Thursday
Nov132008
Long lasting value of a woven wrap
Thursday, November 13, 2008 
Since so many people enjoyed yesterday's post, I thought I would continue with the International Babywearing Week theme today. After putting up my post yesterday, I realized it had been a while since I had little Miss Independent ("WALK!!") in my wrap, so I decided to hoist all 19 months and 25 pounds of her up onto my back for a bit after dinner. That is when my 4 year old and almost 50 pound son decided that he would like to go on Mommy's back too.
My daughter didn't cooperate for long enough to take a picture, but here is one of my son last night on my back in my Storchenwiege wrap. I was amazed at how light he felt. I did get him to hold on as much as possible so that it wasn't dead weight, but the quality of the wrap also helped to distribute the weight well across my body so that I didn't feel it in any one place. Essentially it was like a piggy back ride with some extra support and safety built in.I wanted to post this to demonstrate the long lasting value that a good quality woven wrap can provide. These wraps are not cheap (around $100 plus, depending on length and where you buy it), but well worth the money when you consider that you could use it through several children and several years each and then even pass it down to your children to use with their children later. There are so many different ways that you can use the wrap too, making it an extremely flexible and adaptable carrier.
There are lots of brands of wraps out there and the Germans really are the best at making quality woven wraps. Some of the brands I would recomend include Storchenwiege, Hoppediz and Didymos. If you want to pick one up second hand, so that it is nicely broken in (they can be stiff to begin with) and to save a little bit off of the price, you can check out the For Sale or Trade section of The Babywearer Forums.
Included in the "How do you wear?" Mr. Linky over at Adventures in Babywearing.
Reader Comments (14)
I'm impressed by the longevity of this wrap! Madeline wasn't a fan of this in the beginning, but I may look into it again - your little guy looks pretty happy there!
I need to get a new wrap so this post was well-timed! My Hug-a-Bub wrap is stretchy and probably not ideal for my 15 month old anymore; lately we've been relying heavily on a Didymos wrap I had made into a ring sling at Sleeping Baby Productions. Maybe I'll try a Storch!
I really regret not utilizing all these great resources to learn more about wraps - I did buy one, but since it was not of the best quality I didn't end up using it much. Next time around this is going to be at the top of my list!
I love the photo of your son. He looks very comfy!
I have YET to own an awesome woven wrap. I must, I must! Do you recommend just getting them used?
Steph
I own a Moby Wrap and I can get my 34 pound 4 and a half year old in it pretty comfortably. Well, except the fact that he is well over three feet and I am only 5'1" - his legs dangle pretty far down which makes walking long distances a little difficult. :)
@Steph I do recommend getting one used if you can find one you like for sale. The Babywearer For Sale or Trade forum is a great place. They're nice and worn in if you get them used. I may have one or two for sale soon....If you're potentially interested, let me know!
We've loved our wraps, too. My 4th baby had a special love for my Storchenwiege. He get all happy and giddy when I would get it out ... he just knew he was "going for a ride"
That is a gorgeous wrap! I was given a hot pink wrap, but it makes me nervous. It's so stretchy and there's no tag so I have no clue who made it. I'm worried the weight of the baby will stretch it too far to be safe.
Oh, I have to try one of these. I've been hearing all the sung praises of their quality and versatility — and look how gorgeous they are, too! Sniff. I'm jealous. :) My almost 22-month-old's 36 lbs, so we've been relying on the Ergo. Do you think it's worth getting a woven wrap at this point, or should I just hang off till (potential) baby #2?
@Lauren - I think it is worth getting one. That way you have time to practice and to break it in with your older child. Then it will be nice and soft and you'll be a pro when your next baby comes along.
All right, I'm off to dream and drool at The Babywearer forum. Thanks for the tip!
[...] Which baby carrier has lasting value? It is a woven wrap. [...]
[...] like to check back and see what I wrote a year ago. Last year, on this date, I wrote about the Long lasting value of a woven wrap. In that post, I included a few pictures of my Storchenwiege, which has since been passed along to [...]