Pictures from the Tuesday meeting

Nature was kind enough not to rain on our whole meeting today so I was able to get some pictures!  Unfortunately, as the meeting drew to a close the skies opened up and spewed forth a deluge of water, so those of us left got to hang out for an extra half an hour.  It turned out just fine, as babies were sleeping in carriers all around, and the toddlers at the meeting jumped in puddles and got themselves soaking wet.

We had a nice mix of journeyman babywearers, adept babywearers, and master babywearers today (if I may borrow some terms from high fantasy literature and/or the occult).  I had a great time helping people out and getting some help, myself!  Even though I'm officially a volunteer babywearing educator and have passed the exams, that doesn't mean I have experience with everything, and today it was a Beco Butterfly II that stumped me.

Anyway, here are the pictures!

Katy is already a pro at using SSCs, but today she came for some help with ring slings.

Here's Kate, one of our co-leaders, demonstrating a carry with a newborn in a Galaxy Grey Ergo.

That dratted Beco Butterfly II!  Mother and baby - especially baby - look pretty comfortable, though.

And here's another front carry, this time with the Ergo Sport that lives in our lending library.  This baby has some motor developmental delays and it's so lovely to be able to carry her in safety and comfort.

I'm looking forward to our next Tuesday meeting!  I'm usually not at the Saturday ones, sadly.  We also may be changing our Tuesday meeting place.  Again, check Facebook to stay updated.

Tuesday meeting!

Our next Atlanta Babywearers meeting is... tomorrow, September 18th!  Ah, it's totally my fault that I didn't post about it earlier.  I'll see you guys at Glenlake Park in Decatur, right off of Church Street, from 10 am to noon.  As usual, we'll be in the big pavilion right by the playground.

There are tornado warnings for tonight until 3 am, with heavy rain in the forecast.  As of right now I expect to be at the park, but if it's coming down in a Biblical sense then I will cancel.  Keep your eyes peeled, both here and on the Facebook group!  And stay safe!  I remember the last tornado that went through here.

Oh, and one more thing - I will be bringing my camera to tomorrow's meeting to take pictures!  I know tired moms with spit-up on them are really attractive and all, but we haven't had picture day in a long, long time.  We're overdue.  Say cheese!

Next Saturday Meeting is September 8th!

Hello All! Due to the holiday weekend, our next Saturday meeting will be moved to September 8th at Glenlake Park in Decatur instead of our usual location, The Solarium. Hope everyone has a great holiday and we will see you and your little ones next week! For meeting updates, be sure to join our Facebook group.

Next meeting: 8/21/12

Atlanta Babywearers' regular Tuesday meeting will be tomorrow, August 21st, from 10-12 at Glenlake Park in Decatur!  Directions can be found here: Atlanta Babywearers Facebook.  See you guys there, we'll be hanging out in the pavilion!

Meeting time again!

Hope to see all your lovely faces this Saturday at the Solarium from 10-12!

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! 

Next Atlanta Babywearers meeting!

Atlanta Babywearers will have its next meeting on Saturday, July 7th from 10 am to 12 noon at the Solarium.  Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.  See you guys there!

The Tuesday meeting is scheduled to be the third Tuesday of the month.  I will not be in town for most of July, so the meeting will likely be led by Aisling, as Kate will also be out of town.  Stay tuned to our Facebook page for up-to-date changes.

Speaking of Aisling, she went to the International Babywearing Conference and has returned with some goodies...