This was our first meeting at the Whole Foods location, and despite nasty rain, we had a great turnout. It was mostly newer moms and beginning babywearers, which was well suited to the week’s topic: Introduction to Babywearing. That’s a broad topic with a lot to cover, so after introductions, we got down to business!

We started out with a summary of the types of carriers, showing examples of each and demonstrating some of their uses. First up were Soft Structured Carriers. We discussed the alternatives to the carriers commonly found at major retailers, where the different carriers support the baby’s body, and inward vs outward facing carriers. We demonstrated front, back, and hip carries with Ergo, Jetpack, and Scootababy respectively.

Next we moved on to wraps, which seemed to be extremely enlightening for some of the new mamas!! Erin used a Size 6 Didymos Indio to demonstrate a Front Wrap Cross Carry and a High Back Carry. Many of the moms had never seen a wrap in action, and were intrigued by how comfortable and easy it could be.

This was followed by mei tai carriers, which is where things started to get really exciting. The mei tais appealed to most people in the room, and everyone started getting antsy to try them out. I demonstrated a back carry with a silk kozy, while Erin simultaneously showed how to tie on a Mamsemum. It was a lot to take in at once, but definitely helped whet everyone’s appetites for mei tais.

We ended with slings and pouches, and demonstrated a hip carry, cradle carry, and kangaroo carry with a silk oopa, cotton kalea, and hotslings. This part of the discussion was cut a bit short because people hadn’t settled down from the mei tai demonstration and it was clear that they were all ready for show and tell.

I was definitely glad I’d reserved the room for 2 hours because we spent a full hour trying things out and playing around with all the carriers. A couple of people were sold on mei tais, and at least one baby was convinced about the Ergo.