Carry of the Week Returns!!!

It's back! It's really back! The Carry of the Week returns!

This week we bring you Jordan's Back Carry (JBC).

Practice all carries, especially back carries with a spotter, over a bed or couch, or low to the ground until you are completely confident. A BWI meeting is the perfect place to learn new skills with the assistance of a Volunteer Babywearing Educator. In most cases it is best to be comfortable with front carries before attempting back carries. (BWI Babywearing Safety) We recommend waiting until your baby can sit unsupported to begin back carries. You should always try your first back carries with a spotter or over a soft surface such as a bed. However, if you have completely mastered front and hip carries and have successfully back wrapped another baby, it is safe to do back carries in a woven wrap with a baby who isn’t sitting unsupported yet. (BWI Back Wrapping Infants).

Starting with the middle marker on your baby's back, get them onto your back using a method you are comfortable with and make a good seat with fabric flipped up between you going from one knee to the other.

Pin one tail between your legs. Take the other tail and move it under your arm.

 Flip this side over your shoulder pulling straight down to keep tension tight.

 Spread this pass across your baby's back. Use the bottom rail to reinforce your seat. At the very end tuck the pass under your baby's leg to create a cross pass. Pin this tail between your legs.

 Pass the longer tail straight back and spread this across your baby's back.

 Once again, using the bottom rail to reinforce your seat.

 Bring both tails up to the front and tie a double knot around your waist.

Check back next week for a new Carry of the Week! 

Tips for babywearing in the heat

It's sunny, it's hot, and it's muggy. It's summertime in Central Virginia! We have had some more reasonable weather recently, but we all know that heat and humidity will be upon us soon.

While we all love to wear our babies and toddlers, those little ones create a lot of heat and babywearing, by nature, is hot. We have gathered some tips to share for babywearing in the heat.

First, let's start with some safety tips:

• Monitor your child, especially the younger babies. They aren't great at regulating their body temperature.
• Minimize sun exposure.
• Wear sun protection, including sunglasses.
• Babies who are overheated should be removed from the carrier and taken someplace cooler right away.
• Heatstroke is a serious condition, even more so in babies. Familiarize yourself with the signs here.

Now let's talk about you and the child:

• Dress in light and airy clothes.
• Stay hydrated! Drink even more water if you're breastfeeding.
• Try to schedule outdoor activities in the cooler hours; early morning is best.
• Stay in the shade. If there's none around, bring your own. Umbrellas are for more than just rain, or buy a parasol ("parasole" meaning to shield sun). 
• If shade isn't available and an umbrella/parasol isn't an option, then try wide-brimmed, light-weight hats for both you and the child.
• Keep a layer of cloth, either your clothing or a thin piece of muslin or cotton, between you and the baby. This helps with the "sticky" feeling of skin-on-skin.
• Fans: either hand or battery powered.
• Use water-cooled towels ("FroggToggs") or a damp washcloth to cool YOU. Do not place these  on your baby or between you and your baby. They need air to work and there isn't much, if any, air circulation between your bodies.

Finally, let's talk about carriers:

• Many of the companies that make Soft Structured Carriers (SSCs), now make these carriers with mesh panels on the front. They allow for the carrier to breathe a bit more than regular SSCs.

• An ultra-compact SSC is especially great for the pool/water, but less great for long periods of time due to the lack of padding.

• Linen Ring Slings or light weight cotton Ring Slings are a good choice with the breathable fabric and only having one layer of fabric around you and the child.

• Mei-Tais can be a good choice with open sides allowing some air flow and minimal cloth around the wearer.

• Lightweight woven wraps in a single-layer pass carry is the coolest way to wear with a wrap. (Be on the look out this week for a blog post about a torso carry!)

• Do not wear a mesh or water ring sling or wrap outside the pool/water for long periods of time. The fabric will only cling properly when wet.

• Stretchy wraps that are popular with newborns (ex, Moby wraps) are not very good for hot weather wearing. They have multiple passes and do not allow for air to flow between you and the baby.  Consider a ring sling as an alternative.

