Babywearing has become increasingly popular these days, with more options than you can imagine! When I had my first child, I didn't really know much about baby carriers. With my second, I used one a little more often during those activities where I didn't want to bring a stroller. And now with my third child, I pretty much wear her on me EVERY DAY.
Being hands free sure comes in handy when you're out and about with a baby, a 2 year old, and 4 year old. Strapping baby on me makes it easy to help my other kids when climbing up a play structure, push a shopping cart if I take them shopping, and hold their hands when walking to and from the car. Often times I do admit that I use my two free hands to just hug my baby while she's in the wrap too, but I don't think there's nothing wrong with that. :) With three kids, babywearing has become an essential part of my daily life.
I wanted to use a baby wrap for Aubri's early months, and I plan to switch to a more structured carrier when she gets a little bigger. For this blog post, I'm featuring the
Solly Baby wrap. I was initially drawn to Solly Baby because the company founders were San Diegans like myself. I loved their philosophy on babywearing, and was happy to support this family business. Their instructional video was easy to follow, and I was able to figure out the wrap right away! I love how using it allows me to be close to Aubri while still tending to my two older kids.
Aubri loves to be held and enjoys attention from mama, which I love. However, I don't have the luxury of sitting around all day just cuddling my baby. Doing errands around the house can be quite difficult when she's sitting in her chair and I hear her cry for me to pick her up. Having Aubri in the baby wrap allows me to keep her near me when she needs to calm down, while also allowing me to walk around and get things done. And when we're out of the house the wrap comes with me because I'm always with at least two kids. I've especially found it useful for preschool drop offs and pick ups because it can be quite a hassle trying to maneuver our stroller through the mass of parents and toddlers at school.
The fabric on the Solly Baby is unbelievably soft, which is great for both mama and baby. Funny thing is that Landon actually uses it as a "blankie" when we're out and he gets tired.
Here we are at Sea World. I was taking a picture of the polar bear when I looked down and saw the lil guy hanging on to the extra fabric while sucking his fingers. This is his classic "I'm really tired" routine. I couldn't help but laugh and take a pic.
Another perk of the Solly is that wearing it is comfortable. Aubri is around 13 lbs now and when I carry her in it, I can barely tell. I'm not sure how long that will last but for now it's great!
On one end of the wrap is a pocket, which allows you to pack the whole thing up nicely into a convenient pouch for easy storage into the diaper bag when you're done.
The only somewhat challenging aspect of the wrap that I can think of is just the fact that the fabric is SO long. It's a little difficult to put it on without having the ends drag on the floor. The length of the fabric though, allows it to be one size fits all, so it can be worn by anyone, even husbands! I previously had a wrap that was sized to fit the wearer, which made it less versatile. But also, I think I bought it one size too small because it was really tight...just a tad too tight to be comfortable with baby in it. One of my tricks for the Solly Baby wrap is that if I am on my way out and know that I will be using the wrap at my destination, I will put it on at home before getting in the car. This keeps it clean, and saves time when I arrive.
Aubri's smile says it all...she loves being carried in the Solly Baby wrap!
Happy little sister means happy big sister as well. Shaylin wanted a little more attention and ran to sit on this rock to pose. :)
I will use the Solly Baby for as long as Aubri is comfortable in it. When it comes time to switch over to the Ergobaby, I'll be sure to share how she and I do with that!
xoxo,
Carly
