Queer, Pregnant, and Parenting! November, December, and January 2013!!! - Page 11

[scorpioma]

Sending love and compassion and peace to Nosreves and family.  

[cordelia15]

nosreves . my heart breaks for you and your family.. healing love and light. . there are no words

[SwtRainbowBrite]

I am so sorry that I have been absent but I wanted to come back and say that I am so sorry Nosreves 's for your loss. I am sending you and your family light & love. We are here if you ever need to talk. 

[mami2mami]

Nos- Words cannot even begin to express the sentiment we feel for you and your DP. We followed you closely from the moment we joined this board and one point were even insem buddies. We watched closely for progress in your pregnancy and waited anxiously to see Elio's adorable little face. We hold you deep in our prayer and are sending lots of hugs and light your way.

Isa- It was so nice to catch up with you and your lovely family. E is getting so big. Will we be seeing you at the Zoo this coming weekend?

Ahope- We wanted to thank your family for inviting us to be a part of your holiday party. We had a wonderful time and could not stop talking about how wonderful it is to have friends like you and the other queer mama's. Can't wait to get together again!

[esenbee2]

I know there are a few of you here who wrap and carry your LOs.  Do you have any recommendations of any types of wraps or websites?  I've been watching the videos of some of the different wraps on wrapyourbaby.com and they seem pretty easy.  I haven't ever wrapped L (who is 4 now), but think it would be great because she is ALWAYS wanting to be held in stores and such, not wanting to sit in the basket/cart and too tired to walk, and is always so cold and wanting her blanket, which is left at home.  I never thought of using a wrap, until I was driving down the road near an ethnic supermarket in a neighborhood with a large population of refugees.  I saw a woman with an older child wrapped on her back.  It looked so comfortable!  And I thought, that has to be more comfortable than holding her with my arms all the time.  Recalling documentaries from back in school of village women and their children, it just seems so natural, completely opposite of the fast-paced, harsh, western way of mothering.  So, for those of you who wrap your LOs, where should I start with wrapping my 4yo?

[seraf]

My favorite carry for big kids is called the African back carry. You just have her get on your back piggy back style and wrap about a 2 yard piece of cloth around you both like a bath towel. You fold down the top across your chest a few times and then snug up the bottom, twisting like a propeller and then tuck it under. A video will help you with this one. It doesn't pull your breasts if you do it snugly because her weight will be on your hips and the top rail just holds her close. I'm pretty sure I have a picture in my album (if you click on my name you can find it) of my DD in this carry with a beach towel when she was 6 and 50 pounds. This is an easy up and easy down carry that can be very cheap. Mine was $2 and folds small enough to put in my pocket or I can wear it like a wrap skirt when I'm not using it.

A Mai tie is more secure (and depending on your local immigrant community may have been what you saw) and less intimidating, but I don't love having straps over my shoulders with kids over about 40 pounds.

[esenbee2]

$2 ??  Where did you find it?  The cheapest I found was $60 for a 5yd. BaliBreeze wrap.

[seraf]

I got 2 yards of fabric from the dollar bin at Walmart when Ari was a baby. It's a weird plaid fabric that was toward the end of a bolt but I have loved it for a long time. I didn't want to spend much on something that I wasn't sure I would like. It's thin like muslin. I have gotten plenty of 45" wife fabric for a dollar a yard, so this is totally do-able still.

I couldn't find pictures of big kids in my album, so I found these (there is a picture of Ari as a baby on my back in my album on the second page).

This is the picture I thought I had. I used a beach towel. I was 8 (?) months pregnant.


This is the funny plaid sling. Sara was newly pregnant and we were doing the museum thing in DC, so he was exhausted from all the walking. He was probably 55 pounds here.


Here's a different carry. Same piece of cloth but tied in a square knot where the ring on a ring sling would be. Same trip. She gave both kids turns on her back. I was bigger pregnant, so she didn't want me lugging them around. She wasn't on the other trip to stop me from toting Ari.

[esenbee2]

Thanks so much!

[seraf]

You're welcome. It's cheap to try. Did you find a good video? Maybe someone else will chime in with their favorites. I believe Starling's 4 year old rides in an Ergo.

[wishin'&hopin']

DW just got me a kinderpack for DS--it's a WAHM made soft structured carrier (google "kindercarry).  He's 2.5 and about 30 pounds and I still do wear him for hours at a time (he'll nap on my back and stays up there for long hikes) and we figure that with all of the walking we do it will be important for him to still have the chance to be worn once the baby is here.  It's amazing--much more comfortable than the Ergo and the Boba we have (I think we may sell those and get a standard sized kinderpack for the newbie to go in once s/he gets too big for the Moby/ring sling)--he's in a toddler size and there is plenty of room for him to grow, the seat is knee to knee and the head rest is actually the right height to be a head rest (the ergo hits him about mid back now).

[seraf]

Wishin, how big is too big for a ring sling? I use my piece of cloth sling style still with Shay, 27 pounds.

