Month: June 2013

Field day is quickly approching….

https://www.facebook.com/groups/286967868082230/#!/events/403565673096296/

Come on out with the whole family for a day of babywearing fun! We’ll be celebrating all things babywearing, as well as fundraising for our group! Field Day is free and open to the public, with specific activities devoted to raising money.  The day will include: Babywearing games (Free: relay race and wrap tug-of-war) … *Babywearing competitions ($5 entry each: Daddy obstacle course, Mommy carry-a-thon… each winner will receive a FREE year-long family membership to Kitsap Babywearers!)  **Raffle (babylegs, cloth diapers, beauty products, henna session, a free wrap conversion, and more!) Education about and assistance with your babywearing needs Refreshments for sale (juice, water, pretzels, etc.) RSVP here so we know how many to plan for. 🙂 Let us know in your reply how many family members you’ll be bringing with you! If you’d like to volunteer your time the day of, have something to donate to our raffle, or would like to purchase raffle tickets but wont be able to make the event, please email us at kitsapbabywearers(at)gmail(dot)com . *If your family has already purchased a year-long membership before Field Day, you will be credited another year. **Raffle tickets are $1 each, 7 for $5, or 15 for $10 All proceeds will go toward the Kitsap Babywearers Lending Library.

Carry of the Week: Week 26 – Half Jordans Back Carry

COTW-26

WEEK 26
Half Jordans Back Carry

Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAI7Sy3tHeM

Half Jordans Back Carry is an excellent shorty back carry – which is also going to be great for this week’s hot weather! This carry also includes a leg pass to help lock in those leg straighteners. You’ll need a size 2-3 (for most wearers) to do this carry.

Post photos below of you trying out a Half Jordans Back Carry!

Carry of the Week: Week 25 – Back Wrap Cross Carry with Sweetheart Finish

COTW-25

WEEK 25
Back Wrap Cross Carry with Sweetheart Finish

Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_KRB5PGTjU

The BWCC with Sweetheart Finish gives a super cute look in the front with the chest pass for support and two leg passes (great for those leg straighteners!). This carry requires a size 6+ for most.

Post photos below of you trying out a Back Wrap Cross Carry with Sweetheart Finish!

Baby wearing survey

Did you know that the average baby wearer is 31?  I, and many others, recently partook in an on-line survey regarding baby wearing.  The results were quite astounding.  Bill Robertson was so kind to allow me to post the results to share.

http://goo.gl/8WuM0  CLICK THIS LINK FOR MORE SPECIFIC DETAILS.
With 1,482 people participating, the response to this survey was fantastic!
Among other interesting findings, the average babywearer is 31 years old and has 2 children and 7 carriers. In particular, I found the difficulties that babywearers face to be very interesting:
  • Stage 1. Discovering babywearing
    • The number of babywearing options can be overwhelming.
    • Finding knowledgeable resources, particularly in-person support.
    • There is contradicting information, misconceptions, and misinformation.
  • Stage 2. Finding a desirable baby carrier
    • Initially, most only know about carriers offered by large retailers.
    • Finding a suitable carrier once more options are known (i.e., ideal for body type, lifestyle, infant size, and price range).
    • Babywearing terminology and acronyms can be intimidating.
    • High prices and the lack of a trial period inhibit some purchases.
  • Stage 3. Learning how to use a purchased baby carrier
    • Gaining confidence that you are wearing your baby correctly.
    • Ensuring that your baby is safe, particularly for newborns (e.g., fear of dropping, asphyxiation, poor spine/hip alignment).
    • Acclimating the baby to being worn.
    • Learning different carries, especially back carries.
    • Enduring muscle fatigue and back pain.
  • Ongoing: Criticism and pressure from friends, family, and observers.
I hope you enjoyed this information.
-Natalie

Carry of the Week: Week 24 – Ruck Tibetan / Knotless

COTW-24

WEEK 24
Ruck Tibetan / Knotless

Tibetan Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjkE59VZUX0
Knotless Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTFDuPBmhPg

A ruck without a waistband knot! Tibetan is a fun tie off that threads the straps across your chest. Make sure you note the difference between the normal Tibetan tieoff and the knotless tieoff — in the first, the crossed passes are threaded under the ruck strap and through to the outside and will need tied off in the center. In the second, the passes are threaded OVER the ruck strap through to the center – and this method does not require a knot because it holds the tension on it’s own.

Post photos below of you trying out a Ruck Tied Tibetan and Knotless!

Carry of the Week: Week 23 – Christinas Ruckless

COTW-23

WEEK 23
Christinas Ruckless

Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ6Vrrv6q5w

Dislike ruck straps on your shoulders? This is the carry for you! This can be done with a wrap size 4+ (depending on the wearers size) and is a great carry with multiple layer and leg passes for bigger kids and straighteners!

Post photos below of you trying out a Christina’s Ruckless!

Here we go!

