August meeting schedule and summer round-up

I know you've all been waiting on tenterhooks to hear the results of our June membership drive.  I have to apologize for not updating this blog in some time, but as it turned out I had a baby in mid-June (who knew?) and have been on a steady diet of coffee, optimism and hope since then.

Let's get the really important stuff out of the way first.  August is almost here!  July has flown by.  BWI of Atlanta is having its usual three meetings in August, and hopefully soon will be adding a fourth in Gwinnett County.

Our regular Saturday meeting will be August 10th from 10 - 12 at The Solarium in Decatur.  Why not August 3rd?  Because on August 3rd BWI of Atlanta is making a special appearance at The Big Latch-On!  Babywearing and breastfeeding go together quite well so we'll be representing ourselves at that event.

Our regular Friday meeting will be August 9th from 11 - 1 at Harry's Whole Foods in Marietta.

Our regular Monday meeting will be August 12th August 19th from 10 - 12 at New Baby Products in Atlanta.

Onto the results!  Our members came through and the drive was a huge, and I mean HUGE success.  We gained over 50 new members and more members are still joining.  We've been putting that money to good use.  We were able to get the following:

- BWI of Atlanta membership cards for all members
- BWI of Atlanta static cling decals for all members joining or renewing during the drive
- 2 keep calm and wear your baby t-shirts
- A $25 gift voucher to Comfy Joery
- A $50 gift voucher to wovenwraps.com
- Sleeping Baby Productions ring sling
- Kalea Baby ring sling
- Standard/standard Kinderpack with kool knit
- Chimparoo mei tai
- Babyhawk Oh Mei! half-buckle mei tai
- Didymos Jack size 6
- Lenny Lamb bamboo rainbow size 6
- Didymos bleu nino size 4
- Natibaby hemp blue/green clovers size 6
- Infantino wrap and tie
- Vatanai Koira 4.5m
- Vatanai Orkney 4.5m
- Vatanai Glaciar 3m
- Wrapsody Bali Stretch Alyssa
- Pikkolo

I am blown away by how many members joined us and how we have been able to expand the library.  Checkouts are at an all-time high and people are spreading the word about Babywearing International of Atlanta.  All thanks to our members!

There are more things to talk about, like the wrap workshop and the upcoming carrier-specific members-only workshops, but I think this blog post is long enough and I will leave the rest for later.  See you at the meeting!

Meetingpalooza

April is just packed with meetings in a short timespan.  We have three meetings coming up this weekend/early next week!

The next Marietta meeting will be Friday, April 12th at Harry's Whole Foods Market from 11-1.

The next Decatur meeting will be Saturday, April 13th at the Solarium from 10-12.

The next Atlanta meeting will be Monday, April 15th at New Baby Products on Cheshire Bridge Road from 10-12.

If you want to know more about upcoming meetings, please join our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/bwiofatlanta/) or check out our Google Calendar (http://tinyurl.com/b5hatx3).  Please do not join the old Atlanta Babywearers Facebook page.  That page is now defunct and no more new members nor posts will be added.

See you guys at the meetings!

New Baby Products...

Just this week we met with New Baby Products on Cheshire Bridge road to explore hosting our Tuesday meetings in their space.  We found out they just finished building a classroom in their space and they are looking for activities to fill it.  The classroom is housed in their big furniture building which is the lefthand building when facing their property from Cheshire Bridge Road.  It is a wonderful space for us and a step up from Glenlake Park where we were somewhat exposed to the elements.  While Glenlake was awesome to use with the playground right next to us, we are thrilled to move to an indoor space that is dry, warm or cool during the summer and free for our non-profit group!

Our first meeting there will be held on Tuesday December 18th from 10-12.  We have not locked down future dates there as of yet but are working to get this squared away and will keep you posted!  We will continue to offer our during the week class at New Baby Products but most likely will change days of the week.

So, come one out to check us out next week and we look very forward to seeing everyone there!!!  Find out more about New Baby Products at http://www.newbabyproducts.net/.

