Alternative uses for a sling: part 1!

This could be a looooong series, I have a lot of ideas and pictures of a goodly number of my ideas! At least it should keep me blogging, I can't pretend I can't think of anything!

The first entry is deftly nicked from a friend (who also bought her sling from me!)

Atlernative use number one: A blanket!

It can be chilly crab fishing at the harbour, but when you have a Storchenwiege Inka (or any other brand/pattern of wrap!) you can whip up a handy blanket for a cold youngling!

After being inspired by a genius on the Kangarinos facebook page I decided to add some Heimess wooden clip on toys to the Kangarinos family!

They arrived the other week and two year old Celia took rather a shine to them!


Demonstrating size, they're about two year old hand sizeish! Bigger than I expected them to be which is good really!




That would be an extreme close up of the frog!


I'll attempt to post some action shots once I've taken some!

Rose and Rebellion

Kangarinos has now started stocking Rose and Rebellion Buckle Carriers, they are so funky, absolutely perfect for dads! They also reverse to a plain black side so you can match each outfit (or just buy a pattern you like then make him wear the reverse!).

I find them much more structured than a Connecta so they have a little steeper learning curve (ime) but you're rewarded in your efforts with a very comfy carrier!

The grooviest thing is the already attached chest belt, they're such handy things and since it's fastened on (although it is removeable) it's much harder to lose the thing in the depths of your sling drawers (do you think I might be talking from bitter experience!)

Competition winner!

Poor Blog, how I have neglected you! I shall write several blog posts now in an attempt to make up for it! Hmm, perhaps I should have pretended that they were there all along!

The competition ended with looooads of entries which was very exciting! A winner was picked and she chose a Kozy mei tai in Tanglewood, a superb choice methinks!

Cleaning avoidance....

This blog post is mainly being written to avoid doing some cleaning! It's two weeks until Celia's Birthday (remember the competition I'm running to celebrate, have you entered?) and I foolishly invited people for a party. Now, given that the only thing that is even vaguely tidy is my stash of sling stock I really ought to be being productive! But hey, Himself is cleaning as I speak/type so maybe if I ramble enough he'll have finished it all for me!

I have to get organised as well and get Celia a doll sling for a her birthday, I have a few pictures of her wearing her dolly in an improvised sling made out of a muslin but I think she'd really like a 'proper' one! Have you got any pictures of your sproglings toywearing? If you've got any you're happy for me to include in a blog post email me on info@kangarinos.co.uk

Oh and if anyone wants to leave a comment on the blog I haven't had one yet so I'd be very excited! ;-)

Nothin to see here!

*shuffles in furtively* Um, I feel like I've got to know you well, my reader. Mostly because I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who reads this and I know me remarkably well! But I have a little secret:

*stands up* Hello, my name is Rachael and I'm a compaholic!

I do love a good competition me, everything about them! The giddy thrill of a winning email or letter, exciting times imaging the wins you might get, the dull monotony of entering, (well alright maybe not that one!) the extra cash after you've sold your wins on ebay (which I never ever ever do, obviously. *beam*).

And now I'm running one! I need to enter, do you think anyone would notice? *jitters* Thing is a reeeeeeeeally want the prize, I think I've been very well behaved and not bought any of my stock for myself, I've scarcely pawed my merchandise at all! Surely I deserve a new one, and no one would guess if 'Sue Denim' won would they?!

It's a ring sling thing!

Very very busy sling meet on Wednesday it was a good job I took my entire stash and all my my demo slings and some of my stock! My ikea trolley thing was crammed full of slings!

A lady came at the end when I was vaguely attempting to stuff everything back in my trolley, with a gorgeous silk ring sling. She bought it for weddings and Christenings but needed a hand using it. I used a ring sling at the first wedding we took Celia to, they're very handy things. You can get some gorgeous ones too! We weremn't convinced of the wiseness of having silk so close to dribble and food and things but there are some also gorgeous ones in cotton. I've got Pouchlings ring slings and her deluxe ones are beautiful! See:

Captiv8 guest blog post

Another guest blog post! This time it's from Helen at Captiv8, they did my website, stationary, logo, et al and are helping me with my new top secret addition to the website! They're fab and they've given a special discount code to share!

Hi my name is Helen and I am the director of Captiv8 Web Design. We are the designers for Kangarinos website and corporate stationary. Our business is a family run business which is expanding.  Although we have experience and talent behind us we strive above all else to be open, honest and trustworthy. We uphold core Christian values in everything we do and do not operate hard sell, misleading or otherwise suspicious sales tactics. All our basic prices are upfront and visable with no hidden extras and no lock ins. All other products are quoted on a per customer basis to ensure best value and the best solution for you and your company. No jargon, no hassle, no hard sell and for the month of August you can also enjoy 10% off your entire order by quoting this code: 10AUGUK02 So if you, or anyone you know, needs webdesign, print or search engine optimization services please go to our site at www.captiv8webdesign.co.uk to find out more.

