9 tips for babywearing in hot weather

Here in Washington State, summer tends to be pretty mild until the end of July and then the furnace turns on in August. Anything above 80 degrees and this Rainy State gal melts like butter on the counter.

But, we still push through - and especially with now TWO school age kids (where has my time gone???), my summers are so precious to me and I let very little stop us. We made a summer bucket list at the start of the break with 25 things we want to do and sure enough - we have tackled almost all of them. But, now it's August, and it's like 85+ degrees every day and truly the thought of strapping Holden, my 1 year old, to me through a menagerie of babywearing choices, is about enough to take the wind out fo my sales.

So what do you do when it's hot outside and you babywear? Friends, let me give you a few tips that I've come across.

First, when reading through these points, as yourself the following questions:  What kind of climate are you in? Is it dry or humid? How hot does it really get? How old is your child? These will help guide you to making a decision that is best for you and your worn child(ren).

1. Consider your carrier material. It's hard to make a blanket comment about "this carrier is BEST for the hot weather!" because each person has their own unique temperature tolerance or material preference. However, it is generally recommended to opt for lighter weight, airy fabrics or carriers that incorporate materials for increased air flow.

My sister-in-love, who now lives in San Diego after being a Washingtonian for her whole life, is an Ergo veteran but during her third pregnancy became encouraged to start trying out wraps. She wanted something breezy yet supportive for the hot summer ahead, and started belly wrapping with her Wrapsody Haumea in the last week of her pregnancy. Talk about birthy vibes! You can see more about her thoughts on Haumea here.

2. How many layers are we talking about? Woven wraps vary greatly in thickness and heat based on what they are made of, so you may have a wrap that does not do well for you and baby in the heat. Opt for a single layer pass (such as FWCC) and shorter wrap lengths.

3. Consider what you are wearing. Dressing lightly is most ideal, but I always like to keep a light fabric between myself and baby during the heat because we both get sweaty and sticky. A small prefold between baby's head and my chest kept both of us happy. I also opt for a wide brimmed hat as it gives shade over the baby's head too.

4. What is your baby wearing? Same goes for baby as it does you!

5. Take the proper measures of sun protection for both of you, as with all outdoor play. Fabric provides minimal amounts of protection from the sun and parts of baby will be exposed outside of clothes and being tucked into their carrier or wrap. Use sunscreen often and stay in the shade or indoors during the hottest part of the day. Especially pay attention to exposed parts of baby's skin and adequately cover with sunscreen or other sun protection.

6. As developmentally appropriate, switch between front and back carry. Keeping my kids on my back helps cool me down, but it is also important to mention that another set of eyes on your child is helpful during hot weather since you won't be able to see their face as easily as with front carry. Be aware of how your child is doing back there, if they aren't in full sun or getting dehydrated.

7. On that note - hydration is key! Especially if you are breastfeeding, and your baby uses your milk for hydration as well. Keeping extra hydrated is important while babywearing in hot weather because you will inherently be hotter.

8. When I did a little bit of crowd sourcing for ideas on babywearing in the heat, chilly pads kept being recommended over and over! There are tons of companies who make it, and I can't recommend any specific one since I haven't personally tried them yet, but the idea is that they are made from a hyper-evaporative material that soaks up moisture quickly but stays dry to the touch. They are popular for athletics and working out.

9. And my final tip on babywearing in hot weather is...If it gets too hot for either of you, remove baby and head indoors immediately! No sense in forcing either of you to be so miserable and hot, right?

What are some of your summer babywearing tips?

Disclosure: This post was originally written by The Pierogie Mama for the Wrapsody Blog in 2016. 

Wrapsody Breeze Woven Wrap Giveaway!

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Babywearing takes on many shapes and forms, and using woven wraps is one of the most versatile ways to wear your baby.  Woven wraps are long, narrow strips of woven cloth made from various textiles that offer different qualities on wrapping a child to their caregiver's body. Woven wraps do come with a bit of a learning curve, but with practice you can adapt the wrap so that you and your baby are comfortable. Most wraps are able to support baby from birth to toddler, so they make a great investment on your time in babywearing.

The Wrapsody Breeze is a lightweight woven wrap made of gauze cotton. The lightweight, breathable fabric is complimented by the beautiful hand painted batik design which makes each and every wrap completely unique! This wrap is perfect for babywearing in hot weather and throughout the rest of the year too!

The Wrapsody Breeze comes in 11 colorways. The Pierogie Mama and her sister in law love the Wrapsody Breeze Haumea, as her sister in law just moved to San Diego and was looking for a good wrap to wear her newborn in. Read why Haumea is a special wrap for expecting mothers and it gets 6 thumbs up!

Some things to know about the Wrapsody Breeze line:
11 colors available
Cotton gauze making it a great lightweight warm weather wrap
Use it to wear your baby on the front, back or side
Hand batiked designs by a family in Bali
Has a self storing pocket on the end, making it easy to store in your diaper bag!
three sizes: S/M, M/L, L/XL (lengths varying from 4.6 meters to 5.5 meters long)

Now you can enter to win a gorgeous Wrapsody Breeze woven wrap in your choice of available colorway and size! See giveaway details in the widget below.

Entry-Form

Disclousure: This giveaway is hosted by The Pierogie Mama. It is not affiliated with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or any other social media platform. Participating bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment. Please email thepierogiemama@gmail.com with any questions regarding this giveaway or if you'd like to sponsor a future giveaway or blog post. Please see giveaway widget for full giveaway details and eligibility. 

