My 1st DIY Wrap

I made one of these for a friend and one for me out of 5 yards of gauze fabric split lengthwise and 1/3 yard of the woven fabric for the pocket. It's not perfect by any means... But not bad for a first try. I wasn't thinking and didn't by reversible zippers so you have to make sure when it's in pillow form you keep the zipper pull out and hold it that way and kinda push the zipper open.



You can look all the carries up on www.wrapyourbaby.com. If you do the Pocket Wrap Cross Carry (PWCC) the pouch will be on babies back. It's more supportive but if it's real hot out the extra layers will make it hotter for baby. It's also good for very discrete nursing.  You can put the baby in the cradle position instead of tummy to tummy to nurse if you find that more comfy.

With the Front Cross Carry(FCC) the pouch will be at the small of your back.. The wrap will only go across baby twice so it's a nice cool wrap job. Plus it ties in the front so if your driving with it pre-tied it's more comfy.

The Kangaroo carry would be cool too. I could've brought the ties back around front with this length.

I haven't done it with a real baby yet, but from practicing with a doll I like like the Double Hammock(DH) or sometimes called Chunei Carry, best so far for a back carry. The pouch ends up across your chest.

With both the Front Wrap Cross Carry(FWCC) and Back Wrap Cross Carry(BWCC) the pouch would be buried under the crosses but you could still do them if you wanted. 

If you'd rather do a back carry that doesn't go across your chest you can do a Rucksack and the pouch is on babys back. It would be cooler than the DH. There's a reinforced(RR) version but it puts the crosses over the pouch and baby. After practicing with my baby doll, I couldn't get the reinforcement part as high on the baby as I wanted going under my arms to tie Tibetan style. I decided to come back over my shoulders and tie in the back. This is what some call a Wiggle Proof(WP). I think, if you were doing it with the legs out, with the RR the reinforcement would go over the first leg then under the second leg, and vice versa with the WP.  So the jury is out on a fav back carry. Raiden wasn't cooperating and leaning over with my big belly was getting tiresome.

Of course there are hip carries too but obviously not for a newborn. I use my ring sling for that with the bigger ones and only for up/down times. It hurts my shoulder too much after a while. Although I did try tying this wrap with a sailors knot and put Ronan in and it may be more comfy than my ringsling but this one is too long. I'm going to buy more fabric and make me a rebozo next! (I ended up getting a little over 3 1/2 yards). I'll be able to do a short wrap cross carry, and hip cross carry with it... I'll post it later.

With all the different carries and variations it sounds confusing, but the versatility is the beauty of a wrap. I think once you figure out which works best for you in different situations you won't even have to think about it anymore.

For me.... For around the house in the early days/weeks, when the baby is nursing frequently, I'll prob use the FCC. When he/she starts going longer between feeds and staying awake longer, I'll use either DH or WP to get things done and play with my other little ones.

For grocery shopping, and long outings, PWCC, unless I think it's too hot, then FCC. If baby needs a view I'd switch to a back carry, probably DH to take advantage of my pouch, unless I just end up finding another more comfy or secure.

For short trips that I won't be standing a lot I think I'll try the Kangaroo carry.  Or just pull out my New Native pouch sling. I also like it for wearing a baby down because I can take it off and lay the baby down without having to take the baby out and disturb them.

Happy Babywearing!