Babywearing // The Wrap

He’s here! Our sweet new addition made his arrival on August 12th… And Finn is currently snuggled up on my chest as I write this. Pure bliss!

I have a secret.

I was scared of a baby wrap.

When Max was tiny, I used a sling, but pretty much only at the grocery store. When he was bigger, I wore him a few times in a carrier, but nothing major.

But I had a feeling with baby number 2 that I would need to be much more hands-free and mobile. I knew I would want to be able to easily follow Max around and do activities with him, even if the baby was feeling needy (as all newborns do!).

Enter the Solly Baby Wrap. I have been following Elle Rowley (the designer/creator of Solly Baby Wrap) on Instagram since March, when she was part of our Baby Booty giveaway. She had her adorable 3rd child in March, so her feed has been full of beautiful and inspiring baby wearing photos.

I kept watching and seeing her photos of her working, at her older’s dance classes, and just out and about wearing her newborn and I thought “I could do that!” because she makes it look so easy (and chic!).

A couple months ago, she posted a few new video tutorials on wrapping and I got intrigued… again. I watched them here and decided that yes, in fact, I was ready to attempt a wrap, even though I was super intimidated by them!

Now, I’m going to be completely honest with you and show you a few photos of me practicing my wrap at 8 months pregnant. I look ridiculous. And hilarious. And I felt stupid. But I figured it out and with some help from our 12 lb. dog, Harley, I was ready when the baby came.

And it’s amazing.

With Finn clocking in at 2 weeks, I’ve managed to use the wrap nearly every day. As I mentioned in my Baby Budget Tips post, we are using a convertible car seat  for Finn. Since it’s not removable from the car, it makes the wrap even more necessary and I’ve used it for doctor appointments, dinner, church, and Max’s first day of preschool. I was easily able to keep Finn under wraps from germy places, which is a big advantage when they are so tiny. Plus, Finn is definitely a cuddly newborn and tasks like cooking and cleaning are much easier with two hands when he’s just in the mood to snuggle. : )

And my #1 tip for a new wrap user? If you know you are going somewhere that you’ll be using your wrap immediately, tie it on at home before you leave. This has helped me feel a lot less self-conscious about wrapping in public and helps me exit the car with 2 littles much more efficiently than if I had to wrap in the parking lot after we arrived.

The best news? We’ve paired up with Solly Baby Wrap to give away a wrap of your choice along with Elle’s new book, Carrying Baby!

 

*** Congratulations to the winner, random entry number 325 chosen, Kathryn Rosellini! And thank you ALL for entering and being a part of Fresh Mommy Blog! I will email the winner and there are 24 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. ***

Solly Baby provided me with my wrap at no charge. All opinions are mine, all mine, and no other compensation was received for this post. Good luck everyone!

PS- Here are some outtakes from my wrap practice with a baby belly!