We have all of these options in our lending library. If you want to try on different carriers to see what will work, please come to one of our meetings and one of our educators will help you with that.

Here's a handy graphic that our friends at BWI of St Louis Gateway made and are allowing us to share with you:

Enjoy your babywearing summer!

4/26 Short Pump Meeting Canceled

The meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 26th is canceled.

Leap Into Spring! Carry of the Week: Double Hammock Rebozo Carry

The Carry of the Week for week 7 is the Double Hammock Rebozo Carry (DHR).

Double hammock rebozo is a one shoulder carry. You are less likely to have an aching shoulder with this carry due to the chest pass and multi-layers helping to take the weight off the shoulder. It is generally completed with a size 2, 3, or 4.

If this carry feels a little low, its because it is restricted due to the passes coming under your arms.

Practice all carries, especially back carries with a spotter, over a bed or couch, or low to the ground until you are completely confident. A BWI meeting is the perfect place to learn new skills with the assistance of a Volunteer Babywearing Educator. In most cases it is best to be comfortable with front carries before attempting back carries. (BWI Babywearing Safety) We recommend waiting until your baby can sit unsupported to begin back carries. You should always try your first back carries with a spotter or over a soft surface such as a bed. However, if you have completely mastered front and hip carries and have successfully back wrapped another baby, it is safe to do back carries in a woven wrap with a baby who isn’t sitting unsupported yet. (BWI Back Wrapping Infants).


First up is a video tutorial with Maddy.

Now we have Lauren with a photo tutorial:

Start the carry off center, with one short tail and one long tail.
Get baby onto your back using any method you choose. Create a seat.

Bring the long tail under your arm to make a rebozo pass. Then bring it across your chest to the opposite side to make a chest pass.

Bring the pass all the way around your back, spreading across baby and creating a second seat with the second pass.

Strand by strand tighten to remove all slack from the second pass.

Bring the tail under your arm to tie a slip knot at the opposite shoulder (see detailed instruction below).

Think of this as if you are tying a knot around the shoulder pass.

Bring the tail from under your arm to tie a slip knot at the opposite shoulder (1). The tail from your back should go across the shoulder pass tail and come behind it (2). Then down and back behind the vertical tail (3). Finally, pull it through the loop, and adjust up and down along the vertical tail as needed (4).

And Viola! You have a Double Hammock Rebozo Carry!

Check back next Monday for a new Carry of the Week!

Leap Into Spring! Carry of the Week: Robin's Hip Carry

The Carry of the Week for week 6 is the Robin's Hip Carry (RHC).

Robin’s Hip Carry is a popular hip carry and could be an easy transition into wrapping for those with ring sling experience. It is completed with a short to mid-size wrap, depending on your size. It may look or sound complicated, but is reasonably quick and easy to learn. RHC is a go-to carry if your baby is curious and has to see the world, but you don't want to face the baby outward or complete a back carry. It can also be modified to a more centered front carry for infants that don't have the head control needed for hip carries.

Here is VBE Maddy with our video tutorial:




Check back next Monday for a new Carry of the Week!

Leap Into Spring! Carry of the Week: Front Reinforced Torso Rebozo

The Carry of the Week for week 5 is the Front Reinforced Torso Rebozo (FRTR).

This carry is great for newborns and older babies. It's completed with a mid-sized wrap, so sizes 3-5 depending on your base. This is a one shoulder carry with the child in front, but the shoulder you use in your choice. If you have used a ring sling, you will probably be comfortable using the same shoulder that used the rings. Because this carry goes under both of baby's legs and has high back coverage, it's good if you have a leaner.

Here's VBE Maddie with our video tutorial:



Check back next Monday for a new Carry of the Week!

Leap Into Spring! Carry of the Week: Double Hammock

The Carry of the Week for week 3 is the Double Hammock (DH).

The double hammock is a beloved back carry for older babies and toddlers. The pass that is spread across your chest distributes the weight evenly and helps in keeping all of the weight from being on your shoulders. That makes this a great option for when you know you will be wearing your baby for longer periods of time. This carry is done with a wrap that your base size.

