My Babywearing Journey

 

Before my son was born, I knew I wanted to wear my baby, just as I was certain that I wanted to have a natural home birth and breastfeed him for as long as I can. I had fond memories watching my grandmother and aunts carrying my little cousins on their back growing up in a sleepy mountain village in central Taiwan. The local women would walk around with their babies (even toddlers) on their back, working in the rice paddy fields, fruit orchards and tea plantations, or just doing their daily chores, as if it was the most natural thing for a mother to do!

 

The Chinese style of babywearing is quite similar to the way African women would carry their young, whereas the African mamas use a short piece of cloth like kikoy, kanga or towel, the Chinese used a piece of cloth with long straps and tie the straps around their body - the straps keep their babies from slipping. Back in 2008, very few people in South Africa knew about the Mei Tai, as no one was marketing them, therefore no one was selling them. So I had to settle for other carriers that was available in the shops.

 

The very first carrier (a stretchy wrap) I bought was a good carrier for carrying a small infant, but Spencer was born in December (that's summer for us South Africans), the wrap with its multiple passes would make his little body sweat and flush, he would  not sit still in it. So I got myself another sling - it was quick, and easy to use and much cooler, but as my baby grew heavier, within a few months of using my one shouldered pouch sling, I was also suffering from severe back, shoulder and neck pain; I was ready for something new. Little did I know it also sparked my passion searching for the "perfect" baby carrier for me and my baby son. After several more dissappointment with the commercial baby carriers (yes, I atually bought myself narrow based carrier), I decided to sew my own Mei Tai. Armed with an inherited Pfaff sewing machine (many thanks to the Van Rooyan Family) that is older than me, I made a simple square cloth with four straps, and made every possible mistakes along the way - wrong choice of fabric, wrong type of thread, wrong angle for the positioning of the straps, and I also went overboard with fleece lining which I thought was a good idea at the time, but turned out to be a big mistake for south african summer!

 

But when I finally put my baby in that first Mei Tai, he loved it, was cooing happily and fell asleep within minutes. I could bend over with him strapped on my back, without worrying about his head lolling, I could walk around in my neibourhood, where my buggy could not go - into the forests with tree roots and soft soil, on the beach, crowded weekend market... we went everywhere together, and for the first time, I didn't have any back pain!

 

Since then, I have made many more Mei Tais, for myself, friends and strangers alike, constantly tweaking and improving my pattern, and had such fun sourcing some stunning fabric! I also have received so many positive feedback from parents who tried my carriers - It made me so proud, as I had finally succeeded in doing something that my baby loves as well as being helpful to other mothers and their babies! I simply adore wearing my baby this way, and want to devote my time in making lots of them for everyone to try and see for themselves how great these carriers are!

 

Please take your time and have a look through the site, and if you cannot find the answer to any questions you may have, please do not hesitate to contact me at ombaba@icloud.com

 

Happy Babywearing!