Babywearing coat

I have an Instagram account called @slingaholic_mama and some of the lovely mamas there asked about my babywearing coat. I have a limited budget for all things, so I sadly could not afford $420 for the GORGEOUS Moa Po Mama Parka that I covet. It's extremely cold where I live in Canada, so I needed a more budget-friendly solution.

I used to live in Japan, as those who have read my old Reversible Destiny Baby blog will know. While there I heard about Rakuten online, and that's where I discovered the awesome mama coat pictured below. It's only $80! Check Rakuten out for yourself!

Infantino sling recall - How to get a free sling!

Much fuss is made over whether you have the "right" sling for your baby. The truth is, you can safely carry your baby in anything from a $16 crib sheet to an $800 ObiMama mei tai. There is something for every taste and budget in between, which is why it's so fun to look at slings!

The only thing you CANNOT safely carry your baby in is a recalled sling. The most dangerous of the recalled slings is the Infantino bag sling. These slings push baby's chin down onto their chest, which compresses their airways and doesn't let them breathe properly. If baby can't breathe... well, the worst happens.

Thankfully Infantino gives parents great incentive not to use their dangerous sling. If your sling is one of the recalled ones, you can send away for a free replacement. Here's a series of photos to show you how. Which sling would you choose?

Slingshot #1

I'm always curious to see what people in my city use to carry their babies/children in. We live in a huge city, so carriers are a common sight in the subway and downtown.

I don't often see structured backpacks like this for daily downtown use. I have also never seen this brand before. I wonder what it is?! Does anyone know?

Facebook window shopping!

I belong to quite a few babywearing groups on Facebook. It's a great way to "window shop"! I could never afford any of the wraps, carriers or slings, but it's definitely fun to look!

Today I saw this gorgeous Natibaby wrap. It's my exact favourite shade of green, and it reminds me of how my father taught me to telephone the fairies using a dried leaf.

Preaching babywearing...

I belong to a few message boards about slings, and one pet peeve is how new members are often told NEVER to use Baby Bjorn or similar type slings. There are downsides to that style of sling, but they aren't dangerous for your baby. Whenever I see other slingaholics getting all het up about Baby Bjorns I smile a little and imagine them preaching on an old-fashioned soap box!

I am a teacher, and today I found myself... not on a soapbox, but definitely more enthusiastic about babywearing than I needed to be with a group of unmarried, childless young students! We were talking about the personal cost of sports, and because I actively avoid all sports I gave hiking as an example. Naturally, carrying my son on my back came up. Naturally...

For your viewing pleasure, how I showed my class my hiking-with-baby style!

Weirdest sling I've seen in a long time!

My husband and I speak Japanese, and our little boy is learning snippets. While we were living in Japan we bought picture books to read to him, and we sometimes play Japanese kids shows on YouTube for him.

We also like to keep up our Japanese by watching movies. Last night I had some work to do (the busy life of a teacher!), so my husband watched a movie called "Moteki" on his laptop next to me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a lady wearing her baby in the strangest sling! Not quite pouch, not quite ring sling... And what on earth is that carry? I'm not sure my 3 month old would have stood for having his face covered like that. Is it even safe...???

I asked my husband to screen-shot the scene for your sling-viewing pleasure.

The magic of Kijiji

I use an iPhone, and because I am a busy mother I am using the Blogger app to write this post. I have lots of apps related to baby stuff (check out Baby Log, The Wonder Weeks, and Baby Buzz!) and I also have a wonderful app called Kijiji.

Kijiji is very similar to Craigslist, but it's the Canadian version. Because I have the Kijiji app, I can check slings for sale daily! Of course I never buy any of them (except for that Sakura Bloom Pure over summer... and my brown Maya Wrap...!!!) but it's very fun to look and dream every day!

Buy all the slings!!!!!!!!!!!! That's what I would do if I won the lotto.