Practice all carries, especially back carries with a spotter, over a bed or couch, or low to the ground until you are completely confident. A BWI meeting is the perfect place to learn new skills with the assistance of a Volunteer Babywearing Educator. In most cases it is best to be comfortable with front carries before attempting back carries. (BWI Babywearing Safety) We recommend waiting until your baby can sit unsupported to begin back carries. You should always try your first back carries with a spotter or over a soft surface such as a bed. However, if you have completely mastered front and hip carries and have successfully back wrapped another baby, it is safe to do back carries in a woven wrap with a baby who isn’t sitting unsupported yet. (BWI Back Wrapping Infants).

First up is a video tutorial with Maddy. She's using a wrap from our lending library, the Girasol Symphuo Columbia in a Size 6.

Please welcome back from vacation our photo tutorial VBE, Lauren!

Double Hammock back carry is a carry that uses a base size wrap and starts off center (usually about 18" from the middle marker).

Get your baby onto your back using any method you feel comfortable with, Superman or Hip Scoot are the most common.

Create a seat by tucking the bottom rail all the way to baby's knees and use strand by strand tightening on the wrap to remove any slack from the whole width of the wrap.

Once baby is on your back and you've made a seat, create a rebozo pass with the long tail coming under or arm and the short tail coming over the opposite shoulder. Pin the short tail between your knees as we will be working with the long tail first. 

With the short tail pinned between your knees, use both hands to use the long tail to make a nice, tight chest pass. You can strand by strand tighten to remove the slack throughout the width of the chest pass. 

After bringing the chest pass across the front of your body, spread it under your arm, across baby's back, and over your opposite shoulder to make the second pass. 

A nice L-pull will help to remove slack from the second pass. You can also strand by strand tighten here to get your chest pass nice and smooth.

Bring both tails down under your armpits, creating ruck straps.

Cross the straps behind your back. They should go over baby's first knee, then tuck under baby's opposite knee to pin the seat in place.

Tie a double knot in front.

Double hammock is a very supportive and popular back carry. There are many variations and finishes that give a different look and feel to the carry, including variations for shorter wraps!

Check back next Monday for a new Carry of the Week!

Leap Into Spring! Carry of the Week: Coolest Hip Cross Carry

The Carry of the Week for week 3 is the Coolest Hip Cross Carry.

The CHCC is a carry that pre-ties so you could tie this up before you leave the house and just have to pop in the baby once you arrive to your destination. This carry is generally done with a wrap 2 sizes smaller than your base size. 

The coolest hip carry is a hip carry with two passes that make an X that the baby's bottom sits in. The passes being spread over the back and from knee to knee make it very comfortable for baby and for you!

Here's VBE Maddy with our video tutorial:



Our photo tutorial VBE is coming back from vacation, so we'll see her next week.

Check back next Monday for a new Carry of the Week!

Cleaners and Carriers Don’t Mix

Due to a couple of recent events, we felt it was necessary to let all our members know what happens when cleaners come in contact with carriers and wraps.

Household cleaners even the “gentle” ones, fabric softener, facial cleansers, and other personal care products may cause damage to carriers.
Why is this a big deal? These cleaners not only have a cosmetic effect on the carriers, but they weaken the fabric and cause possible failure during use. We have a responsibility to our members to maintain extremely high standards for the condition of our carriers and any compromised carrier is removed from the library.
These removals reduce the variety of carriers available at meetings and for checking out.
When you join BWI of CVA and when you check out a carrier from the BWI of CVA library, you are agreeing to our Lending Library Policy. In this policy, we ask that you inspect the carrier before leaving the meeting. If you see anything out of the ordinary please let a volunteer know right away.
Also in our Lending Library Policy is a replacement guideline; If there is damage to the carrier while it is checked-out to you, you are responsible for its replacement.
These two carriers had to be removed from the lending library:

We take pride in the variety of carriers in our library and we rely on our members to keep our carriers safe while they are in our member’s possession.

