Carried Away Spring 2015 | Page 26

Wrap Wrangling Wrap Wrangling: Inside Out Coolest Hip Cross Carry By Bri Greay How to Inside Out Coolest Hip Cross Carry: 1. Start with a short tail over one shoulder, then pass the rest of the wrap behind you, across your chest, and behind you again. About me: done! A little about Inside Out Coolest Hip Cross Carry: Also known as: Inside out CHCC, Reverse CHCC. Who is it for? This carry is great for babies who are sitting independently, especially mobile babies who love hopping down to play and want to come back up soon after. It’s not ideal for babies who love leaning backwards, as there is no horizontal pass to support them. It is not recommended for newborns, as it is a multi-layer carry with no horizontal pass, so it does not support the natural C-curve of their spine or provide adequate head support. What size wrap can you use? Depending on your T-shirt size, and the size of your baby, I would recommend using a size 3 or 4 wrap. My Review: I really love this carry because I find it really supportive, it can be pre-tied, and you can get baby out and then back in without having to re-tie it. It’s my favourite hip carry when I’m not using a ring sling. 26 I have an almost 2 year old daughter who I have been wearing since she was 4 weeks old. My gateway carrier was a Baby Bjorn, followed closely by a stretchy wrap. When my daughter was 7 weeks old, she was diagnosed with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hips (DDH), and through the WA DDH support group, I found Perth Baby Wearers and Baby Wearers Western Australia Inc., and through them, my love of woven wraps and ring slings began. This is a precision carry so you need to spend some time focusing on tightening it well for it to feel supportive when you finish. If you are fairly new to wrapping, it may take you a bit longer to master this carry while you get more confident with tightening your carries. As such, it can take some time to get it nice and tight, so choose a time to practice when baby is happy to be wrapped. I wouldn’t recommend trying this carry with an unsettled baby until you have mastered it. Tips for trying new carries: Whenever I try a new carry, these are the things I like to do: • Watch a YouTube video a few times – WrappingRachel has a great video on her YouTube channel • Choose a wrap that is a bit longer than the one suggested in the video so that I know I have enough wrap to do the carry. Once I get a feel for how much wrap I need, then I will try the carry with a shorter wrap. I usually use a size 3 for this carry, but here I am using a size 6 Little Frog wrap so that you can easily see the steps with the different coloured rails. • Using a rainbow or striped wrap makes learning carries like this easier because you can see if you have accidentally twisted the wrap, and when tightening you can see exactly where the slack is and therefore what colour strand you need to tighten. • Have the video nearby for the first couple of times I try a new carry, so that I can watch it again if I get stuck. • Practice over my bed, in front of a mirror until I’ve got a feel for the carry and am confident I am doing it right. • If I feel overwhelmed or baby is getting upset, stop trying and try again later or on another day. • Take some photos of the finished carry and review them to see where I can improve. • Send some photos to someone experienced with the carry and ask them for some feedback. • Practice, practice, practice. 3 1 7. Tighten the carry strand by strand, passing any slack from the inside pass, around your waist, through the outside pass, to the tail over your shoulder and through the slip knot. 2. Holding the long side that passes behind your back last, pass it under the chest pass. This will create the X that baby will sit in. 4 2 3. Next, make a slip knot. To do this: 5. Holding your baby on your shoulder, place their leg closest to the slip knot under the pass that goes towards your shoulder, then place their other leg under the outside pass. i. Take the pass that goes under the chest pass and place it over the tail that is on your shoulder. 6-7 8. Once you are happy that the carry is nice and tight, tighten the slip knot by tightening the non-slipping tail so that it doesn’t move and create slack in the carry. The slip knot should finish in the corsage position. You can then spread the fabric over your shoulder so that it cups your shoulder. ii. Curl it under and up over the first tail. iii. Down over the pass. iv. Under the first tail. v. Back over the first tail, and through the loop you have just created. vi. Pull tight, but not too tight as you need to allow for some movement so that you can tighten the carry later. carried away | Spring 2015 | Wrap Wrangling 4. Pull the slip knot down the tail and loosen the wrap to create an X for baby to sit in. 6. Starting with the inside pass, spread the wrap across their back - up to their armpits for babies who like their arms out, or back of the neck for babies who like having their arms in. when spreading the passes, ensure that the bottom rail reaches from one knee all the way to the other knee. 5 8 27 Wrap Wrangling