Motherhood: May 2015 Stash Shot

10 May is around the corner, 2nd Sunday of May. That means, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all mummies out there!!!

Now, for a quickie on my current stash shot:

Left to right, top to bottom (in chronological order):
FibrEssence Wovens[1] Shell Medley, Fidella[2] Persian Paisley Smoke, Little Frog[3] Sunny Agate II,
Didymos[4] Indio Aurora RS, Oscha[5] Tian Ma Clove RS, Yaro[6] Turtle Light-Blue

Anticlockwise direction:
Fidella Persian Paisley Smoke, Yaro Turtle Light-Blue, FibrEssence Wovens Shell Medley,
Little Frog Sunny Agate II, Oscha Tian Ma Clove RS, Didymos Indio Aurora RS

Top to bottom:
Oscha Tian Ma Clove RS, FibrEssence Wovens Shell Medley, Didymos Indio Aurora RS,
Yaro Turtle Light-Blue, Fidella Persian Paisley Smoke, Little Frog Sunny Agate II

The latest addition to the stash is Fidella. As promised in "Motherhood: My 1st Handwoven Baby Wrap". I will now share how it joined the stash... 

It is going to be quite a long "story"... So, you might want to grab yourself a cuppa and sit comfortably.

Now, let's start the "story" proper. Once upon the time, somewhere in Singapore, I was blessed with a Moms In Mind (MIM) RS and 2 DIY pouch slings by a close friend. Unfortunately, MIM's material was not grippy enough, too slippery in fact, and required countless retightening. It caused me to dislike RS at that point in time.

As for the pouch sling, I could never get the hang of it. It just does not tighten up properly for me to be hands-off. My bad. My pregnant brain was not able to absorb my friend's teaching on how to use the pouch sling. It made me hate babywearing. Till now, they are still sitting around somewhere in my wardrobe.

Back then, I was using ErgoBaby[7] most of the time if I ever babywear. But, Ergo is very bulky to bring out. It is so not compact that I can't stuff it into my diaper bag! Too warm to be strapped in it because it won't fit my diaper bag :( So totally not motivated to use it...

Then one day, I just did a random search in Facebook on babywearing. That was how I found and requested to join the Singapore Babywearing Group[8]. From then on, the group rekindled my love for babywearing after being redirected to the tutorials from Wrap You in Love[9].

I took the plunge and bought my first woven wrap, Yaro Light-Blue Turtle size 5 after reading positive reviews from her (and of course because Yaro was said to be more affordable). It came after 2 weeks of travelling from Europe.

Softness was what still attracted me to using Yaro at home. Strictly at home. As mentioned in "Motherhood: Personal Opinions of My Humble Carrier Collection - Apr 2015 Stash Shot", I am an OCD who cannot stand the idea of Yaro's overwhelming length sweeping the floor when I am out. Not very in love with woven wrap at that point in time still...

Next, I got Oscha Tian Ma Clove to commemorate QW's birth (she is born in the year of horse). Not exactly soft out of the box and a bit on the warmer side because of the hemp. Luckily, it was quite easy to break in. It became buttery soft and silky smooth pretty soon after a few wears. And so, that was the start of my falling in love with woven RS.

Following Oscha to join the stash was Didymos Indio Aurora. Its beauty caught my attention and Jars of Fluff[10] was organising a pre-ordering session in the babywearing group. Since I preferred RS at that point in time and it is a limited edition print, I got it so that I have a RS to interchange with whenever Oscha is being washed.

So, I was pretty convinced that I will be a RS girl all-the-way... That remained true until someone in the babywearing group asked about ways to keep their wraps so as to pass it on to their children. You know, like a hands-me-down kind of thing?

Legacy wrap... I like the sound of that. I wanted Tian Ma to be it. That was why I bought it in the first place. Hence, I followed that thread closely. Sadly, I found out that RS would not make good legacy wrap because the seams might be compromised over time. Woven wrap, on the other hand, had the possibility of being a legacy wrap. It was mentioned in the thread that there are some 20 year-old Didy in circulation still!

Being determined to share the benefits of babywearing with QW in future, I thought of trying out a shorty (size 1 to 3). Standing at 1.58m tall, size 3 (usually 3.2m) would probably be my maximum limit. How did I come up with this conclusion? Because I can imagine myself folding the wrap in half and managing 1.6m long of wrap in some sense by sticking it in between my legs, placing it on a chair or in my pocket as I set up the carry. I can imagine it being totally off-the-floor the whole time :)

So, I decided to give a shorty woven wrap a chance. This round, I had a better idea what I was looking for. I wanted a wrap that is toddler worthy (meaning can carry up to toddlerhood or even pre-school stage). A wrap that is easy to differentiate top from bottom rail (because I could not tell them apart with Yaro having the same colour throughout).

With those conditions, I narrowed down to Little Frog Agate. A shorty was indeed the right move. I fell deeply in love with babywearing all over again. Finally! So, it has been decided. My sweet spot is size 3. Period.

