The Sling Lady

I reported on Georgia, the lovely new Pikkolo baby carrier print, after my trip to the ABC show in September and, at long last, she is here! We’ve already pre-sold a bunch of these, but they are now in stock and available for immediate shipping.

The Georgia print was exclusively designed for Catbird Baby (the Pikkolo manufacturer) of Daisy Janie, so you won’t see it popping up everywhere like some prints we could mention. The pattern is aqua and gray on a white background. The body and straps of the carrier are black, as is the included sleeping hood.

Like all Pikkolos, this carrier is great for newborns on up to toddler, and can worn on the front (with baby facing in or out), on the hip and on the back. You can even do a high back carry with it so your smaller baby (with good head control) can look over your shoulder instead of into your back.

We’ve got plenty of Catbird Baby Weather Covers and Support Belts in stock, too!

The Home Safety Council, a national nonprofit dedicated to preventing home-related injuries, recently released research results showing that many parents are unaware of basic steps they can take to keep their babies safe from injury in the home.  Among their recommendations: having a hands-free baby carrier on hand for use in case of a fire or other emergency.  If you have to crawl under smoke or use a safety ladder to get outside, a secure hands-free baby carrier can literally be a life-saver.  Read the full article.

I should have thought of this!  Honestly, even though I’ve been a babywearing educator for close to 7 years, it never even occurred to me that a baby carrier would be the essential item in your disaster toolkit.  I don’t generally dwell on this sort of thing too much, and before reading this article, if you’d asked me about an emergency situation, I probably would have answered that I’d grab my kids and run.  And certainly, there are some emergencies in which you wouldn’t have time (or the presence of mind) to find your carrier, but in many situations, you might have a few minutes for that extra protection.

For this kind of situation, the SlingLady recommends a secure, two-shouldered carrier that you can get on and off in a jiffy and which will allow you to move quickly as well as being truly hands free.  For this purpose, we like a front or back buckle carrier: the Beco Baby Carrier, the Pikkolo, and the ERGO baby carrier are all great options.

This article was a great reminder that it makes sense to take some time now to identify a carrier in your stash for this purpose and to always keep in a spot you’ll remember, even when it’s hard to think clearly.  And now, please excuse me while I grab my ERGO carrier and put it under my nightstand.

I had a great time chatting with Beth from Catbird Baby and hanging out in her cute booth at ABC (that’s it, above). I felt like I’d known her forever, I think since we both hang out in the Vendors Lounge at thebabywearer.com and because Beth is always great about answering my million emails about the Pikkolo.  We had a good gossip about various and sundry thing related to babywearing and the business of babywearing (no more on that, though, my lips are sealed).  She mentioned that many more people seem to know about baby carriers this year vs. last year, and that many people even knew about mei tais. Babywearing is definitely on the rise!

I also got to take pics of the new Pikkolo prints, due to arrive at CMA in early November. On the left is the new Leaf print, a cool Michael Miller fabric that I think will look great with jeans.

On the right is the lovely Georgia. Teal and grey are both very in this season, so I’m thinking Beth was ahead of the curve in picking this geometric print featuring both of these colors on a white background. This is a going to look great with a lot of fall fashion offerings.

In case you need a reminder, there are a lot of reasons the Pikkolo is a must-have, especially for new parents. It’s as versatile as a mei tai and can be a front carrier, a front facing out carrier, a hip carrier and a back carrier. This carrier can be used with newborns (8 lbs and up) with no additional accessories required. You can ever do high back carries with little guys to let them peek over your shoulder while on your back. The Pikkolo is customizable both for the parent and the baby. Parents can wear it with or without the optional support belt. Wearing it without the belt gives you more flexibility. Add the belt and you get more length on the carrier and also more support for you as baby gets heavier. Parents can also cross the straps in back or wear it rucksack style with the included chest belt. For baby, the base of the Pikkolo is adjustable – it can cinch down to 7″ inches to accomodate little babies and then widens to create a supportive seat for an older baby or toddler.

