A new career in baby carriers?

Oh my poor neglected blog friends!!!!
How could I just not write for...well, three months!!!
where has my life gone???
If I think about it, May and June are always an incredibly busy time for me (due to Little Monkey's & friends' birthdays...) but this year it has been double busy...because I've started to think seriously about setting up my own small business of natural bodycare products, handmade toys, and baby carriers...things that I make anyway for myself and my family, that I am passionate about and that reflect the way I want to live...a way that is more in tune with nature (in spite of having a real problem with wasting time on my iPad...not very natural, is it!).


Proud of my new business cards!

So, in the past three months I've made prototypes, using lots of generous resources on the Internet, and giving it my own twist, to ensure I can produce quality, handmade products for those that would rather support a part-time micro-business run by a mum than a multi-national...

But today let me tell you about baby carriers, because this is the one thing I believe in that truly changed my life as a mum, for the better.

Carrying your baby in a fabric support is not new, obviously, it has always been done and many cultures still do it as a normal way of life.

Courtesy of National Geographic

 

The Western world, though, is less accustomed to the "high contact" and only a few today "wear" their babies; is this because manufacturers of baby products  push you hard to think you need the most expensive type of stroller, or because society tells you that "if you carry him  all the time, he's going to grow up spoilt" (there are plenty of studies demonstrating that in fact carrying a baby regulates his breathing and heartrate, and it's just what nature wants him to do, just like it happens in all the other mammals...until the little ones can be independent).
I learnt in the last three year (since I had my little one) that babywearing has so many advantages that it just seems  the thing to do! From the convenience and ease of use of baby carriers (you have hands and arms again, and no staircase can stop you now!), to promoting physical development of the baby, to improving mother-baby communication and even encouraging milk production, there are lots of reasons to wear your baby.
Check out Babywearing UK and The Natural Child for a full list of benefits and to know more.

If you have been following me since the beginning, you'll know that I started making baby carriers for my Little Monkey some time ago, the first being a Mei Tai based on a pattern I found on the Internet (here you can find my original blog post...), followed by a mini-Mei Tai for her doll (here), until I came across different kinds of baby carriers (ring slings, pouch slings...WOW, the world of babywearing is huge! endless possibilities according to the situation, the age of the child...).
I also realised that I wanted my Mei Tai to be different, to have wider supports on the shoulders, a wider belly support, a pocket to keep small items while on the go...to cut a long story short, I was ready to start making my own prototypes, based on the invaluable lessons learnt through experience and the numerous (and generous) resources found on the net. 

Pouch sling for a dear friend who had never used a baby carrier before...

Gorgeous Joel Dewbury fabric from the Notting Hill collection (http://www.sewscrumptious.co.uk), featured in this light twill ring sling



Me and Little Monkey demonstrating my Mei Tai prototype...how cool is the animation!!!

Friends and family have started asking me to make baby carriers for them, so this is what I have been doing in the last few months, working also on the look (they need to be pretty accessories, not just utility objects, don't they?!), and I have tons of new ideas that I can't wait to experiment...
So watch this space, because I am close to finish a website, and to show you more pretty things that are boiling in my witch's cauldron...
In the meantime, happy babywearing, and enjoy the rest of your summer!