Wrapsody Breeze Haumea - 6 thumbs up for hot weather babywearing!

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It was February - my sister in love was 7 months pregnant with baby #3 and she was relocating from Washington State to sunny San Diego due to her husband's impending deployment. Besides all of the normal things that would plague a mom's mind during that time (where will I deliver? where will my kids go to school? how are we going to adapt while Daddy is on deployment, living 1,200 miles away from family?), there was definitely one thing that I knew that I could help mama out with. How is she going to wear this brand new baby in unbelievably hot weather??

I got on the task and started asking around on social media - hot weather moms: what do you recommend for babywearing in hot weather?? <- You can find the answers to this question on my guest post on the Wrapsody Baby blog!

One thing was abundantly clear; she needed a wrap that behaved completely differently than what she and I would have used in Washington. This is how the Wrapsody Haumea came to live at her house.

Then early April came. I flew in to San Diego with the intention of being with the family for the birth of baby, being that there was no family living close by and I was brimming with excitement. My two girls (Penny is 4, Ruby is 2) and I set aside 2 weeks to spend in SD and I was just praying for this baby to hold out until I got there. It would just make everything smooth for mama and daddy. I arrive, and my SIL is definitely smuggling a beachball under her shirt. Whew, ok baby - you can come out now. Auntie made it. Oh, and the fun part? We wouldn't know the gender of this baby until birth!

So Wrapsody Haumea arrives, while we eagerly guarded the front door in anticipation for this very special fluffymail. It was exceptionally meaningful to my SIL because she is a Labor & Delivery Nurse, helping babies and mamas is her job and passion. The name, Haumea, is for the Hawaiian Goddess of fertility and childbirth. Really, how much more perfect can that be for a professional in the birthing field and for a woman just about to become a mama.

We quickly started to break Haumea in, and prayed for her birthy vibes to welcome baby soon.

The Wrapsody Haumea is here! Is it serendipidous to receive a wrap named after the Hawaiian Godess of Birth and Motherhood while we await the birth of my sister in law's 3rd baby? Hoping for some lovely birthing vibes and sleepy dust from this gorgeous wrap. #wrapsodybaby #wrapsodyhaumea #babywearing #wovenwrap

A photo posted by Bianca @ The Pierogie Mama (@thepierogiemama) on Apr 6, 2016 at 4:29pm PDT

It took a week. We're not going to dwell on that. Instead we are going to show you some serious Haumea love instead!

The Wrapsody Breeze Haumea was a tricky wrap to love at first. As with all of the wraps in the Breeze line, it is a very thin, but very strong, gauze wrap that comes deceivingly "rough" at first. I will admit, it was a bit of a shock. But I knew that the work would be worth it with this wrap! So with the help of 4 kids, we broke Haumea in lightning fast with many hours of wrap hammocks, braiding, snuggling and of course - belly wrapping.

The pain that you have been feeling will not compare to the joy that is to come. Romans 8:18 #birthaffirmations #wrapsodyhaumea #wrapsodyfamily #wrapsodybaby #bellywrapping #theresawrapsodyforthat

A photo posted by Bianca @ The Pierogie Mama (@thepierogiemama) on Apr 9, 2016 at 7:00pm PDT

Three days after this photo was taken, little "DJ" came into the world! I became the proud auntie of my 5th nephew!

I got to spend another week with the family, filled with a visit to Disneyland, fun trips to the park and aquarium, late night board games and a little bit of time with our childrens' Nana. And then I had to go home :(

Haumea took a little bit of a break during the first month of DJ's life; mama was finding a lot more ease of use with a ring sling. But after about 5 weeks, his mama started sending me a few pictures and updates. Being a newbie wrapper it was hard at first to find the right amount of pull to give the wrap for it to hold tightly and last. Because the wrap is somewhat comparably "rough" to other cotton wraps, it doesn't slide around too much and holds quite well.

Mama really got to loving it.

This wrap has become her go-to in the already hot San Diego summer, and she's learned how to pull on it just right to get the perfect wrap and support where she and DJ need it.

But do you know who loves it the most? DJ's 8 year old big sister. Mama says that the wrap is a little more narrow than her other wraps so it fits her daughter better. It is easier and neater to wrap than her others!

"My favorite is when he falls asleep and I get to snuggle him."

Haumea definitely gets 6 thumbs up (from mama, big sis and DJ, of course!) from us.

Let me take a minute to just drool over the beautiful artisan work on this wrap too. Did you know that Wrapsody Breeze wraps are hand dyed in Bali Batik style for Wrapsody Baby by a family in Bali? 

While breaking in Haumea, I washed and ironed her many times. It truly became a labor of love to get this wrap broken in and ready for DJ and mama. The family laughed whenever they heard the creak of the ironing board open - "Bianca's at it again - she's ironing the wrap!" I loved ironing it because it gave me extra time to really take a close look at the hand painted hibiscus flowers and the extremely unique gradient of sunset colors throughout the length of the wrap. It's truly a one of a kind wrap, you won't find two Haumeas that look exactly alike; just how every labor, every child, and every season of motherhood is different.

Head over here to find out who won the 
Wrapsody Breeze giveaway!

Which Wrapsody Breeze wrap do you love the most?

Disclosure: All photography and opinions are 100% The Pierogie Mama's.  This giveaway is in no way associated with, sponsored, administered, or endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest or any other social media network. Participating bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment. Please contact Bianca via email: thepierogiemama@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like your product to be featured in a future post.