Leap into Spring! Carry of the Week: Rucksack Back Carry

The Carry of the Week for Week 2 is the Rucksack Back Carry, also known as a Ruck.

The Ruck is many people's first back carry.

Practice all carries, especially back carries with a spotter, over a bed or couch, or low to the ground until you are completely confident. A BWI meeting is the perfect place to learn new skills with the assistance of a Volunteer Babywearing Educator. In most cases it is best to be comfortable with front carries before attempting back carries. (BWI Babywearing Safety) We recommend waiting until your baby can sit unsupported to begin back carries. You should always try your first back carries with a spotter or over a soft surface such as a bed. However, if you have completely mastered front and hip carries and have successfully back wrapped another baby, it is safe to do back carries in a woven wrap with a baby who isn’t sitting unsupported yet. (BWI Back Wrapping Infants)

A rucksack carry is a high back carry. You start by making a fabric seat for the baby and then pin the seat with the rails going over the legs on one side and under them on the other. You can use with a shorter wrap and tie it under the baby's bum, or with a longer wrap you can tie it in front. You have the choice to spread the passes across the baby's back for more support or keeping them bunched as shown in the video.

This carry can be good in hot weather as it is a single layer carry, but that also means it may not be comfortable for a long term carry. Generally, this carry will use a size or two smaller than your base size.



This week we only have our video tutorial as our VBE who does the photo tutorial is enjoying her vacation.



Check back next Monday for a new Carry of the Week!

Leap into Spring! Carry of the Week: Front Cross Carry

Some of the River City Babywearers decided to do a Wrap Challenge for the month of March. We decided it would be a good idea to do a tutorial on one of those carries for those that would like a little extra help and make it the Carry of the Week (COTW). We have tutorials for the COTW made by two of our Volunteer Babywearing Educators, Maddy and Lauren.

Our first Carry of the Week is Front Cross Carry (FCC).

Many people's first carry is a Front Wrap Cross Carry (FWCC). So what's the difference between a FWCC and a FCC?

Front Wrap Cross Carry (FWCC) starts with the wrap centered on the chest for a torso pass, bunched up and under the arms and then crossed in the back before bringing up and over the shoulders. Baby is placed in the torso pass and the wrap is then crossed in the front (over leg and then under baby's leg) with bunched or spread cross passes before bringing around to tie in back. This can also be tied under bum with cinched cross passes.

Front Cross Carry (FCC) starts with the wrap centered on the back, bunched up and bring underneath the arms. It continues with 2 cross passes in the front and then up and over the shoulders to cross in the back before bringing it around to tie in front. Baby is placed in and sits in the "x" created by the cross passes. There is an optional shoulder flip.

This carry is an excellent first carry for new wrappers and is wonderful for new babies as well. It's also a poppable carry, meaning you can wrap before you leave the house and "pop" baby in when you arrive at your destination! It's super great for on the go!

First up is a video tutorial with Maddy:

Now we have Lauren with a photo tutorial:

Find the middle marker on your wrap, and bunch the wrap together, keeping the top rail on top & bottom rail on bottom.

Bring the middle marker to the center of your wrap, keeping it bunched behind you.

Hold one tail between your knees, and bring the other tail across your chest to your opposite shoulder.

Repeat with the other tail. Both tails should now be crossing your chest, creating an X on the front of your body.

Cross the tails in the back to make another X on the back of your body.

Bring the tails back around to the front and loosely tie a double knot.

Find the cross pass that is closest to your body, and put baby's leg into that pass, so that the wrap is between baby's legs.

Spread that pass from knee to knee and across baby's back.

Put baby's other leg into the outside cross pass. This pass should also be between baby's legs.

Spread the second cross pass from knee to knee as well.

Once the passes are spread, untie the double knot and gently "bounce" baby into the carry. Tighten any slack as needed.

Pull slack from the back and retie the double knot in the front underneath baby's bottom.

