ERGObaby Carrier Review (and a chance to win!)

The first time I put on an ERGObaby Carrier, I was surprised at how weighty it felt on my shoulders. My girl was only about six months old and she fit snugly in it, her chin rested on the soft shoulder straps. We borrowed that ERGObaby Carrier for our trip to Europe when she was nine months old, and it was the single best thing we took along. I used it first in the airports when my hands were full of bags and our passports even zipped neatly into the front pocket.

Throughout the trip it continued to serve us more purpose than anything else we took for our daughter. On the blustery streets of London and to the churning Underground, I wore her, up stairwells seven stories deep and through street festivals in Dublin, on to the Tour de Eifel; we wore and wore and wore her. But the best part was that I quickly learned how to breastfeed her in it, saving me countless hours of awkwardly perching in minuscule European restrooms or trying to lull a tired babe to sleep with no bed to lay her on. I happily Nurse in Public whenever she asks to, and the ERGObaby Carrier has become synonymous with breastfeeding for her and I. I simply drop the length of the straps down, lift up my shirt (I like wearing tank tops underneath my blouses for breastfeeding) and she leans to one side and rests her head on my elbow to bliss out on mama milk. One of my absolute favorite breastfeeding moments with her was in a small French garden outside of Paris where I laid the ERGObaby Carrier on the ground as a small blanket and snuggled down beside her to rest and nurse her to sleep. An elderly French lady who didn’t speak a word of English came and sat right next to me, patting her leg and crooning as my girl nursed away.

(our little one has a ride in the ERGObaby Carrier in the Wicklow mountains of Ireland)

Ease of Use: The ERGObaby Carrier isn’t just for adventures though, and it’s truly the one and only carrier you will ever need for your baby. It goes from newborn weight (with an insert) through 40pounds, but they’ve been tested to hold much more than that. I personally can’t imagine my girl being too big for it as she’s almost two and I still wear her. I’m currently a single mama while my partner is away for six weeks this summer and it has liberated me to do things I didn’t know I would struggle doing. Grocery shopping, for example, is difficult when there’s a wee one trying to snack on everything in the cart, and hard enough if there are two adults along. But if I go right during nap time, and put her on my back in the ERGObaby Carrier, she will snooze the trip away. I put her in it again to unload the car and free up both of my hands to grocery bags. And, if she wants a nurse while we’re out, I simply snuggle her into the ERGObaby carrier and pull my blouse aside. She doesn’t need much more encouragement than that to “murse.”

Comfort: At work (I‘m a part-time Nanny), I put her in it when she needs a break or a cuddle) and I’ve had the pleasure of wearing other sweet babes in it too, though my girl does get a bit jealous at seeing other wee ones in “My ERGO!” It is brilliantly comfortable and actually reminds me of a well-fitted backpack. Even my partner enjoys wearing her for snuggles or out at the farmer’s market (to free up his hands for watermelons and fresh strawberries!) as it’s so comfortable and easily adjusted. Another great point is that you can easily wear your child in different positions. My favorite is the front carry, but my partner prefers the back carry. You can also wear it on your hip or wear two at a time (front carry and back carry) if you have more than one little one.

Value: The ERGObaby Carrier is on the pricier side of all carriers I have ever owned, ranging from $120-$148. With that being said, it is truly worth the price, and is also going to last through as many babies as you may be blessed with. I truly love my ERGObaby carrier. It is blissfully soft, sturdy and has allowed me to nurture my babe any and everywhere I go. She asks for it “the ERGO!” by name when she wants a snuggle or a “mursie” and I have loved every minute of having it. It's also probably our most used baby item besides our stash of cloth diapers.

You can visit the ERGObaby website at http://www.ergobabycarriers.com/
ERGObaby has graciously offered one of our Carnival of Nursing in Public participants an ERGObaby carrier (valued between $120 and $148). *Preferred color cannot be guaranteed and is dependent upon stock available.
To enter to win an ERGObaby Carrier, submit an original post to the Carnival of Nursing in Public by June 30th.
Rules for entry – There are 3 ways to be entered in the drawing. You will get one entry for each submission up to 2 drawing entries in each category (you can submit more than 2 items but you will only be entered into the drawing 2 times per category for a maximum total of 6 entries per person). Here’s how to enter:
1. Submit an original post – This should be a well-written, unpublished piece submitted by June 30th using the original post submission webform.
2. Submit a NIP photo – Please submit your picture via email to CodeNameMama {at} gmail {dot} com and BabyDustDiaries {at} gmail {dot} com. You must own rights to share your pictures.
3. Submit a Tweet – Submit your Tweet that shares a NIP tip or bit of encouragement in 140 characters or less using the Tweet submission webform. Be sure to include the #CarNIP hashtag and your Twitter ID in that 140 character count.
Also: please comment to let me know which ERGObaby Carrier you will chose if you win!

