Introducing Sakura Bloom Slings! (aka my babywearing journey)

Let's face it, new moms don't often get to describe themselves with these adjectives:  classy, sophisticated, stylish.  Usually it's more like:  exhausted, touched-out, and wearing pajamas or sweats.  Because when you're a new mom, a shower is an accomplishment, not a routine.  But now, you can be an attachment parenting mom, AND feel beautiful, classy, and together.  Just take a look at this French Vanilla Silk Artisan sling.  Elegance.  Sophistication.  Class.  Beauty.  Not exactly how I have described myself since I became a mom! 

I've come full circle in my babywearing journey.  I started out five and a half years ago, when I gave birth to my first child, with a WAHM-made cotton, padded ring sling.  At first I was just awkward with it, until my sister gave me this tip - don't try to put the baby "in" the sling.  Just hold the baby the way you want to hold him, and tighten the sling around both of you.  Aha!  Then my sling and I were inseparable.  My son would never sleep more than 20 minutes unless he was next to or on my body, so he took most naps in the sling.  I would lay a napkin over his head and eat lunch.  I mastered the art of safely using the bathroom wearing a sleeping baby.  I met friends who owned 4, or 5, or 6, or more different baby carriers, and I didn't get it.  Why would anyone want or need more than one sling?  Well...

As my son got bigger, maybe 13 or 14 pounds, a few hours in the sling started to feel heavy.  By then we had purchased The Stork Wearhouse, and one of the first new products I added was the Moby Wrap.  Ahhh, that felt so good to have my son's weight spread out over my whole back and both shoulders.  My ring sling fell by the wayside and my son lived in the Moby.  But when he reached about 20 lbs, still wanting to be worn for hours at a time, my lower back started bothering me.  Hmm, if I could just find a good way to carry him on my back. 

Meet the Ergo Baby Carrier.  Ok, now we're talking!  Not only did I get him off my front (so my lower back wasn't carrying the weight), now his weight was spread over both shoulders, plus carried largely on my hips!  Once again I could comfortably wear him for hours!  I was starting to get the idea of why people wanted more than one baby carrier.  ;-)

Even after I got pregnant again, I still wore my son everywhere in the Ergo.  As my belly grew, I added a waist extender, and the waist strap of the Ergo acted as a pregnancy support belt!  I was more comfortable than ever, still wearing my toddler son for hours at a time. 

After our daughter was born, babywearing became even more important, keeping a newborn happy while being mobile enough to chase a 2-year-old!  She pretty much lived in the Moby Wrap from birth, although I sold my boyish indigo Moby and got a girly Moby D wrap.  :-)  Once when I was wearing my silk Moby D in a toy store, a woman commented on how "trendy" I looked.  Possibly the first time in my life I was ever described that way!  And as a mom trying to adjust to having two small children, I certainly hadn't been feeling that way. :-)  My daughter was born in the summer, so on hot days when she was tiny, the Moby acted as my shirt.  I would put her in a t-shirt and diaper and pop her in and out of the wrap all day long. 

Also while my daughter was small, I had a Wallypop Ring Sling (in solarveil - sorry, not made anymore) for wearing outside on hot days, or in the pool or shower.  Plus I kept a Wallypop Mei Tai, sometimes referred to as an Asian Carrier, in the car, in case I ever forgot to bring along a carrier.  If my counting is correct, by then I had owned six different soft baby carriers!

When my daughter got old enough for the Ergo Carrier, we found we wanted two of them, since we still carried our 3-year-old son in the Ergo at times.  Especially when traveling, we each had a child on our back in an Ergo.  So that brings me up to, uh, seven carriers.  And here's where I come full circle.  On this latest trip, to Las Vegas for the ABC Kids Expo with a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old, we traveled with one Ergo and a Sakura Bloom pure linen ring sling. 

So why am I back to a ring sling?  And why Sakura Bloom?  Ok, two different questions.  First, now that I'm at the stage of life where my kids walk most of the time, just want to be worn or carried occasionally, I need a carrier that's very portable.  A ring sling can easily be tucked in a back pack or diaper bag, to be pulled out when needed.  If I know ahead of time I will likely be wearing a child for a long period of time, then I take along an Ergo.  But for all those times when I don't know what we'll run into, I pack the ring sling, since it's quick and easy to slip on and so lightweight. 

And now, my journey to Sakura Bloom slings.  When my rep, Char, first introduced Sakura Bloom slings to me, I'll admit I thought, "Nope, too expensive."  Then I took a deeper look and asked some questions.  There is definitely something to be said for premium natural materials.  Fine Irish linen is soft, naturally antibacterial, cool to wear, machine washable, and gets stronger over time, perfect for carrying a growing baby.  Ok, so that sold me on the linen.  Then I tried the silk. 

The handwoven dupioni silk used by Sakura Bloom is wonderful.  Yes, it's lightweight and breathable, so it's cool to wear.  And it's so soft.  (Isn't that why there's an expression "silky soft"?)  But what I didn't anticipate is how perfect the fiber of silk is for a ring sling.  Just that little bit of "grippiness" of the silk makes it easy to adjust, and it stays in place when you get it just perfect. 

Now it's probably a good thing our family is complete.  Otherwise, for our next baby, I'd have a hard time choosing between the French Vanilla Silk Artisan sling above or this Pink Lotus design...