[starling&diesel]

Hi esenbee ... Yup, I still wear my nearly 4 year old.  She loves being "up-up" and I love that it grounds her if she's feeling upset and helps her feel secure in environments that make her anxious.  She was always happy to be up in the wrap, because once she got up there, she was happy to stay, so I often used a long one (5 metres, maybe?) in a variety of different wraps.  The ruck worked well with her, as did the Tibetan.  I also wear her for brief periods in an African wrap, like Seraf.

I wore her a lot in the Ergo, which has recently died.  It finally gave up the ghost after being used for nearly four years every. single. day.  It was literally threadbare. I was so sad to let it go.  I gave the bones to a DIY- savvy mama to be who might be able to wring some more life out of it.    DD is about 37 pounds, so it was good from birth until now.  DD kept her arms in mostly, and rode with her body pressed against my back, so the Ergo was comfy.

My son, on the other hand, likes to ride with his arms out and leans back if given the chance, so the Ergo wasn't as comfortable for me with him in it.  I had a Beco too, that was never comfortable for me, not with either kid.  

I have a Toddler-sized kinderpack now, which is my favourite by far.  I've had my son in it since he was a hefty 10 month old at 20 lbs or so.  He is 14 months and 30 lbs now and I wear him every day in it.  He's more of an up-and-down kid, so a SSC is better for him.  Although he did love being wrapped as an newborn and infant.  He doesn't like to be wrapped now, unless it's the African carry.  He loves going up-up in the Kinderpack though and he gets excited when I put it on.  He runs over and reaches up and says "ubububububub."

If you're looking for a way to get your 4 year old onto your back, try the superman toss.  I still use that for dd, and it works well.  The hip scoot is another good way.  My daughter will also get up as if she's going piggy back.

Oh!  I wanted to be sure to add that wearing your older child is a GREAT way to deal with so-called tantrums.  Calms them down immediately.  Works like a charm! 

Happy kidwearing!

[wishin'&hopin']

Originally Posted by seraf 

Wishin, how big is too big for a ring sling? I use my piece of cloth sling style still with Shay, 27 pounds.

I stopped using the ring sling when they started hurting my back (so around 20 pounds)...I have had chronic lower back pain for almost 20 years (fairly mild with occasional bad flares) and one shoulder carries really whonk my back.  Soooo, in brief as long as you're comfortable!  

I'll try and get a photo of DS in the new kinderpack on the FB page...

[prettyisa]

Hi, Mami! It was good to see you, too! I’m not sure about zoolights—are you all going on sat or sun? We have some things planned this weekend, but we might be able to swing it, depending on the timing!

Seraf—that looks so much more comfy than just doing piggyback rides all the time!

AFM—Edie’s on tooth number two, and not happy about it. She hates the orage clove stuff, and I hate giving her Tylenol all the time (though I will, if I have to). Frozen chew toys fall out of her mouth when she starts nodding off. Any advice for some minor pain relief? Does anyone have commentary on those amber necklaces actually working or not? My dad told us to soak a washcloth in bourbon and water and freeze it, and I’m half tempted to give it a go…

[KnittingTigers]

Okay, everyone. I'm sorry to ask you to do this, but I am ridiculously behind on updating the front page, so could everyone (especially new members and anyone with recent changes) check the front page, and post in bold if your information needs to be added/changed?

Thank you!

Love,

Your Delinquent Threadkeeper Who Went to Puerto Rico for Two Weeks Without a Computer and Never Quite Recovered

[esenbee2]

DD is only 27 lbs, so it seems like I shouldn't have a problem with any of these.  I am so excited to get started!  I think I will try to find a fabric that is close to her favorite sleeping blanket for the time being until I can save up for a BaliBreeze and maybe I can find a Kinderpack that someone is selling for cheap!

[cordelia15]

knitting tigers.. I need to be added to June due dates please!  

[wishin'&hopin']

Prettyisa, tylenol doesn't last as long as motrin...so if you give ibuprofen she'll get more respite w/ fewer doses.  Also, there is a possible link between tylenol and later asthma development (I had a parishioner who is a pediatric pulmonologist who did the work on the study demonstrating this) so we avoid tylenol here and go with ibuprofen instead.  

If anyone is interested in a storch wrap we have one we'd be willing to sell--DS hates getting wrapped and we prefer the SSC so we've barely used it (just enough to break it in).  If anyone is interested just message me.  We have the Anna 5.2 meters (it's LONG).  

Knitting--the foot of snow outside my door makes me think Puerto Rico would be dreamy...sigh!

AFM--DS had an evaluation with early intervention yesterday and he will get speech services, for free, at our house!  So, so glad!  They also confirmed our sense that he's really, really smart in general and that speech is the only issue.  So, good day for us.  

[KnittingTigers]

Originally Posted by cordelia15 

knitting tigers.. I need to be added to June due dates please!  

Got it! Let me know if you have a due date you'd like to list. Thanks!