My Babywearing Journey
This season we hear from Baby
Wearers Western Australia volunteer
and mother of 3, Katy Geyer.
Cot - check, bassinet - check, pram
- check… sorted right?! Or so I
thought but then we took a trip to
Melbourne with our then 3 month
old, Isabella. Luckily, a friend lent
me her front pack carrier and it was
a godsend while travelling as
hopping on trams and trains with
a pram was a pain.
When we got home, I looked
into different carrier options as I
really loved the closeness it brought
between my baby girl and I. Then one
of the mums in my mothers group
lent me her ergo and, showing what
I knew, I faced her forward in it, oops!
But once she showed me how to use
it correctly, I thought, “Oh my gosh,
this is soo comfy!” and I immediately
wanted one and so my first carrier
was a cute blue floral organic Ergo.
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From there my obsession grew!
When Iz was 5 months old we found
out we were expecting again and I
was thrilled to be able to carry from
newborn with my second child. I
got my first woven wrap - a Kokadi
Erna im Wunderland - when Izzy was
just over 12 months but she never
really liked being “up”. When our son,
Nicholas was born I got myself to
the first meet I could to learn how to
carry him and he loved it! I did still
use my ergo on occasion but never
really found it as comfy as my wrap.
Not long after Nicholas was
born I was lucky enough to score a
custom conversion spot with a new
converter, Amy from Chrysalis Tree.
She converted a Natibaby Princely
Cogs woven wrap into a half buckle
with a ring tai waist. I’ve also been
lucky enough to have a custom
conversion from Maddimoo. Sam
converted my Erna (that I dyed blue
to look like Ela!). Though half buckles
never really took, my obsession
with woven wraps did - must try
all the wraps! I’ve had many pass
through with my beautiful babies:
Girasol Dreambis, Didymos FHI,
Oscha Coralline, Kokadi Amadeu s,
Oscha Starry Nights Midnight,
Natibaby Stardust and more.
A friend introduced me to the
world of handwovens and at first
I was not sold as the few I tried I
found quite thick and just not my
cup of tea. But when I found out
I was pregnant with my 3rd child,
another little girl, I really wanted to
find something special to have as a
keepsake for her. I scoured the local
handwoven group and bought a
beautiful Cloth of Kin wrap. Although
I loved the colours, it was a little
short for us and sadly moved on.
There are always wraps that came
carried away | Spring 2015 | My Babywearing Journey
up and sister slots for draw and
one day I won! A sister slot on a
beautiful rainbow warp (rainbow
was my fave!). I asked Cat for some
advice on weave and colours; it’s
very daunting when it comes to
semi-custom handwovens at first! I
settled on a pink hearts weave and
when it arrived Christmas Eve, oh my
gosh it was stunning! It was love at
first sight and true love with the first
wrap of my then 3week old bubba.
When my local
babywearing group asked
for a new leader I was
quick to put my hand up.
I thought, “Why not help
and share this amazing
gift with other mummas?”
I’ve never thought of
myself as an expert and
there are many things I
still don’t know but how
to carry my baby safely is
certainly one of them.
I get a lot of mummas asking
for advice on SSC (soft structured
carriers) which I’m not full bottle on,
but most just want to know what
their options are as now there are
sooo many! We are so grateful to
have such a wonderful babywearing
community and association in WA
that has raised money to supply
members with libraries all over WA
so that mummas can “try before
they buy” which helps make the
decision of what carrier to buy much
easier. Most of all I enjoy catching
up with like-minded mummas
and sharing our knowledge and
love of all things babywearing.
Without babywearing I would
not have survived 3 children, 3 and
under! It has truly been a godsend.
Babywearing allows me to get my
housework done, go shopping
without too much crying, and the biggest thing - it created an
amazing bond with my children.
They too like to babywear now and
I’m so happy to watch them role
play in such a kind and caring way.
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My Babywearing Journey