There’s been a lot of momentum in our little local babywearing group lately! And it’s come a long way since October of 2012 when Stephanie and I founded the group and started monthly meetings to start connecting and building the babywearing community here in Kitsap County. Now we’re starting to see a lot of our hopes and dreams come to fruition!

I have achieved Volunteer Babywearing Educator (VBE) accreditation through Babywearing International which has been a long time personal goal of mine. Desiree has recently achieved this as well, which means we can finally start the process of becoming an official BWI chapter! 

We’re also making some major progress with our lending library. I’m announcing this here first that we have received some generous donations from Action Baby Carriers, Boba, and Sakura Bloom, in addition to some donations from local mamas. Our plan is to have the lending library up and running by our July meeting. We’re still working out the details and building the library a bit more.

Our first newsletter went out today, with lots of exciting news, including our first big fundraiser – Babywearing Field Day – planned for July! Think field games like tug-o-war, obstacle courses, and egg spoon races, but with a babywearing twist! We’ll being doing a raffle, and some contests too! And some sad news as well. We have to say farewell to Stephanie who is leaving us to make great babywearing contributions to the Maryland babywearing world. This group exists in part because of her, and has thrived because of her hard work and dedication to our community. Thank you again Stephanie! And thank you baby Mary for all the demos! 

With Stephanie leaving, we have new leadership in the works. Joining me are Desiree, Natalie, Jennifer, and Brandy. Each of these ladies have shown a strong desire to help this group grow and they hope to do great things for our babywearing community, in addition to developing their babywearing teaching skills! It’s thanks to Natalie that we have this blog up and running! And with more leaders, we can have a greater outreach. We now have north and south Kitsap play dates for our mamas who can’t make the weekend monthly meeting, or just need more babywearing love! We’re also planning specific workshops and classes, and hope to have a weekday monthly meeting as well.

Stay tuned! Things are happening!

~Theresa

Newsletter June 2013

Kitsap Babywearers

June 2013 Newsletter

Events: All events are free and open to the public

Monthly Meeting:
Saturday, June 8th, 2:00-5:00pm at the Haselwood YMCA
Our meetings cover babywearing 101 and safety, offer one-on-one assistance, provide opportunities to try on different types of carriers, and foster community building with babywearers of all skill levels. If you are not a member of the YMCA, and it is your first visit, please stop at the front desk to fill out a waiver form. You will need a picture ID and have your picture taken. For future visits you will only need to show ID and sign in. To save time, print and fill out the waiver form in advance: http://www.ymcapkc.org/files/library/ef6d2177fd31b30b.pdf
 
Babywearing Play Dates: South Kitsap: Tuesday, June 18th 10:00am Evergreen Park in Bremerton*
 
North Kitsap: Wednesday, June 26th 3:00pm Frank Raab Park in Poulsbo*
*weather permitting – check our Facebook page or group the morning of the play date for a weather update!

SAVE the DATE – Sunday July 21st

Babywearing Field Day
We’re planning a day of babywearing fun for the whole family! Think field day games with a babywearing twist, such as tug-o-war with a chain of woven wraps!
We will also be doing a lot of fundraising during field day to raise funds for our lending library that is almost ready to commence!

News:

  • We now have a blog! It’s still a work in progress, but we will have lots of good information on it soon, such as lending library rules and forms, calendar of events, workshops and more! Check it out: http://bwikitsap.wordpress.com. Please make sure to join our FB group as well to connect with other local babywearers!
  • Theresa McGuirk & Desiree Rios are both now accredited Volunteer Babywearing Educators (VBE) through Babywearing International! After completing a written application that tests their knowledge of babywearing safety, proper carrier usage, and trouble-shooting, each VBE then completes an hour long live assessment with a Master Babywearer that demonstates their ability to use the all the major types of carriers in each position. Congratulations ladies!
  • Farewell Stephanie McAdams! Stephanie was one of the co-founders and leaders of Kitsap Babywearers. She and her family are re-locating to Maryland this month, and Stephanie plans to become a VBE for the local BWI chapter there. We wish you best of luck Stephanie! Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to this group! You will be missed!

Donations & Volunteers:
We need:

  • Donations of goods and/or services to raffle off during Babywearing Field Day on July 21st. All funds raised will go directly to building our carrier lending library!
  • People to help organize and plan field day, in addition to volunteers to help day of to set-up/breakdown, man booth, oversee games, etc. 
  • Donations of carriers for our lending library or a mother in need are always welcome.

Contact us at kitsapbabywearers@gmail.com if you are able to help with anything on this list! Thank you!

Buy, Sell, Trade Carriers
If you are looking to buy a used carrier from a local babywearer, or are in the market to sell or trade, we have a document you may edit and comment on in our Facebook group, or come to a meeting and check out the For Sale table. Please see a group leader if you are adding items to the sale table prior to the start of the meeting.
*Any DIY carriers must be approved in person by a group leader to confirm the carrier’s safety prior to listing for sale at a meeting or on the Facebook group. Please email us to make arrangements.