Squishieness, rain and toddler misery

I got to see a brand new squishie newborn last night. I took them a Wrapsody and showed Dad how to wrap with it while mum had a rest. I'd forgotten just how lovely a Wraposdy is for newborns. I still managed not to get broody though!

In other news Celia is not a happy chicken at the moment, she's been getting random fevers and doesn't like to walk too much, which is very unusual for her. We've been rocking the wrap in a reinforced ruck a lot! Plus the Slingling pouch came in very handy at a recent wedding. Our friends got married in a brilliant ceremony, Celia stuck with her current tradition and fed/slept through it all (she's only been to two weddings but she's done that for both of them!). Unfortunately she woke up in a very bad mood so I ended up stood outside with her in a pouch, under a massive brolly, in the pouring rain, examining the ribbons on the bridal car, as it was the only thing that cheered her up! Poor Celia! (We loved the bride's dress though, it was purple, me and Celia love purple! The bride is extremely groovy!)

Poor Celia

The toddler is teething and she's miserable about it. Plus she's not sleeping well and she's miserable about it. I think it might be a snuggly wrap kind of day!

Confession...

Ok, I admit it, I was wrong, for possibly the first time ever obviously *beam* but I was, indeed wrong.

You see Kozy mei tais have got a little pockety bit on the end of the waist straps, I thought it was a lovely idea but it'd never use it. Then I went to the shop with nothing but a toddler, a Kozy, some money and no pockets! Blimey that Kozy pockety bit was handy! And Iit was much more secure than I thought it would be before I saw it!

I'm converted, in fact, my Kozy has been borrowed by a friend at the moment (who is making much use of the pockety bit!) and when I wore another mei tai I was lost without it!

Pictures

I do like seeing pictures of children in slings, particularly if you've bought the sling from me!
I was sent just one of those pictures from a recent customer and I thought I'd share it on the blog (she said I could, don't worry) as it's such a lovely picture.

This is Sarah and her littlest boy Joshua in a Kozy Spotsylvania, and largest son Luke having a ride. A big bonus of slings when you've got more than one child is two free hands for toddler wrangling!

I'm sure Sarah said it was one of her very first times doing a back carry, and I think she's done a superb job! Joshua is very at home up there and generally nods off which is always a good sign! I did send her some useful videos to help her tweak her tying to make it more comfortable for her though but I think everyone benefits from useful pointers when slinging!

Anyway enough of my rambling, perpare yourself for a very sweet picture:

Nappies!

I'm a bit late posting this but Munchkin is visting her Grandparents so I finally have more than two and half seconds peace!

On Wednesday I went to the inaugral Warrington cloth nappy meet. I can tell that it's going to be very bad for my bank balance! (Not as bad as the sling meets obviously but still enough to make my bank manager weep a little into his Christmas bonus!) Celia made a new friend who she followed like a little puppy, I got to talk slings and nappies and breastfeeding (plus tending to bumped knees, spilt sandwiches and bruised egos!) and a lovely time was had by all!

Plus, I made a new friend too! Lisa, from birth 2 potty, she is to cloth nappies what, well, a very clever person is to the subject they're being very clever about! She's opening a shop in Leigh selling cloth nappies, (hopefully I'll shoehorn some of my slings in there! *beam*) and is planning on holding a sling meet in there! Perhaps I should write to my bank manager and warn him now... ;-)


She's been instrumental in persuading Wigan and Lancashire councils to offer a good cloth nappy scheme, hopefully we can persaude St Helens council to do the same!

Oh yes, this is a slingy blog, on Wednesday I mostly used a Slinglings pouch sling, I nearly didn't take one but I chucked that in as a just in case, and was very glad I did as the walk from the car to the venue involved rather a busy road!

Sleeping in a Connecta

I was given this gorgeous picture and wanted to share it. It's courtesy of my first ever customer Gwen, and her ridiculously cute daughter Isobel. They took their connecta (Integra in Ironwork) on holiday with them and it would appear Isobel is quite comfortable in it because the picture shows her fast asleep!

Gwen is a fan of the connecta too and since she seems to be on a mission to own every type of sling there is that's quite an acheivement! ;-)

I'd like to compliment Gwen on the nice use of the chest belt there. All Connectas are supplied with a chest belt so you can pull the straps in if you find it more comfortable. I don't use them myself but I know a few people who do find them very handy :-)

Reluctant napping at the zoo

So, what do you do when you have a very tired but very over excited toddler during a scorching hot day out at the zoo?

Tie them in your mei tai but loosen the straps so they shuffle down to milk height, provide milk, keep away from interesting things that may cause a distraction to the toddler (MONKEYS!). Wait until the toddler has given in to sleep then have a sit down in the shade and eat an ice cream!

The following photo is evidence of the effectiveness of this technique! I didn't bother readjusting the sling after milk hence why it's all gappy and dodgy but I was planning on just sitting there until she woke so it was ok :-)

After her nap a more cheerful toddler was then able to recommence hurtling around the zoo terrorising the monkeys while the sling folded up neatly and fit in a bag! A win win situation I feel!

