By Sandi

I don’t own a stroller. Ok, I actually do, but it hasn’t moved in over a year and is buried under sawdust, scrap wood and other assorted junk in our shed. I do, however have a special cupboard filled to the top with wraps. Gorgeous, tactile, textured, soft, fuzzy, multifunctional, simple pieces of cloth that I use to wear my baby.

From the time I was pregnant I knew I wanted to wear my baby and in the first few months after my son Connor was born I tried ring slings, pouch slings, mei tais, and a soft structured carrier, all in the quest to find just the right one for us. I had seen pictures of people using wraps and thought it looked really cool, but I was intimidated by it (it looked so complicated!) and figured it probably wasn’t for me.

Then one day, on a whim, I asked to borrow the woven wrap from the Winnipeg Babywearers lending library. I waited for Connor to go to sleep and then pored over the webpage www.mamatoto.org studying different ways to wrap, watching videos and deciding which ones I wanted to learn. I decided to start with the Front Wrap Cross Carry and after a couple tries, felt confidant enough to go for a walk around the block. I was amazed at how comfortable it was and how evenly distributed his weight was across my body. Even more, though, I was amazed at how connected I felt to Connor. Having him wrapped close against my chest reminded me being pregnant, reminded me of the time when we were still physically attached- more so than with any other carrier I’d tried. There was also something so amazing and primal about using this plain, long strip of fabric to hold my baby close. There was no need for buckles or rings or stitching. It was just me, my baby and my wrap. I was instantly hooked.

Over the next few months I perfected a number of different carries- front carries, back carries and hip carries; different carries for different situations. A rucksack carry to vacuum the house and do the dishes, a hip cross carry to walk the dog and look at the changing leaves, a cuddly, snuggly kangaroo carry for winding down at bedtime. On lazy afternoons I would look up a new carry on youtube, grab Connor and we’d start practicing to pass the time. He enjoyed the snuggle time with his mama. I enjoyed the challenge of perfecting a new carry, the closeness I felt to my son and the true versatility of the wrap itself. (Full disclosure: I also kinda loved the attention we’d get wrapping in public. The first time I did a Back Wrap Cross Carry in Polo Park, I literally drew a crowd, which was just a little bit of heaven for this unabashed exhibitionist!)

Not only do my wraps function as baby carriers, allowing me to ride the bus, walk the dog, even direct and choreograph a musical while snuggling and comforting my baby, they also make great picnic blankets, sun shades, winter scarves, nursing pillows, and wicked cool hammocks! Not a day goes by that I don’t reach for a wrap for one reason or another. They have become the most used tools in my parenting arsenal.

As Connor enters toddler-hood, I don’t get to wrap him as much as I once did. He’s close to walking and getting more and more independent by the day. If I can catch him in the right mood, though, he still loves to go up for a mommy-back ride. If he’s teething or overtired, nothing calms him down faster than nursing in a front carry. I cherish every day I get to wrap him, since I know this precious time will be gone all too soon. I’ve even decided which wrap I’m going to keep forever as a legacy wrap, and have daydreams of wearing it as a shawl to his high school graduation, and one day wrapping his children in it.

In the meantime, our stroller sits parked under the junk in our shed and as far as I’m concerned, it can stay there. It’s just me, my baby and my wrap and I wouldn’t have it any other way.


Thanks Sandi for giving us permission to publish this lovely article!

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