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<\/p>\nThere are a variety of ways to “wear your baby” these days using slings, wraps, and carriers. Advocates of babywearing describe its benefits, which include less crying for baby, the promotion of baby-parent bonding, and ease of travel. Not to mention less fatigue for the arms! But they usually omit what I think is one of the greatest perks: accessorizing. <\/p>\n
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I must confess that one of the reasons I love using slings and carriers is the look of them. Does such vanity undo all the good that can be accomplished for Lucy? I hope not, because I just can’t resist all those fabulous colors and fabrics! The Maya wrap for bohemian days (see photo), “BabyBj\u00c3\u00b6rn when you are feeling sporty”:\/news\/2006\/traveling-light\/. Add coordinating outfits for mama and baby and you could easily make the cover of Baby Vogue — at least until you experience a spit-up eruption.<\/p>\n
But what about finding an elegant look? And for cheap? I discovered a solution for this, too. Read on.<\/p>\n
At a recent La Leche League meeting, I encountered a woman who wrapped herself and baby up in a very long piece of cloth and voil\u00c3\u00a0! — instant baby-carrier. She told me she took a class to learn how to wrap the cloth and bought the fabric at one particular website. When I looked there, I learned that the wrap cost $80! For five yards of fabric with no hardware. “I can make that myself,” I thought. And I was right. For $18. Here are the two simple steps I took:<\/p>\n
# Buy a 5-yard long piece of fabric. (Some say it helps if the fabric has some stretch, like jersey, but my first wrap doesn’t.) Cut it lengthwise so it is 20-24″ wide. Hem all around, if you feel like it. Lucy loves her new wrap! It gives her great visibility (which is increasingly important to her these days), freedom of movement for those wiggly limbs, and easy-riding comfort. She has spontaneously fallen asleep in it twice (although who knows if the wrap can take the credit). And doesn’t she look fabulous? (See photo). I am just really excited about all of the fabric possibilities. I currently have some cheetah-print fabric being shipped to me — ideal to pair with a black dress, sunglasses, and hat for an upcoming wedding. Oh, and I’ll figure out something for me to wear too. :) Plus, I’m predicting the cheetah print will hide spit-up pretty well!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are a variety of ways to “wear your baby” these days using slings, wraps, and carriers. Advocates of babywearing describe its benefits, which include less crying for baby, the promotion of baby-parent bonding, and ease of travel. Not to mention less fatigue for the arms! But they usually omit what I think is one … <\/p>\n
\n# Watch videos at WearYourBaby.com<\/a>. They will teach you how to wrap your baby securely on your body. Practice wrapping to avoid dropping your baby.<\/p>\n![\"What's](\"http:\/\/boydsnest.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/08\/img_2314.jpg\")
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