Review: Ethos Babywearing Toile Bleu

Have you heard of Ethos Babywearing ? They’ve been around for a couple of years and have some innovative blends for their wraps! They also have a pretty cool convertible soft structured carrier. Today, I’m going to tell you about my time with this beauty–Toile Bleu.

When I first grabbed this budget BreatheBlend wrap out of the bag, I was shocked by how thin but dense it felt! It is a whopping 325 GSM. Toile Bleu needed some work and I was up to the challenge! Maxine (~40 lbs) and Minerva (~20lbs) both had plenty of time up in this beauty.  This wrap breathes so well and I really enjoyed it on our humid days especially. It was very grippy which helped me keep my seat popping queen (Minerva) in place once I tied off a carry.

This wrap was in my base size, so I got to try all my favorite base carries! I double hammocked almost every day that this wrap visited. Toile Bleu is ideal for me with double hammock because though it was super grippy, the passes moved easily for me and stuck in place once I moved onto the next step. I also enjoyed this with front wrap cross carry with the passes spread. I rarely do FWCC with spread passes, but this wrap made it a need for me! This wrap had some amazing shoulder pleats as well. It was flat and comfortable on my shoulders.

I recommend this wrap to more experienced wearers and also to those with heavy kiddos! Also, if you love grip you will LOVE Ethos Toile Bleu! This budget wrap is $145 for a size 9 which is great compared to size 9’s elsewhere.

Be sure to check out Ethos on Facebook and Instagram. Also, check out their Facebook group, Wear Ethos! 

Extra special THANK YOU to Ethos for your generous donation of this wrap to the Babywearing International of Hampton Roads lending library! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Tutorial: Short Front Cross Carry

Short front cross carry is a poppable carry that can be done with a base -1 to base -4 depending on the wrap you use. This carry can be done with or without a ring. This will demonstrate how to do short front cross carry with a ring.

You will need one  large sling ring (or medium if your wrap is thin) and your wrap to do this. I am using Smitten Lady Bird’s Bluebonnets.

Review: Soul Onbuhimo

 

Soul is a wonderful company based in Bangalore, India that has taken the world by storm! They offer so many various carrier styles. From slings to buckles–they’ve got it all! They even have some pretty sweet accessories to match their carriers. I first came across them on Instagram a couple years ago and since then I’ve been watching them explode! Recently I was sent a Maze Blues Jacquard Onbuhimo to try out.

Since Minerva is my main wearee, I tested this out mostly with her. I did wear this some with Maxine (40 lbs) and she fit in it well! Minerva is about 20 lbs and 28 inches tall.  She was juuuust big enough to fit well in the carrier. With onbuhimos, all the weight is carried in your shoulders, so one of the most important aspects of the carrier for me  is the padding. Soul hit it out the park with this padding. I have tried a few other brands of buckle onbuhimo and this one had the squishiest padding. It reminded me of memory foam. The padding is thicker than in their buckle carriers which is a good thing.

The Soul onbuhimo has perfect fit adjusters (PFAs ) which help get  the carrier to fit better. With Max, I preferred them all the way out. With Min, I liked them all the way in. The chest clip can be moved up and down to get to a comfortable spot as well. Everything on this is easy to adjust . The Soul onbuhimo fit great in my diaper bag and since there is so little fabric, it is pretty ideal for warmer weather as well. I got to wear it in 90 degree Virginia heat–it was not that bad!

Onbuhimos are recommended for wearees who have sufficient torso control to support their heads and sit up independently. I found that the carrier fit me pretty well. I am plus sized, so that is pretty important for me. It fit me with Maxine  with plenty of webbing to spare and made me very happy!

Be sure to check Soul out on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and  also Join their groups Soul Family/Soul Family US Edition on Facebook!

Wearing in Pajamas

One of the most common comments I see in babywearing groups on pictures of kids being worn in footie pajamas is “You’re not supposed to do that! You’re hurting your baby’s feet!”

Well that’s not exactly true. You CAN wear your baby in footie pajamas. Here are a few tips to make you successful in this endeavor.

1. Size up the pajamas if you can.
2. Make sure that there’s extra room in the foot area before you start the carry. This is achieved by pulling the fabric at the feet.
3. Make sure the toes are not bunched in the foot area once settled into the carrier.

When the pajamas don’t have enough extra room, not only will it make things more uncomfortable for the wearee, the wearer may have difficulty getting a good seat when wrapping or using a ring sling. When I tried this out, I could not get the fabric in the back of the knee to form the seat. I could only get the fabric as far as the pajamas let me.

If the footie pajamas are snug on the child’s feet when in sitting position before putting them into the carrier, I’d skip wearing in those pajamas. Who am I kidding–I’d probably cut the feet off of the pajamas so we could use them longer!

Happy Babywearing!