Now, I did mention before that 240 gsm Little Frog was still a bit warm, didn't I? Hence, I got attracted and bought Heartiness[11] Entho Blue which is 50% cotton and 50% linen. 2 main reasons for this purchase: 1. Linen = more cooling as many attest to; 2. It was selling at an affordable price which included shipping.

While waiting for Entho Blue, FibrEssence Wovens went on SALES!!! Massive 45% discount!!! I was already drooling over the Shell Medley and always wanted to try a handwoven. So so crazy over it that I would check FibrEssence Wovens facebook page everyday just to see if it was still around. So, the sales really was not helping me from falling into the rabbit hole!!! And of course you know what happened after that....

Now, finally we reach Fidella. Why Fidella? One of the reasons was SALES AGAIN!!! The babywearing group shared a discount code for it. HAHAHA, so totally not helping at all!!! Next reason, it comes with a bag =D

Bag of the same print =D

And the next reason, the top rail and bottom rail can be differentiated! What they did was to hem it in different direction (if you can picture what I meant). Such a genius!

Fidella on most right:
Top rail darker colour, bottom rail lighter

And I shall stop sharing the other reasons =P But, you get the idea... I think... hope...?

Well~ at least I am buying something that I would be using, using my own money, and have a chance of passing it on as a legacy. Justified. *Self assuring cum comforting mode on* *Hee hee*

Yupz, so now, I am waiting for Entho Blue to crawl here from USSR or Russia.

*Drumming my fingers impatiently*

References:

1. Facebook - FibrEssence Wovens
2. Fidella
3. Little Frog
4. Didymos
5. Oscha Slings
6. Slingo Mama - Yaro
7. ErgoBaby
8. Facebook - Babywearing Singapore (Closed Group)
9. Wrap You in Love
10. Jars of Fluff
11. Facebook - Heartines

Motherhood: Personal Opinions of My Humble Carrier Collection - Apr 2015 Stash Shot

Currently, I have 2 ring slings (RS), 2 woven wraps and 1 soft structured carrier (SSC). They are (from left to right):

• Didymos[1] Indio Aurora RS
• Yaro Sling[2] Size 5
• Oscha[3] Tian Ma Clove RS
• Little Frog[4] Size 3
• ErgoBaby[5] Travel Carrier (not in above picture)

I got my Oscha RS from Oscha itself, Didy and Little Frog from Jars of Fluff[6], ErgoBaby from OG departmental store, and last but not least, Yaro from Slingo Mama.

Oscha

Among my collection, I have a soft spot for my Oscha Tian Ma because QW is born a horse (her Chinese horoscope) and Tian Ma is Oscha's wrap for the year of Horse. Hence, I bought this particular Oscha hoping to pass on as a legacy carrier in future.

My only regret? I did not buy the woven wrap version and Tian Ma wrap is currently out of stock. I got the RS back then because I was most comfortable with using RS at that point in time. It was also because I was not sure what my favourite woven wrap size is.

Sadly, I read somewhere in Babywearing Singapore Facebook group[7] that RS will not be very appropriate as legacy carrier because the seams might be compromised as time passes. So right now, I am just hoping that Oscha will produce another Tian Ma of a fabric blend which I want. Then, I will probably sell off the RS and get the woven wrap.

Probably because Oscha is quite an established company, the packaging is great as it comes with a tote bag and basic babywearing guide. I find the tote bag very convenient as it helps me locate my carrier easily in my rather messy diaper bag. The babywearing guide is a great read especially for new beginners.

Oscha packaging

Oscha tote bag

Anyway, Tian Ma Clove was hemp and pima cotton blend of about 235gsm. Not exactly soft out of box but I like it. Once broken, it feels silky smooth, glides easily but yet grippy enough to stay in place. Also, probably because it is a hemp blend, it is supportive and does not sag due to QW's weight.

Didymos
Didy packs their wraps and RS in a square box which comes with baby wearing instructions. Nice way of packaging but I feel that the box is less practical than Oscha's tote bag.

Many swear by Didymos. My personal experience with Didy has not been a smooth nor pleasant one. The two aspects I liked is the looks and feel of my Didymos Indio Aurora RS. Probably because it was made from organic cotton of about 210gsm, it was the softest out of box among my small woven wrap collection and very lightweight.

But like I have said, my journey with Didy has not been a pleasant one. In fact, it gave me the most headache. First off, I did not like its width. It is the shortest among my collection. I prefer longer width because I find it easier to create a deep seat when wrapping QW. A personal preference. Hence, Didy did not impress me with its width.

Left to right: Oscha, Didy, LF, Yaro
Didy is visibly shorter

Main part that really gets to me most is that this Didy is most prone to pull.

Small pull on Yaro

FYI, I do not go about hunting for pulls. What I usually do with my wraps is after wearing for about a week (if it did not get dirty earlier than that), I would wash and then iron. I do that mainly to reset the threads (and at the beginning, to break in) and wash away the sweat which the wrap absorbed over the week. It was during the time when I iron my wraps that I keep a lookout for pulls. Just a rough scan as I iron down the wraps' length.

I have been wearing my Oscha, Little Frog and Didy for roughly about the same duration. But, spotting pulls on my Didy has been easy. (Yeah, I am being sarcastic here.) Probably with a hit rate of around 50% chance. That really puts me off.

