Beth from Me as a Mommy – Babywearing Sling Fling Week!

Beth writes one of my favorite Mommy blogs. Her kids, M and TNB, are *completely* adorable, and Beth could not be sweeter – a few weeks ago, Mommy and I decided we were sick of not being able to do back carries and we turned to Twitter for help. Beth immediately tweeted several reference links AND offered to post a video for us herself. Check it out – here’s her VERY helpful vlog instructions on how to do a back carry:

Cole and his Mommy have been having trouble doing back carries because they can’t seem to get Cole high enough on Mommy’s back. M and I had that exact same problem until we went to a local babywearing meeting. We learned a few easy back carries, as well as a FABULOUS way to get M onto my back. Here are some videos to show you what we learned and what we do – please feel free to email me if you have questions after watching, I’d be happy to help, or to do follow-up videos on my own blog (or here!) if it would be helpful.

A few things before we get started – back carries should NOT be done with a stretchy wrap. Wraps like the Moby, Sleepy, or other stretchy cotton wraps SHOULD NOT BE USED for a back carry. The wrap we are using is a Vatanai. I bought it used off of The Baby Wearer. Please use a woven wrap when doing back carries. It’s fine to use a thin woven wrap, like the one we got from BabyEtte, but it needs to be woven and non-stretchy. A thinner wrap may cause more pressure points in your shoulders or back, so if you are feeling uncomfortable try switching to a heavier wrap. Also – remember that M and I have been doing back carries for almost a year now. Please make sure the first few times you try that you either have a spotter, are low to the ground, or both. Though I’ve never dropped M, it is possible – especially when you are trying to figure out the tie while you balance your kid on your back. Just be careful 🙂

Now – onto the fun! This first video shows our favorite way to get M onto my back. It’s called a ‘Superman’, and I assure you you will know why once you watch the video. The other most popular method at my babywearing group is a toss. The toss scares me. I’ve never been able to do it with M, and probably won’t try – essentially you use your wrap to hold your baby, and then toss them up and over your shoulder. I’m sure there are YouTube videos somewhere out there demonstrating it. Feel free to look them up, I won’t be offended. The Superman really only works once you have a child that can at least sit up on their own, whereas a toss works right from the start. Also, M will probably kill me one day for posting this video of him while he was wearing his sister’s bow… that’s if his Dad doesn’t kill me for posting it first 🙂 Anyway, here’s our video of the Superman:

Ok, so your kid’s on your back… now what?? Now you need to tie them on there. Our favorite back carry, the one we use the most often, and the one we have gotten the best at is a Rucksack carry. The rucksack is quick and easy to get both into and out of, which makes it great for when M might want to be up and down or if we are in a rush to go somewhere. Here’s a video of a rucksack tie:

Our other favorite has a name I can neither pronounce or spell. It’s some Tibetian word and eventually the girls at my babywearing group just told me to call it a “double hammock” because that’s another, less used, name for it. The Double Hammock is an off-center tie, the center of the wrap should end up at the center of your chest, so you need to start off center when you begin the tie. In the video, I show how I do it. I should also point out that when we did this tie for the video I ended up with uneven tails. That’s OK. Don’t stress if you end up with strange lengths. Just tie where you can and be done with things. As long as you get the tails under your child’s butt before you tie you should both be fine. We don’t use this quite as much as the Rucksack because it’s much harder to get out of. BUT, it’s great for a heavier baby, or once you hit the toddler years because it really disperses the weight well. Anyway, without further ado, here’s the Double Hammock back carry:


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See? How sweet is she? Also? She recorded these vlogs less than a month after having a baby! Visit her and check out her cuties… AND? Look what Mommy and I can do:

Come back for the rest of our babywearing guest post series this week – and if you’re local, ask Mommy about this weekend’s Sling Fling!

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6 Comments

  1. Yay!!! Cole you look fabulous up on mommys back!!! Congrats to both of you!

  2. Great post! Thanks for the tips and how-tos!

  3. omg I am so impressed Also you look amazing. my mommy hates you but loves you too. she is a creep.

  4. Thanks for sharing, you look great in those videos Beth and they're so easy to follow!

  5. Thanks for the great tips Beth!! Can't wait to try out the back carry now.

  6. Great job Beth! Love the videos, very well done and easy to follow. Back carrying really does take your babywearing to a new level! Plus, I love woven wraps, just wanted that out there!

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