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Stretchy Wrap Tutorials and Tips

11/19/2012

8 Comments

 
Need help with your stretchy wrap before the next meeting?  Look no further!  Below are tutorials and tips for using a stretchy wrap.   

There are two basic carries that can be done with a stretchy wrap such as a Moby or Boba wrap.  They are Front wrap cross carry (FWCC) and Pocket Wrap Cross Carry (PWCC).  

Pocket Wrap Cross Carry

Pocket wrap cross carry is the carry that is typically done with a stretchy wrap.  Moby calls this the “hug hold.”  Boba calls it the “love your baby hold.”  This carry is wonderful because you can pre-tie the whole carry before you leave the house and then pop your baby in and out as needed throughout the day.  

Here’s a wonderful tutorial for PWCC by Kathy who is a babywearing consultant.  Her site is www.kathyheffern.com.  Y
ou can see how snugly she wraps the wrap when she is pretying.  The wrap should be very snug, just as shown here. You really can't pretie the wrap too tightly. Because of
the stretch of the material you will always be able to get baby in comfortably,
but if it's too loose before they're in it'll sag and not feel secure.  If you feel you need a hand on your baby or baby is sagging, then it's too loose.  

Front Wrap Cross Carry

Front wrap cross carry is a wonderful carry because it’s very easy to adjust and get your baby snug and secure.  It’s also easy to lower and nurse in FWCC and adjust back up after nursing. 

I love this video tutorial by Tooralei on YouTube for Front wrap cross carry with a stretchy wrap and a newborn.  You can see how she tightens each strand (or section) of the wrap.  She focuses on the top rail (the top hem and the first few inches of fabric), the middle of the width and the bottom of the wrap.  The key to successful wrapping in any carry is strand by strand (or section by section) tightening.  You can also see how snug she wraps. 

PWCC and FWCC are very similar carries.  The only difference between the two when you are wrapping is that in PWCC you tuck the tails (or ends of the wrap) inside of the horizontal pass and in FWCC you keep the tails outside of the horizontal pass and tie around baby.  

How Tight Do You Wrap?

The wrap should be very snug, like an ace bandage on a sprained ankle.  If you press against your baby’s back and the baby is able to move closer to you, then it’s too loose.  If you feel like you need a hand on baby and baby doesn’t feel secure to you, then it’s too loose.  In either case you can just adjust by strand by strand removing the slack from the width of the wrap.  

Tips and Tricks

Picture
To secure a sleeping baby’s head in either FWCC or PWCC, you can tuck their head into one side of the cross pass that comes over your shoulder and pull the fabric away from the other side of the cross so that their face is visible and not covered as pictured here on the right.


Picture
If your baby doesn't want their head tucked but seems to need more head support, you can leave a little roll of wrap at your baby’s neck and tighten that well by snugging the top rail of the wrap.  If that is very snug, their head should stay put, even without a cross pass holding their head.  


Safety

Stretchy wraps should never be used for back carries.  They are stretchy and even if wrapped well are not safe and secure used on the back because the baby could lean and fall.  Here’s a video that shows how dangerous a stretchy wrap can be if used on the back.  

When wrapping, be sure to always remember TICKS: 
Tight
In View
Close enough to kiss
Keep chin off chest
Supported back 

Your baby should be held snugly and well supported, high enough to kiss, easily visible to you (without fabric covering baby’s face) and with chin off of chest.  You should be able to get two fingers under baby’s chin and hear baby breathing normally.  If you hear grunting or snoring sounds, that is a sign that baby is having trouble breathing.  If that happens, remove baby and rewrap being sure to wrap very snug and tight.  If you have any problems, feel free to contact us.  We can help you trouble shoot via email or facebook until you can come in for the next meeting.



Happy Wrapping!  If you need any help with your wrap, we'd love to help at any meeting.  

8 Comments
Lucy
5/25/2013 03:14:06 am

Hello, I'm wondering if you can help with an issue I'm having with wrapping my baby. I'm quite experienced now, my baby is six months old and we have used a stretchy wrap for front carries since birth and both love it.
I've recently started using a gauze woven wrap for back carries as my baby gets bigger and it's going well, I can now get him onto my back, well-wrapped in just a few minutes, he likes it too. I have a problem though - I can't reach round in order to put his hat on and if I can't do that, it means I wouldn't be able to adjust it if I put it on before I wrapped him and that just wouldn't be any good, it often moves over his eyes and he wouldn't be able to relax and enjoy himself like this.
Because of this, I'm not willing to go out with my baby on my back as it wouldn't do to go without either a warm hat on or a summer cap. Do you have any idea how other people manage this hat issue? Is it because I'm not supple enough myself to be able to reach round? If that's the case, maybe practise will help?

Many thanks,

Lucy

Reply
Clare
6/23/2013 06:45:34 am

You could try using a parasol or umbrella over you both for shade, instead of hats.:-)

Reply
Bettina link
1/20/2014 02:30:08 pm

I stumbled over this post and would like to introduce you to elephant/babywearing hoods.

They are snug balaclava type hats that stay in place and very practical when you carry on the back.

Please check here:
http://manymonths.com/wool/wool_elephant_hood.php

Happy babywearing,
Bettina.

Reply
Lucy
3/16/2014 08:27:35 am

I think you have solved my problem! After all these months! Genius! x

Reply
Lindsey
6/19/2014 01:14:02 pm

Hi I'm wondering if you can help me? I've noticed when using my wrap that my son tends to end up a little wonky/lopsided, with one leg secure in the correct "frog" position but the other leg seems to dangle down more. What am I doing wrong? I don't want to do anything that may be damaging his hips.

Reply
Rachel link
6/20/2014 12:59:58 am

To fix the one leg dangling, you can just gently push up on that foot and position his leg as you want it. It also helps to make a "seat" with the cross passes and again with the horizontal part - that kind of holds the legs in place. I just made a video that shows this actually: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEhqszyOi-4&list=UUTy0nWu91zHMw-HWxLzZNuQ

Reply
Duday
9/6/2015 08:15:51 pm

Im wondering if its possoble to wrap A baby with a poinsetti cast?

Reply
Ashley
12/10/2015 01:48:45 am

Reply



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