are close and visible, with nothing covering over their face that might discourage proper air cycling. With those two factors accounted for, the other main safety factor to remember is temperature and weather elements - remember that a baby carrier typically still exposes baby legs and arms, make sure there is sun protection or warm clothing as needed. Remember that the carrier provides additional layers of fabric so that is a consideration when dressing baby appropriately so that they do not become too hot. This last factor is something that you will learn with trial and error, but if you’re ensuring a secure carry and clear airway first you can be confident in figuring out all the other little details that will make babywearing more comfortable and practical for both of you.

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Carrier Types

Your carrier types range from essentially types that have no structure built into the carrier itself to all of the structure built into the carrier itself. Let me explain what this means - at the “no structure built into the carrier” end of the range, we have the woven wrap. Woven wraps and other babywearing fabrics, such as traditional cloths like the kitenge or kanga and Peruvian manta, are simply a piece of fabric that is then tied or fastened in some kind of way around the wearer and child. Because there is no structured form buil into the carrier, the wearer must create the shape they wish to use with the fabric that will hold their wearee. Because of this, it makes fabric one of the most versatile and customizable wearing options available, able to suit almost any need. It does, however, come with the largest learning curve - as the user has to learn how to create the desired shape and find which way of tying works best for various situations. On the other range of the spectrum of structure lies the “soft structured carrier”, also known as an SSC or buckle carrier. These carriers are very popular in the United States and are a modern creation that borrows its shape from the traditional Chinese carrier called a meh dai (Cantonese) or bei dai (Mandarin). Where a meh dai is tied, an SSC uses buckle straps with webbing that can be tightened or loosened as needed. Due to the structure being almost fully baked into an SSC carrier, not every brand or model fits every wearer with the same level of comfort - however they typically have the lowest learning curve and highest speed of use, making them a convenient favorite for many. In between these two ends you will find other carrier types - here are the basic carrier type categories from least to most structured:

• Wrap
• Sling
• Meh Dai/Bei Dai
• Buckle Carrier

There are some other variations and of course other traditional carrier styles, but these main categories cover most baby carriers under their umbrella.

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Brand Recommendations

Below you will find all of my personal brand recommendations for various carrier types. While there may be many other quality carriers available, these are brands that I have personally seen to be of quality and with good reputations in the babywearing community, unless otherwise noted.

Woven Wrap

• Bijou Wear
  • Machine woven
  • Friendly price point
  • Great online community and inclusivity standards
• Emmeline Textiles
  • Machine woven
  • Simple modern designs
  • Some custom in house dye jobs
• Pretty Paisley
  • Some machine woven and some handwoven
  • Wide ranging price point dependent upon whether machine or handwoven and fiber content
  • Fandom oriented themes for their designs
• Ethos Babywearing
  • Machine and handwoven
  • Strong commitment to ethical practices and inclusive pricing
  • Focused mostly on handwoven wraps at this time, including many semi customs which are quite accessible in terms of handwoven pricing, however are still pricey in the realm of carrier costs
  • Great inclusivity practices and supportive community online
• Pavo
  • Machine woven
  • Great inclusivity practices
  • Price points are reasonable if not budget brand new

Ring Slings

• Bijou Wear
• Skya Ring Sling - Linen Blend, great price point
• Machine Woven Jacquard Slings
• Sleeping Baby Productions
• Amazing price point
• Custom slings to your specifications
• Linen and twill options, also does Tekhni machine woven jacquard conversions as well as mesh water slings
• Great inclusivity practices
• Bibbetts
• Linen or water slings
• Good price point
• Comfy Joey
• Good price point
• Linen or water slings
• True North
• Pricier linen slings
• Elegant lifestyle brand

Meh Dai/Bei Dai

Unfortunately there are very few wrap strap meh dai makers who meet the ideal standard of using culturally respectful terminology and are still making meh dai which can be purchased in the US. For that reason, I will be including some secondhand brand recommendations.

Secondhand Meh Dai Recommended Brands:

• Soul Slings
• These are my all time favorite and feature linen or cotton body panels and straps with a hood and padded to wrap straps - however they stopped making them.
• KolKol
• These don’t appear to be available new at this time either, they feature fully wrap style straps and a built in velcro adjustable waistband to cinch for littler babies.
• BaBy SaByE
• This was a manufacturer in Thailand that is no longer making carriers. At the time of this writing there seem to be two still available from their site, but will soon be available only secondhand. These have fully wrap straps and are made from handwoven fabrics.

New Meh Dai Makers

• Almitra Tattva
• Indian based company that makes very unique cashmere woven wraps, their meh dai is a wrap strap style with very nice designs.
• 2Lambie
• This company creates wrap conversion meh dai carriers. The price point is very high as each is a custom creation, but it is a US option for a newly made carrier.
• *Note - other makers certainly exist, but I cannot wholeheartedly recommend them due to their insistence on continuing to use inappropriate naming conventions. Your experience may find that you discover one that is a lovely quality, yet is not respectful.

Soft Structured Carrers

• Jublii Creations
• These are custom carriers at a very reasonable price. A notable feature of these carriers is the Big Kid size, which accommodates a recommended weight range up to 75lbs
• Shiny Star Designs
• Custom carriers at a great price as well - fixed panel sizes.
• Soul Slings
• Unfortunately they are no longer selling to the US, but you can still find some in carrier retailers and second hand. A personal favorite are the linen full buckles and the Soul AseemA adjustable carrier for newborn to toddler.
• KolKol
• They have both adjustable and fixed panel sizes for great prices - this company is based in India.
• Contours
• While known perhaps for strollers, their Journey carrier is a local Greater Atlanta Babywearing favorite amongst leaders. I’m not sure they’re widely known yet, but the group got donated carriers and they fell in love so definitely worth checking out. This carrier does allow forward facing out.
• Infantino
• While Infantino has had a somewhat complicated history, they produce a wide variety of models at a very budget price point. They are perfectly fine safe carriers that provide an accessibility level that no other company can touch.

Recommend a Brand

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