Thread: All About Wraps

This is one of several "All About" posts where each is about a particular type of commonly used baby carriers. I WANT HELP with pictures, comments and tricks to each brand you have experience with, how to use it properly, different carry options, and more! So please offer input to help supplement my information.

Wrapping involves taking one piece of cloth and using it to go around you and the baby. There are two main types of wraps, stretchy wraps and woven wraps.

Stretchy wraps (Sleepy wrap, Moby, etc) are very forgiving wraps due to the stretch. You don't have to do a great wrapping job for it to be comfortable on you and to it have it work well for a small baby. There are a few ways of using it for front carries and hip carries. With practice, you can even nurse in one. The downsides are that they are very long (it's a "one size fits all") and they can be warm (due to the nature of the fabric used). These types of wraps are great for newborns and small babies. Most people find them to be not as supportive (due to the stretch) starting at about 15 pounds. While they say they're good for up to 35 pounds I've never personally known someone who has used it past 20 pounds. One final note about stretchy wraps: NEVER EVER DO A BACK CARRY IN ONE. No stretchy wrap is currently recommend to be worn for a back carry by any company.

Woven wraps are a single long piece of fabric, but they do not have the same kind of stretchiness to them (there is usually just a very slight stretch on a diagonal). They can be worn in a variety of ways (UNDERSTATEMENT ) for front carries, hip carries, and back carries. Since there is no vertical or horizontal stretch, woven wraps are much more supportive for older babies and can be used for a very long time from newborn through toddlerhood. There is a higher learning curve for woven wraps since a better wrap job will be more comfortable. Usually a bit of patience and video watching will have you feeling like a pro soon. Woven wraps also come in a variety of lengths. The carries you can do depend on your size and the length of the wrap.

Stretchy Wrap Brands
DIY
Moby
Sleepy Wrap
Boba Wrap (Boba is the same as Sleepy Wrap, just changed over to Boba recently)

Stretchy Wrap Help


Woven Wrap Brands
BBSlen
Didymos
Ellaroo
Girasol
Storchenwiege
Vatanai
(and like a dozen more that I can't remember off the top of my head right now )

Woven Wrap FRONT Carries
Front Wrap Cross Carry - videos and pictures
Front Cross Carry - videos and tutorials (includes Short Cross Carry)

Woven Wrap BACK Carries (in no particular order lol)
Back Wrap Cross Carry - video links
Back Cross Carry

Reinforced Rear Rebozo Rucksack back carry with a baby (but works for toddlers too)
Rucksack back carry tied in front and tied under bum
Double Rebozo Shoulder to Shoulder (DRS2S)
Giselle's Back Carry (GBC)
Secure High Back Carry


Woven Wrap Help
Getting a good seat in a rucksack carry
Wraparound Instruction Links and Info from TBW

(This is a post most definitely in progress. )

The Moby was one of my "must-haves" when I was preggo. I tried it with DD at 3 days old and she HATED it. I ferreted it away and bought a ring sling. I tried it a few weeks later after getting some advice on easy wrapping and fell in love with it again. It has a steep learning curve but it can be really useful. I found it somewhat difficult to nurse in but I know some women are able to do it easily.

Erin, I think you remember me posting about being a Moby failure last winter. You're the one who sent me the youtube video links that allowed me to finally get some use out of it!
Wrapping definitely has a learning curve to it, even the Moby. I'm still keeping the Moby around to use with #2 whenever that happens to be. It's a forgiving wrap that's nice and snuggly for newborns.

I think my post with Moby videos may have incited your BWing obsession, actually.

YouTube saved my Moby. The instructions that came with it were no help at all. The instructions also neglect to show you how to easily put the thing on. Its SOOO much easier than they make it out to be. I also found that DD hated all the sling-like newborn carries. She only wanted to be upright. Once I figured that out, we were golden.

If I remember correctly all I had was the completely useless Seven Sling and the Moby. Though I had bought my Mei Tai Baby, it hadn't come in yet. And yes the videos certainly did help with my BWing obsession.

Ooh, and here's a pic of a very unhappy 3 day old Teagan in the Moby.

I love that picture Erin!

Beautiful!

I was just dusting off my Moby to send to my SIL and I noticed the case (yes, I keep such things) says its good up to 35 lbs. Yeah RIGHT! Haha! I'd like to meet the person who's able to carry a 35 lb toddler in a Moby.

Originally Posted by TiggersMommy

I was just dusting off my Moby to send to my SIL and I noticed the case (yes, I keep such things) says its good up to 35 lbs. Yeah RIGHT! Haha! I'd like to meet the person who's able to carry a 35 lb toddler in a Moby.

I know! They make it sound like it'll be a great supportive carrier for years and it's all you'll ever need. NOT. 15 pounds it goes downhill. By 20 no one wants to use it! 35 is laughable.