Waste not....

I wouldn't really call us frugal. We make lots of careful choices with our money but we also spend a lot on things we value. But we're not wasteful.
Last night at dinner I piled a plate full of lettuce and baby tomatoes, carrot slivers and broccoli for Little Berry and myself. She enjoys dipping her veggies in cream cheese and so I reached for the container to give her a separate dish of it for dipping.
I turned around to find her shaking the rest of the bag of lettuce into the garbage. She looked so proud of herself, like she was helping me. I think in her mind she was being genuinely useful. But it got me wondering:

How do we teach children about not being wasteful?

-Give them age-appropriate tasks they can complete. When we're leaving rooms or the apartment I will pull a chair up to the light switch and ask Little Berry to turn the lights off for me. She enjoys it and it gets her practicing the habit of noticing such things. Make it fun or a game and they will remember it.
In the case of food, I will start involving her more. Perhaps from now on she can be in charge of putting the lettuce into a Tupperware container or picking just as much as we need to eat at a time from our container garden of lettuce.
- Volunteer with them doing something like picking up trash in the park or cleaning out their toy box to take items to a local thrift store. This way they get to see their efforts pay off and see an alternative to simply throwing things away.
-Use less myself and model appropriate behavior. I am guilty of some times pouring a glass of water down the sink if I am finished. We can use that water on our plants or start leaving a bowl of water outside our apartment building for smaller creatures in this summer heat. The fact is- everything we do means something to our children.
-Be wary of what I am modeling as "trash" to my daughter. Recycling is something kids can get involved in and teaching about waste isn't just for the environment. It's ideal for the health of your family as well because your choices will lead to a healthier childhood for your little ones and a better parenthood for you.
-Talk about it, read about it, make up your own stories about it. This one is a given and probably easiest of them all. But just talking about it means nothing if you don't also model the behavior.
-Relax. Sometimes kids are wasteful. They don't comprehend that splashing in the sink is wasteful- to them it's pure bliss to have chilly streams of water everywhere. Sometimes you need to let go of the rules and just enjoy the moment.

What are your tips? How would you approach wastefulness with your child/ren?

Something exciting

I know most of my readers are like-minded mamas who practice AP or cloth diapering and most likely are interested in supporting breastfeeding even beyond infancy. There is an exciting Carnival of Nursing in Public approaching soon. It's being hosted by Code Name Mama and Baby Dust Diaries. The deadline for submitting your posts, pictures, poems, artwork etc is approaching soon and I would personally encourage each of you to submit a piece. The object of this carnival is to push towards the normalization of breastfeeding, something I think we all support.
And there are prizes. I hear that ERGO baby is donating an Ergo carrier to one participant!

One other thing- you should share this carnival news on your blog and grab the sweet button too so more people participate and voice their support. Nursing Mamas need all the support they can get!

Panic

What makes you afraid? Fills your chest up tight with dread? Is it death? Spiders? Mold? Is it being alone, the dark, deep water?




I'm afraid of driving. I suppose specifically I'm afraid of *getting lost* while driving. Yesterday I wanted a frappuchino, but instead of getting in my car and driving down the street, I walked with little berry. In the heat, for two and a half miles! Just for a cold coffee drink, then two and a half miles back. Imagine what I'd do for groceries!
I've been trying to untangle my fear. I'm not afraid when I know exactly how to get where I want to go. But I'm afraid somehow I will miss a turn and not know exactly where I am
anymore. Before little berry, I was adventurous. I would drive to see pappa starbucks in the big city, I would take wrong turns just to see where I wound up. I've always been terrible with directions but this is ridiculous. It feels suffocating. Confining! There's this big huge fun city at my feet and I am going to
learn my way around.
So tell me. What are you afraid of? And what are you going to do to start overcoming it?


- mamma pie

Summer is....

The pool.
Is there really anything better than dipping your feet or plunging yourself into the pool in the summer? I think not. Little Berry thinks not too. Where's your favorite place to go swimming?

Sunshine.
Just make sure you put on sunscreen. Pappa Starbucks never wears sunscreen and so I finally showed him research stating that African Americans can also get skin cancer. Little Berry is always needing a re-coating because she sweats it off so much. What's your favorite sunscreen?

Fresh Foods.
Tomatoes. Zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers! Cherries, watermelon, pineapple, mangoes, raw garlic, basil! I love summer foods and we go through them so so quickly. What's your favorite summer food?

The smell of summer.
Grass growing, freshly cut grass, the smell of water. The neighbor's grill, even sunscreen has a distinct smell that I can't really get enough of in the summertime.
What are your favorite summertime smells?