New favourite sling!

Celia has gone over to the Kozy side!

The new shipment of Kozy Mei Tais arrived yesterday (always a time of great excitement in our house!) I always get a spare for demo so I had a play with it and Celia. When I took her down after her brief ride on my back for the first time in her entire 20 month life she cried to go back up again! She wailed "More ling!" and put her arms out to be flung back up again! So back up she went. I folded up the washing with her chattering to me from my back!

I get a feeling we could be using a Kozy a lot now, it's a good job I really like it too!

So stylish!

Walking past a car today I caught sight of my reflection. I realised that not only had a co-ordinated mine and Celia's outfits but the wrap we were using matched nicely as well!

I think I need more slings to match all my other clothes!

Oh no! Birds!

Yesterday I did some more sling washing.

The Pouchling Ring Sling was the victim of a 'milk expulsion incident' so it went into a pillowcase for a bath in the washer! It washes really well, there was a little dye leakage so the pillowcase is now a very very very pale pink but nothing significant.

I also gave Storchenwiege Leo Red a bath, again a tiny bit of dye leakage but nothing to write home about (hardly something to blog about!). He really softened up after his turn in the washer, I was really very impressed! I hung them both out on the line and stood back to admire a job well done...

... and spied the bird poo on Leo red! So he's booked in for another bath today, I may have to rig up a scarecrow! 

Wash Day!

It's washing day today so of course it's all cloudy and threatening rain!

I washed the Ironwork Connecta I've been using. Obviously I didn't doubt Hannah (the lady who makes Connectas) for a moment but I was still rather relieved when the black bit came out still black and the white bits still white!

Wrapsody

So, back in the mists of time, when Celia was no'but a wriggling lump in my tummy I attempted to pick a sling! After seeking advice from the ladies at the Liverpool sling meet I settled on a Wrapsody stretch wrap (Well, they were called Gypsy Mama then but that's beside point!)

What appealed to me was the Wrapsody's 'hybridness'. It's stretchy but not like elastic, so it's still very forgiving for the notice wrapper and easily poppable: so you can tie it on and then put the baby in (a very handy thing indeed!) I used it constantly until Celia was um, about nine/ten months I think (I swapped to a mei tai in the summer for a bit of air flow!). I even tried my giant toddler in one today and it's still really quite comfortable! It's currently with my friend snuggling her little one and generally finding a new fan!


The wraps that arrived today are utterly beautiful, the photos simply don't do them justice! I honestly would be happy to wear any of them (and I kind of wish I could!).

Here's a picture of Celia when she was four months old sleeping on Daddy in our Wrapsody Mauri (they now discontinued this colourway, I'm gutted!). We'd pulled it open a bit to get a picture she wasn't normally quite so uncovered!

My back

Today I went to see my business mentor lady, she told me she wished she'd known about slings when her children were small but that she didn't think she'd be able to carry them for long. So I told her the story of my very silly back.

Before I was pregnant I'd occasionally get spectacular back pain. All the muscles in my back (and consequently in my chest) would cramp up and just stay like that sometimes for three days at a time. It was so painful even a double dose of painkillers (this was prescribed by my doctor btw, as a one time thing to get me through my wedding! It was not fun!) didn't make a dent in it.

Then I had a Celia. And I've only had proper back pain once since she was born and that was before I'd started wearing her! I really beleive that babywearing has helped my back.

I do look after it though, I almost always do two shoulder carries and I pick my slings carefully to provide the most support. I started with a wrapsody, (which I loved and still miss using!) then moved to a mei tai very similar to a Kozy. Now I generally use a Storchenwiege for long journeys and a Connecta for short. So far, touch wood, my back has been ok! I best keep everything crossed now though!

Anyone got a newborn I can borrow?

The Slinglings pouches arrived and they're beautiful, soft, silky and so very pretty. I'd love to get a newborn in one, I reckon it'd be lovely!

I'm settling for putting my large toddler in it instead and I'm utterly converted! She's very much in the up and down stage, I want to walk for two minutes, then be carried, then walk, repeat ad finitum!  I could just leave the pouch on, it was so quick to get her in and out and really very comfy!

Nana and her bad neck had a try with one as well and I have another convert! Although Celia did insist on taking a book up into the sling with her so there was a small amount of 'book in face!'

Waiting, waiting...

Today we're waiting in for the Slingling pouches to be delivered. Celia is grumpy about it, she likes to go out! She has however adopted a pet potato so at least she's keeping busy!

And so it begins!

Well, Kangarinos, the babywearing website is up and running, it's all bright and orange and lovely!

The Storchenwiege woven wrap slings arrived just over a week ago and I've been using Leo Red ever since. I've found it so supportive and comfy even when quite badly wrapped over a wriggling 19 month old!

The Connecta baby carriers arrived the same day, I really like them for quick back carries, even my dh has been converted to back carries thanks to the Connecta!