Maymont Nature Center Meeting

         This weekend's meeting looked like it was going to be gloomy but actually ended up being a lot of fun! Because of the rain and race outside, we took our meeting inside Maymont Park's Nature Center. It was "Free Museum" day, so we were all able to print our passes and get in for free! We met at the Cafe inside and took the kids through the exhibits together. In addition to all the animals in tanks, cages, and displays, it was also "Meet the Reptiles" day so there were staffers bringing out turtles, snakes, and lizards for the kids to meet and touch.

 Once we were through the regular exhibits, we found the "Discovery Room" in the back of the building, which is where they normally hold their Toddler Time classes during the week, so it is equipped with toys, books, puzzles, and displays to help the kids further understand the James River and Chesapeake Bay regions. The kids had a blast playing with the toys, feeling the pelts, looking at the shadow boxes, and playing with the 3D tree and felt diagrams on two walls depicting the various habitats of all the animals in our area! It didn't turn out the way we expected, but it was definitely a great way to spend a raining morning with friends!
    In other news, we have some new VBE's in the group! Volunteer Babywearing Educators, or VBE's, are people who have passed an evaluation by Babywearing International and are able to assist with carriers and help teach new carries. They had to be proficient in front, back, and hip carries with wraps, SSCs (Ergos, Bobas, Becos, etc), Ringslings, Pouches, and MeiTais and be able to answer various troubleshooting questions. Please join us in congratulating Courtney, Alexis, Kati, Sara, and Kit!
   Coming up October 10th we are going to be Celebrating International Babywearing Week, "A World Of Possibilities" with thousands of other babywearers around the world by having a week day meeting and learning to make Babywearing Jackets and Ponchos. Please join us if you are able! Monday of that week is known as "Make it Monday" with BWI, so if you have any other crafts or DIY projects you'd like to learn, suggest it here or on our facebook page!

Exciting things of note..

     First of all- welcome to all the new members! It's pretty awesome to see our facebook page exploding. Clearly a babywearing group was needed in the Richmond area!

    Secondly.. for those of you not on facebook, or who just need to see it somewhere other than on your phone (you laugh but you know I'm right!), we have a meeting a week and half from today on August 27th from 10-12 at Westhampton UMC. See the fb page for more information, or watch for directions closer to the meeting. The September meeting has already been set up as well, for Sept 24th at Maymont Park from 10-12. If you would like to host a meeting, a playdate, or just want to reach out for extra guidance, don't hesitate! Every time we see each other does not have to have a teaching period, but we will have one at least once a month. There are so many people bringing so many different strengths to this group and it is amazing to watch everyone helping each other out, but sometimes it's just nice to spend time with like-minded families!

   A few of our members (and of course our fearless leader) have taken the next step to become Volunteer Babywearing Educators (VBE's) through BabyWearing International (BWI) so that they can help out with leading the meetings, or to start weekday meetings to help accommodate all the different schedules. If you are interested in becoming a VBE, check out the BWI blog's post, "What's a VBE?" for more information.
Until next time, enjoy your last few weeks of summer and we hope to see you next weekend!

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to the blog for River City BabyWearers! I'm sorry this blog has been slow and long coming, but hopefully now we can get things started. I was present at the second meeting, on July 30th, and it was fantastic to see so many people coming together. Even with our minor setbacks (The church not sending someone to let us in), it ended up working out really well. Our fearless leader (:-D) showed off her impressive stash, and a few other mamas demonstrated a triple hammock, a double hammock, and a Front Cross Carry on various wraps.
After the demos, there was time for socializing, but it was very neat to watch different people assist others with various carries and carriers, showing off their skills and getting help for their weaknesses, and also introducing each other to new and different ways to wear our babies! It's high time that Richmond had a group like this, and such a turnout from the get go promises new and exciting things.