Not loving my woven wrap

[quantumleap]

I absolutely love my stretchy wrap. I used it all the time, but dd eventually got heavy enough that she was stretching it right out - hanging down between my knees! Not quite, but she was lower than I liked. I passed that wrap on my my sister and her brand new baby, and agonized over the woven wrap decision. ($$$) I eventually got an Ellaroo from a local shop, not realizing that they only stock larges. I needed a small or a medium, but managed to let the saleslady convince me it wasn't a big deal to get the bigger wrap. Length was my only complaint with our stretchy wrap. I could have cut a good 4-5 feet off of it quite happily.
Anyway, I'm having a lot of trouble with it. I was really good at different wraps with the stretchy one, and I didn't expect the woven to be all that much different. However, it's just so stinkin' much fabric! I can't manage to keep it up in dd's armpits (she hates having her arms in) while I cross it for back carries. She's totally able to arch waaaay back, and I actually think she could just throw herself backwards and fall. I mean, her legs are secure, so I guess she'd just end up hanging by her hips, but still, not something I'd like to have happen. I've watched youtube videos, but obviously not the right ones, cause the mama's just toss their kids back there and don't do anything special to keep the initial piece of fabric covering their child's back. I'm super, super frustrated!
Help!?

[ElaynesMom]

If you sew you could cut and hem your wrap if you find it is too much fabric. If you don't sew you could probably take it to a dry cleaner that does alterations and ask them to hem it for you, I don't think it would cost too much.

About wrapping securely on your back. What I like to do is once baby is on my back I take the wrap like it's a bath towel and I'm drying my back so that it comes all the way up to my dd's arm pits IYKWIM. After this I'd recommend doing a BWCC (back wrap cross carry) with a chestbelt.I found this carry to be fairly easy to learn and pretty secure feeling. There are lots of youtube videos.

Also, until you feel confident back wrapping you could always practice with a large doll/teddy bear. I know it took me awhile to be able to get the fabric high on enough on my dd's back when I first started, but it becomes easier the more you do it.

Hope this wasn't too confusing.

[mags]

I'm the same way. Loved my moby, but I also have a regular woven wrap and I just don't dig it. I love my mei tais though. Have you thought about that as an alternative? I start with a moby for the newborn period and as soon as the baby is big enough to sit in the seat of a MT, I switch immediately. I like that it's just one panel of fabric and four straps instead of lots of fabric.

[Adasmommy]

Doing a back carry that starts with a rebozo pass may help. A rebozo pass comes over one of your shoulders and under the other. This holds the kid really securely against you!

Double hammock carry is one (aka chunei carry).

And here's a great analysis of the components of a back carry that makes for a great read, along with some videos of SHBC and JBC, either of which may solve all of your problems:
http://magiccityslingers.wordpress.c...back-wrapping/

There are so many possible variations with a wrap that I'm convinced ANY problem can be solved with the right carry (and a little practice, of course).

Oh, sounds like you're doing the BWCC? Consider trying the rucksack, too, which can really rein in a leaner (even with arms out), as long as you keep that top rail secure! Keeping the initial pass tight while completing the carry is easier, IMO, with a rucksack than a BWCC, because you keep tension on those straps the whole time. OTOH, rucksack would suck with a large . . .

Anyway, check out the carries and see which one LOOKS like it's best for you. Let your intuition pick, and then practice that one!

[quantumleap]

Thanks for the link adasmommy. The rucksac/double hammock carry did seem much more intuitive to me, I just managed to mess it up! I'll have to go back and watch someone else do it again, I think. I felt like a bit of a fool yesterday. DD and I walked to the mailbox, which is about 20 minutes away, and the more we travelled, the further back she could lean and the less ecure the whole thing felt. So, at one point, we were standing in a field beside a fairly busy road with me trying to sort things out and winding up with a totally screwed up double hammock type wrap. It worked though, so we kept on even though it wasn't very comfortable for me on one side. I've NEVER seen anyone wrap their baby in this town. I've actually seen another baby in a sling twice. Yes, twice. People often stop me to ask about a sling I'm using, and I feel like I should at least be wearing the thing correctly if I'm to be an unofficial spokesperson! More practice is in store, I think. Thankfully, dd is fiarly tolerant and likes to be worn.

