Back to Basics- Baby Wearing

In recent times, baby wearing has become an increasingly popular trend with sensible yet fashion conscious moms (and dads!) There have been many proponents to this growing movement  whereby many new parents are shunning other baby carrying methods such as prams and capsules in preference for the humble looking  baby sling, although some slings may come in not-so-humble prices as I recently found out while surfing the net for one.


In Kenya and many African countries, baby wearing is steeped in tradition.Women being the dominant care givers in these societies have always been given to wearing their babies on their backs as they carry out their daily household chores such as cooking,washing the laundry (using their two God given hands for scrubbing the clothes), grinding flour or even when they are out in the fields picking tea, and etc.For these women, baby wearing has essentially been perceived as a way of killing two birds with one stone, so to speak, as they can soothe their babies to sleep as they accomplish the work at hand.


Many African women have normally improvised their baby slings by using whatever suitable cloth that is around them, be it a large towel, khanga or leso and even bedding sheets so long as it is size-able enough to tie into two tight knots at the front while baby is snuggly secured on their backs.Truly the makings of a simple ,adjustable not to mention affordable baby sling! Of course the material has to be strong enough to hold the baby in...as it is all about functionality for these women.For them, fashion sense (Scenario: Exotic African woman poses mid-stance in tea plantation thinking, "How good does my baby look on my back in that sling?") comes a distant second when it comes to baby wearing! Click here to read an amusing short story titled  "Carrying my baby African Style" for further insight into the African tradition of baby wearing.

Image from africaA-Z

As I mentioned before, I noticed that in first world countries like Australia, where I now live with my husband, the case is reversed whereby baby wearing is seen first and foremost as a fashion statement.There  are a myriad of baby slings now on offer in the market and they come in all types of fabric, colours, shapes, sizes and prices.The organic-made ones seem to be especially dearest both sentimentally and monetarily speaking.

For me, looking for a baby sling online was a crush and burn experience.Whenever I found what I thought was the ideal sling, it turned out to be too expensive for what it was (especially once you add in the shipping costs) ,or not in available my size, as was the case was on eBay ,or just not appealing enough.Finally, I decided to make my own handmade baby sling!

Having bought my first sewing machine a few weeks ago, I watched a quick tutorial on YouTube on how to make a pouch sling.Turns out that I needed needle and thread (dah!) so I made a quick trip to the shops early the next morning (a humongous exertion in 30 degree whether) and within an hour of coming back home I had made my own baby sling. The satisfaction factor made it all worth the effort.Here is an E for the Elephant Lady! (I am now 31weeks pregnant. My hubbie has dubbed me The Whale. He rolls me around the house and about grocery shopping when he should really prop me up on the damn trolley! Before I digress, what is it with the pregnant lady duck walk?)

Here are some pictures I took immediately after I had made my reversible pouch sling.

I was so excited and bubbling with energy that day.It's made from rich organic cotton cloth that my mother brought from Kenya, which I hadn't found very useful until now...

Kikoi cloth from Kenya 

is 100% organic cotton.

I am now planning on making another baby sling out of semi-stretchable fabric for the hubbie as mine might be too small for him. I am sure Lita will love snuggling next to her papa in her baby sling.

Gotta go now and rub my tummy as Lita is fighting for some attention. Also, by sheer coincidence I found a similar post to this one on Progressive Pioneer .She documents the process she went through when making her own baby sling. I do love her life philosophy. Such a kindred spirit!