Ta-Da! You have now wrapped a Front Cross Carry (FCC)

For this carry Lauren used a size 5 Tekhni Soteria Dawn from our lending library! Be sure to try this wonderful Repreve wrap out at one of our meetings!

Check back next Monday for a new Carry of the Week!

Two New Policies

Wellness Policy:

For the protection of all children and caregivers in our community, we ask that caregivers responsibly monitor the health and wellness of themselves and the children in their care. Please do not attend meetings if you or the child(ren) attending with you have any of the following symptoms within the 24 hours before a BWI event:

• Fever exceeding 99* F
• Unexplained rash
• Conjunctivitis/Pink Eye (red/pink eyes with yellow discharge- must be symptom free or on antibiotics for 24 hours)
• Cold-like symptoms with thick green/yellow nasal discharge
• Any other symptoms not previously mentioned that are likely contagious

In the case of vomiting or diarrhea, we ask that you refrain from attending any BWI event until you have been symptom free for 72 hours, as these types of viruses tend to have a longer period of contagiousness and can be especially dangerous when passed to young infants and pregnant women.

Please use your best judgement in assessing the health of your family members... The community we service is full of young children and pregnant women, and our aim is to protect them from illnesses. BWI of Central VA reserves the right to ask those who are visibly ill to leave a meeting at any time for the protection of other attendees.

The volunteers of BWI of Central Va also must follow this policy and if there are not enough volunteers to hold a meeting, that the meeting will be cancelled. In the event of a cancellation, we will update the event page, Facebook page and group, and blog.

Food and Drink Policy:

In an effort to create a safe and welcoming environment for all, and in response to many food-based allergies within our community, it is important that no food or drinks be brought into our meeting spaces. This includes snacks for toddlers and older children, as well as snacks for yourself.

As always, we welcome caretakers of young infants to provide breastmilk or formula as needed. It is also permissible to bring water in a closed/sealed container or sippy cup for yourselves or your children.

When necessary, any snacks brought to the meeting may be consumed outside of the meeting space. We ask that you be mindful of young children eating snacks, as sharing can be extremely dangerous for others with allergies. Many of our locations are nut-free, so as to reduce any confusion all of our meeting spaces and areas outside of our meeting spaces are "nut-free zones".

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter as we strive for inclusiveness within our chapter.

Six Monthly Meetings

BWI of Central VA has grown tremendously in the past year.  In order to attempt to accommodate our members, we will now offer 6 regularly scheduled monthly meetings starting in March!  Our newest meeting will be in Short Pump on the 4th Tuesday from 1-3pm of each month starting March 22nd.

Check out our schedule:

• Midlothian Wednesday Meeting: 1st Wednesdays from 10am-11:30 at St Mark's United Methodist Church
  
• Southside Saturday Meeting: 2nd Saturdays from 2:30-4:30 Location still in the works (now monthly)
  
• Byrd Park Monday Meeting: 2nd Mondays from 10am-Noon at First UU Church of Richmond
  
• Chester Wednesday Meeting: 3rd Wednesdays from 3-4:30pm at Karmady Yoga Studio
  
• Short Pump Tuesday Meeting: 4th Tuesdays from 1-3pm at Shady Grove United Methodist Church in Glen Allen  **As of 9/27 this meeting is from 4:30-6pm**
  
• Carytown Saturday Meeting: 4th Saturdays from 10am-Noon at Reveille United Methodist Church

Meeting CANCELLED

Due to the snowy weather, the meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, January 23rd has been CANCELLED due to the weather.  Please stay safe!

Weather Update for January Carytown Meeting

IMPORTANT WEATHER ANNOUNCEMENT: We are aware of the wintery weather predicted for Friday-Saturday. Please check back on Friday 1/22 after 5pm for a final decision about whether the 1/23 Carytown meeting will be cancelled. We will announce in the meeting event, in our Facebook group, on our Facebook page, and on our blog/website. If the meeting is cancelled all carrier eligible for renewal will be automatically renewed for another month (very overdue carriers are still due back ASAP).