Re: other replies, it seems like a cardinal sin to cut and hem this beautiful wrap! I think I might have to wait and get a little more frustrated before I can bring myself to do it.
We do have a mei tai, and I do quite like it. I find a wrap to be more comfortable though, I think because you can spread the fabric out more? I actually find that our mei tai (a Kozy) is a bit uncomfortable for back carries - the straps seem to cut into my ribs/restrict my breathing if it's snug and high enough to keep dd as high as I like her. It's perfectly ok for throwing lunch together, and it's been our primary carrier since dd outgrew the stretchy wrap, but I really, really want the woven wrap to work!

Thanks for the replies. I'm always afraid no one will answer my posts - I seem to be a very, very effective thread killer.

[femalephish]

So I guess there isn't much chance of a babywearing group in your area? Have you checked out thebabywearer.com? They have a local section (sounds like a long shot) But also they have a great 'using a wrap' forum which is where I get all of my wrapping help. Good Luck!

nak

[GoGoGirl]

I just got a woven wrap too, and it's taking a lot of playing around with it to figure out what works for us. (We're mostly focusing on back carries, too).

I just can't do any of the rucksack carries, or even anything that starts like a ruck (like the BWCC). DD won't hold still while I work on wrapping her up, and I can't seem to get the top rail high and tight enough to hold her securely.

I've really found that like Adasmommy said, anything that starts with a rebozo pass helps IMMENSELY. When I start with a rebozo pass, one of DD's arms is trapped inside the wrap (the right arm, if the wrap is going over my right shoulder). She usually winds up with the other arm outside the wrap, but having that first arm in makes her feel much more secure and keeps her from trying to backdive off me. And she's happy since she has that one arm out to bang toys against my back and pull my hair .

I like the SHBC because as soon as you do the rebozo pass, you tie a knot in front, which keeps the baby in place while you finish up wrapping. The video in the link from Adasmommy is my favorite video to learn the SHBC.

The double hammock is working best for us right now--even though there's no knot at the beginning to hold the baby in place, something about it keeps DD in place while I do the rest of the wrapping. Something else you might like about the double hammock is that it uses more length than the SHBC, so you won't end up with crazy long tails. I really liked this video to learn the double hammock.

[MamaKickyPants]

You've gotten some great advice! I just wanted to add that Ellaroo's are not the most forgiving of brands. Tee weave is quite thin, which means you need to wrap really well and evenly or you'll get pressure points, especially on your shoulders. I started with using and Ellaroo, and got frustrated and did some research. I ended up buying a Storchenweige used from thebabywearer.com and it made SUCH a difference. I don't know if that's what you want to hear, but it might be worth checking out the FSOT board on TBW. You could sell your Ellaroo maybe get a cushier woven in the proper length. It is so worth it to find the wrapping love! It takes more practice than any other kind of babywearing, but the payoff is the best!

[lucifugous]

Originally Posted by MamaKickyPants

It is so worth it to find the wrapping love! It takes more practice than any other kind of babywearing, but the payoff is the best!

x2

I only skimmed the replies, but I also wanted to add that new wraps need to be broken in! Try something used and well-worn. Someone might be willing to let you try one for a few weeks!

[SubliminalDarkness]

Wrapping with a woven is entirely different from wrapping with a stretchy. With a stretchy, you can wrap too tight and just use the stretch to get your baby where you need her.
With a woven, it's important to tighten every step as you go along. It's the 'bounce and tug.' With each step, give a little bounce, and tug all the slack out. Do it on the top 'rail' of the wrap and the bottom 'rail'(basically each hem). Do it all the way throughout. And before you tie the knot at the end, give a couple good bounces and tugs to really snug everything up.