April Saturday Meeting

The ObiMama LoveBirds traveling Wrap Conversion Mei Tai (WCMT) made its way through Richmond on Saturday, April 28^th.  This carrier, made from a BBSlen Blackberry wrap.  Jen (the woman behind ObiMama) constructed the WCMT as a short stage 1, meaning it has a 16” wide seat (plus seat darts), and was 16” tall.  It also had 85” long padded wrap straps, her “Zen” version, with 70” waist straps.  It also included padded head/neck roll, legs out padding, and an adjustable hood with a beautiful love bird applique.  This was an amazingly versatile size and fit all wearers and wearees quite well.

ObiMama has risen to babywearing fame this past year, but has been sewing carriers since 2010.  She is based out of Roanoke, VA, so we were excited to try this Virginia-made carrier.  ObiMama also makes silk and linen ring slings, and “featherweight” mei tais which are great for the humid Virginia weather.  We enjoyed having LoveBirds make an appearance at our meeting and are excited to send it on to the next group to try!

March of Dimes

April 22, 2012 started and ended as a rainy day, but 4 members of BWI of Central VA along with 2 kids had great fun walking in the rain for the March of Dimes Walk for Babies.  These dedicated walkers and babywearers got up early that Sunday morning to walk in the rain for the purpose of raising money and awareness for premature babies.  There was some singing in the rain as we walked with our umbrellas while babywearing, but the almost 5 mile walk was not too treacherous and the group finished it in less than an hour and a half.

The walk started and ended in Monroe Park, and it was a neat way to see some of the sites that most normally pass by only in cars.  It was a unique and beautiful view walking over the Manchester Bridge, but coming back on the Robert E. Lee Bridge proved to be very windy and I am not sure anyone stayed dry, except for maybe the babies riding on their parent’s back.  Luckily babywearing made this walk much safer and more fun for the babies involved; one even slept the majority of the walk.   One mom decided to bring a stroller just in case and used it to store their “stuff”; she decided afterwards that it was a horrible idea and wasn’t sure how the babies in strollers could have made it through.   Babywearing sure makes walking for charities much easier!

Babywearing International of Central VA was glad to have several faces present for this walk to show support for helping babies.  They may have gotten soaked in the rain, but they had a fabulous time!