IBW 2012 Guest Blog: Priscila's Take

Last week, I asked if anyone would like to contribute a guest blogpost to the Atlanta Babywearers blog.  Priscila responded with a yes.  She and her daughter have some special circumstances, and babywearing has been important to them.  Here is what she wrote.

Where did you hear about babywearing?

I initially heard about babywearing from my sister-in-law. It was a relatively new concept to her at the time, and she's one to research a subject to death. Upon doing all of the research, she told me that she thought wearing my daughter, Eliora, would be helpful.

I was halfway through my pregnancy, we had just recently learned that my daughter had spina bifida (SB), and we were overwhelmed with the slew of special needs she could potentially have. Children with SB typically have developmental problems with their lower extremities, like severe low muscle tone, hip dysplasia, and clubbed feet. With that said, the mainstream concept of babywearing - using a narrow-seated carrier - was not an option for us.

Next meeting: 10/6/12

Having two meetings per month makes me feel as if there's always another meeting around the corner.  That's good news for the moms and dads (and guardians and caretakers) out there who want to babywear!

Our next meeting is coming up on Saturday, October 6th, 2012 at the Solarium from 10 am to 12 noon.  See you there!

International Babywearing Conference 2012

This past weekend, I had the exciting opportunity to attend the International Babywearing Conference, held at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.  The conference was attended by about 300 Babywearing Educators and researchers, Doulas, Lactation Consultants,  Birth Professionals, and parents from the US, Canada, and around the world who wanted to learn more about babywearing and other parenting topics. 


Many workshops were geared toward babywearing educators, including Babywearing Safety, Babywearing in Clinical Settings, and Ergonomics for the Baby and Babywearer.  There was a fascinating research review from Katie Nicolai of the German babywearing group, Offene Traggegrupe Oberhausen covering topics including infant spinal stress, kangaroo care, and some of the evolutionary aspects of baby carrying. A lecture on the benefits of touch from Dr. Henrik Norholt, Chief Scientific Officer of Ergobaby discussed the relationship between babywearing and infant attachment (Dr. Norholt has some great articles based on his research on the Ergobaby blog). There were DIY workshops and  lots of classes on how to use specific carriers, including classes on tandem wearing and babywearing from a man's perspective.


There were also workshops on parenting topics such as breastfeeding, diapering, Elimination Communication, and green cleaning and some fun classes on Babywearing Yoga and Bellydance!  One day of the conference was open to the public, with 101 classes, a vending hall, and a babywearing fashion show. I especially enjoyed the keynote speaker, Rachel Coleman of Signing Time.  Her story is truly inspiring.


I had a great time! Also, thanks to Ergobaby and Babywearing International, we now have a new Ergo Sport for our Atlanta Babywearers carrier library!


Here are a few snapshots and a look at some more of the exciting workshops that were offered.

Tina Hoffman of Didymos presented a lecture on The Art of Weaving, offering a detailed look into the  process of creating a woven wrap.

In Babywearing and Culture, Arie Brentnall-Compton of the Canadian Babywearing School demonstrated a variety of carriers used around the world, such at this Scottish wool carrying and nursing shawl.

Here, Arie shows us how to use an Amauti, a babywearing parka used by Canadian First Nations. 

Arie demonstrating how to use an African Kanga. 

How to teach the ringsling workshop, with Jan Andrea Herlitzer of Sleeping Baby Productions and 

Ellen Schaad, VBE for BWI of DC/MD/VA.

Advanced Back Wrapping, taught by the fabulous Becca Morse, Babywearing Consultant and VBE of BWI of Ann Arbor.  Becca also has a great babywearing blog.

I had the opportunity to meet many of the fabulous Volunteer Babywearing Educators for Babywearing International, what a truly wonderful group!

With Faith Rayland, VBE of BWI of Central New York, slinging our demo babies. 

There was even a babywearing fashion show! 

Babywearing and happy babies everywhere! A fabulous time was had by all!