I was told that it is because Didy is loose (jacquard) weave. Well, my Yaro Sling (I was told) is also of loose weave. But for Yaro, I have only spotted pull once out of the many times which I had ironed it.

So, ya... I doubt I will get another Didy.

Period.

Yaro Sling
Yaro Sling was my first woven wrap. I read from sources[8][9] and hence bought the most conservative base size for a petite beginner. I could do my base size carries in it but I find the length too overwhelming for me. Size 5's 4.2m is too much for me to handle and it sweeps the floor as I prepare to carry QW.

Well, if you have read my other post "Motherhood: I Worry Excessively...", I am an OCD. I cannot imagine setting up a carry outdoor with the wrap sweeping the floor. Hence, Yaro is usually use when I am at home and needed to get some stuff done.

For those with a low budget, it is a reasonable wrap to get as Yaro's motto is to ensure that the price is reasonable for anyone wants a wrap to be able to own one. But perhaps because this Yaro is pretty new on the market (?) or that it is trying to bring down the cost, it does not come with babywearing guide and the packaging is very simple. Actually, it is just the wrap in a plastic bag.

It is the 2nd softest out of the box among my collection, 100% cotton and about 230gsm. True to the review by Wrap You in Love[10], it glides easily and yet is grippy enough to stay in place. Though it is longer than my LF by about 1 meter, it stills feel quite light in my hands (as compared to my LF). Another probable reason apart from its listed weight per square meter (gsm) could be that it is a loose weave. My Didy felt light as well when compared to Oscha or LF.

But, I personally do not feel that it is a beginner-friendly wrap because the whole wrap is of a single dominant colour. That makes it slightly difficult to differentiate the top rail from the bottom one. Hence, it might make it difficult for beginners as they may grab the wrong rail when wrapping.

Little Frog
LF comes in a plastic bag with babywearing guide like Oscha and Didy. Currently, my favourite is my shorty Little Frog Sunny Agate size 3. It is also 100% cotton, just like Yaro and Didy. Unlike Yaro and Didy, it is on the heavier side of about 240gsm and not loose (jacquard) weave. It is a denser broken twill. Hence, among the 3, I was shocked my its stiffness when I got it out of its plastic wrapping.

Luckily, it is not hard to break in this LF. Before I bought this LF, I usually depend on my RS for easy and quick ups and downs. That was why RS was my favourite choice of carrier for a long period of time. Perhaps because LF is of my favourite carry size, I usually will reach out for it even if I need quick ups and downs with QW nowadays.

One of the many aspects of LF that appeals to me is its rainbow stripes. It makes it very easier to differentiate top rail from bottom rail, thus making the wrapping easier. Also, it has a cooling feel to it every time I pick it up fresh from the wardrobe. Last but not least, it glides easily but yet is grippy enough and supportive. I had chosen it because it is said to be toddler-worthy. To me, that meant that it will not sag under the baby's weight.

ErgoBaby
I would say that the learning curve for ErgoBaby carrier is not a steep one. In fact, it is the easiest to use among my collection. Having said that, my hubby would be the one using ErgoBaby if it was used at all nowadays. As for me, I will reach out for my wraps and RS.

Why is that so? Firstly, I find ErgoBaby a little too warm for my liking. Secondly, the straps get in my way (even after I tied them up using the elastic bends). Last but not least, it is much more bulkier to bring out as compared to my wraps or RS. Last but not least, while my other wraps can be used from newborn to toddler, ErgoBaby requires an infant insert for babies less than 4 months or without good neck support. That infant insert looks VERY warm. Anyway, we did not buy the infant insert.


So, ranking them according to personal preference when I am out and about:

1. Little Frog Sunny Agate Size 3
2. Oscha Tian Ma Clove RS
3. Didymos Indio Aurora RS
4. ErgoBaby Travel Carrier
5. Yaro Turtle Light Blue Size 5

Before I end, psst... I have a handwoven 100% cotton wrap from Fibressence Wovens[11] and machine woven 50% cotton 50% linen Heartiness[12] Entho Blue on the way. So, the ranking might change. I will do another post again after I get a feel of those two.

Ssshhh, don't tell Richard that I have fallen down the rabbit hole. Well, I am paying out of my own pathetic freelancer pay. So, this is fuelling my motivation to grab more free lance jobs =P Oh, I should mention (by the way) that this blog post is my personal opinions on the carriers which I own (bought).

Hopefully by the next post on this topic, I will be able to say that I am out of the rabbit hole. I am very certain I won't try other types of carriers (Mei Tai, Stretchy wrap, etc.) So, I think that it is possible for me to be out (assuming I get my hands on the Oscha legacy wrap).

References:

1. Didymos
2. Slingo Mama - Yaro
3. Oscha Slings
4. Little Frog
5. ErgoBaby
6. Jars of Fluff
7. Facebook - Babywearing Singapore (Closed Group)
8. Fort Worth Babywearers - Babywearing Guide
9. Babywearing 102 - The Babywearing Glossary
10. Wrap You in Love
11. Facebook - FibrEssence Wovens
12. Facebook - Heartines