Tell me about your lamby...

[Italiamom]

I'm looking to purchase a lambskin for my ds. He likes cuddling up, and I'm hoping that maybe by sleeping on it in my bed for a month or so it would be helpful for transitioning to a crib. Or that it would at least help him to go down for naps a little more easily I've searched some backthreads, but I'm looking more for specifics. If you use a lambskin, is there a specific brand that you like? Do you use a shorn lamby, or an unshorn? Where did you get yours? And most importantly, do you machine wash yours? I need one that I can machine wash because I am NOT buying anything I have to dryclean!

Thanks so much for your input!

[JessieBird]

My DS has slept on one since the day he was born. If he wasn't on me or daddy, he was on the lambskin. Ours is shorn and comes from a small organic farm in the Gulf Islands. We got a shorn one so that it would be safe for DS to use without suffocation risk even when he was tiny. We also have a shaggy full-sized sheepskin that we bought from a farm when we were visiting PEI this summer. It is for our dog to sleep on but DS, now 1 yr old, loves it and shares it with the dog for afternoon naps on the living room floor.

As for washing, I put ours in the washing machine on cold and just lie flat to dry. You should be able to do this with any lambskin I think. I've heard people complain that they shrink but mine haven't. They're a bit stiff right after drying but a quick shake softens them up.

They make great transition items - the shorn baby lambskin is currently helping my DS settle in to daycare.

I have to add one last thing - please seek out a local farm rather than a "brand." Your lamby will have once been a living lamb and will still look like one in many ways (the shape of the body, worn areas in the armpits, etc) and it will be nice to have a relationship with its former life. Seeing those big bins of lambskins at Ikea at rock bottom prices, no matter how silky and fluffy they may be, makes me cringe at the thought of the factory farm they probably came from. Anyway, that's just my 2 cents. You'll pay between $75 and $125 at a farm.

[Jayray]

I got mine from Green Mountain Diapers. It's not an actual skin, but wool pulled through a piece of fabric. You can wash it in the machine and it dries pretty quickly hanging out. We like it a lot. It does shed a little bit, but not too badly.

[Italiamom]

Originally Posted by JessieBird

Seeing those big bins of lambskins at Ikea at rock bottom prices, no matter how silky and fluffy they may be, makes me cringe at the thought of the factory farm they probably came from.

Don't worry, I had no intention of going to Ikea. Unfortunately the meat we buy locally is bison, beef, and chicken. I used to buy lamb when we were in a different part of the state, but now I'm not sure where to buy it locally. I'll check in the tribal areas and maybe someone will have a line on it.

Out of curiosity, how was yours tanned if you bought it straight from the farm? One of the reasons I was interested in the "brand" was because certain NZ companies cure their hides with non toxics. I didn't think that you could use an uncured hide, and most small farms use traditional tanning chemicals, which are not safe for infants. But if I'm wrong I'm sure I could at the very least call our old butcher and maybe arrange something for later in the month when we're elsewhere in the state. I was hoping maybe someone had experience with those NZ brands that are intended specifically for infants (not the Ikea ones) and are certified to be "green".

[MadiMamacita]

i saw some at costco last week. i didn't notice prices or place/farm of origin.
i have some local lamb resources from the farmers market. let me know

[Anastasiya]

I won't use a lambskin because I don't like the fact that the sheep had to die to give it....therefore, we use Snugglewool.

We have Snugglewool blankets for each child, and they all love them. They are flannel-backed.

They are machine washable on gentle and do shed the first few washings.

I got ours here: http://www.multiplesoutlet.com/site/...product/SW610W since they had the best prices.

Here is more info on them: http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/snugglewool.htm

[JessieBird]

Originally Posted by Italiamom

Out of curiosity, how was yours tanned if you bought it straight from the farm? One of the reasons I was interested in the "brand" was because certain NZ companies cure their hides with non toxics. I didn't think that you could use an uncured hide, and most small farms use traditional tanning chemicals, which are not safe for infants. But if I'm wrong I'm sure I could at the very least call our old butcher and maybe arrange something for later in the month when we're elsewhere in the state. I was hoping maybe someone had experience with those NZ brands that are intended specifically for infants (not the Ikea ones) and are certified to be "green".

Both of ours were tanned on their farms and we got to see the process though I must admit I don't remember all the details only that both were considered environmental and baby-safe and neither used any chrome, formeldhyde or bleach. Both were able to do it in the open air in a rustic barn - no big filtration systems for the waste water or anything like that. They are both very small operations with only a dozen or so hides on the go at any given time, maybe even less. At least one, the west coast one where our baby "fur" is from, is a certified organic farm. I'm pretty sure the PEI farm was organic too. I can't remember exactly but I probably wouldn't have been so interested in the tour and meeting the owners if it wasn't.

I don't know the names of the two farms off the top of my head but can let you know later today if you want. I'm sure they'd be very happy to answer any questions even if you don't buy from them (though I bet they'd be very happy to put a lamby in the mail to you too!).

I should also add that I don't know anything in particular about where the Ikea furs come from. Ikea is putting a lot of effort into cleaning up their environemental record so maybe they are just fine.

[JessieBird]

Wow! Those Snugglewool blankets look amazing! I wish I'd known about them sooner, I'd probably get one of those instead of an actual lambskin. I'll keep the large size in mind as a treat when DS moves to his own bed someday.

[Italiamom]

Jesse bird, if you find the name of either farm, let me know! I'd be happy to pay for shipping, and it sounds like their tanning practices would be sound. It's mostly the chrome and formaldehyde that I'm worried about, which is why I was looking for a natural, baby-specific "brand". But I'm fine with paying more for an item that my son will have for many years.

And Madi, hook me up with local lamb people! I never really used much lamb in my cooking (only roasts really, and occasionally I'd add some to stock), so I never paid any attention at the farmer's market. It would be nice to be able to say "this is where your lamby came from."