The new Pikkolos are available for pre-order from CMA now, and we hope to ship them late October or early/mid November.

Beth from Catbird Baby says it’s cool to give y’all a heads up on the new Pikkolo pattern from Catbird Baby.  This carrier will be shown in it’s full glory at the upcoming ABC show next week, but meantime, here’s a fabric sample.  It’s the lovely Leaflet fabric from Michael Miller:

No word yet on the strap color.  This Pikkolo should be available in October.

Dear SlingLady,

I just bought a Beco carrier three days ago and I am just too short in the torso for it to fit correctly, also, I think the carrier is terribly uncomfortable for me and my baby (4 months).  I am interested in a mei tai, but there are so many variations made by different companies – could you help me choose one that will fit better??  Here is a little bit about myself:  I’m 5 feet tall (or a bit under) and I will wear my baby all the time (I’m currently holding her, and I’m just not getting anything done).  Other carriers that I’ve used are the bjorn (which I’ve stopped using after excruciating neck/back pain and negative info I’ve read) and a fleece sling (again neck pain and she doesn’t care for it).  I’m interested in a carrier that can be used on the back (which I know the mei tai can as well as facing the baby forward in front because she loves to look out and see what’s going on.  If you need any other info from me, please just let me know.  Thank you so much for your time.

- Gina Suarez

Dear Gina,

It’s great that you are so determined to find a good carrier for you and your daughter!  It is indeed overwhelming to look at the numbers of carriers out there and try to sort through them.

Many people who find buckle carriers like the Beco uncomfortable often really fall in love with mei tais.   There are a lot of mei tai options out there as well, and you may just want to start by trying some that you like the look of.  The two we carry, the Kozy and the Ball Baby Carrier, are great places to start.  Since you are interested in facing your daughter outwards, too, you might want to start with the Kozy carrier.  It works well as a back carrier and can be used for facing out as well.  It has a narrower base than the Ball Baby, so works better for facing out carries.  The Ball Baby, on the other hand, is more comfortable for hip carries.

Another option for you might be the Pikkolo baby carrier.  It has buckles like the Beco, but doesn’t have the padded waist, so it fits more like a mei tai.  It cinches at the base, so that it can be used for smaller babies, as well as for facing out carries.  The Pikkolo has memory foam in the straps, which gets raves from users, and is one of the buckle carriers that is more comfortable for petite wearers.

A third option is a woven wrap.  They are a bit intimidating to learn, but nothing beats their versatility!  CMA has Ellaroo woven wraps on sale right now, too, so they might be worth checking out.  Bali Baby Breeze wraps are another great option, especially since they are very light, which will be nice as the weather gets warmer.

Lastly, if none of these works for you, consider a small-bodied mei tai, like the Freehand Baby Carrier.

Please write back and let me know how it goes!

Warmly,

The Sling Lady

One of my must-have babywearing accessories is a good babywearing mirror.  CMA has the peek-in-back mirror, which I love for how cute it is.  The peek-in-backs main drawbacks are that it’s possibly to lose the mirror and that you can’t use it with all carriers.  For this reason, I’m happy to be introducing the Rearview Mirror, by Cisco.  The mirror is tiny, but it gets the job done!

Attached to a carabiner clip with a retractable strip, the Rearview Mirror can be used with any of our baby carriers because it just clips on.   It works just like retractable ID badges – you just pull out the mirror to check on your child (Is she asleep yet?  What on earth is he chewing on?  Is the shade covering her head)  then it retracts back on its own.  Easy-peasy and so convenient.

For a limited time, we are offering the Rearview Mirror free with purchase of any of our Mei Tais or Buckle Carriers (excluding the Scootababy, since you don’t really need the mirror with a hip carrier).  Simply add the mirror to your cart along with the Kozy Carrier, Ball Baby Overall, ERGO, My Pouch or Pikkolo carrier of your choice, and use the code MIRROR at checkout.