Barefoot Buttercup

Pink

2011-10-01T09:10:00.000-04:00

There's been a lot of boys being born... it seems the last few carriers I have been able to create to gift for family and friends have been in hues of camo and blues, and since my last two children who have been worn were boys, lets just say there hasn't been too much pink!

A wonderful friend of mine gave birth to a baby girl and I was so excited to be able to make her a wrap so she could wear her baby if she wanted too.

The material I purchased is a ramie/cotton blend, very beautiful pink colour which I then dyed over with a pink dye so it would go darker from the middle and then go lighter toward the tails. Lots of fun.

When you have a few moments to babywear...

2011-07-10T09:44:00.000-04:00

The days are definatly few and far between when I

get a chance to reallly wear my son. But this past week I got to babywear him to a few destinations- and they were destinations that we had to do hardcore babywearing because of all the people. So we snapped some pictures.
I just wanted to share that we are really loving the double hammock torso carry, this totally relieves my shoulders. Zayden is over thirty pounds, so my shoulders arent too in love with him anymore

Winding down..

2011-06-03T22:37:00.000-04:00

Our babywearing days have really gotten less and less as my son gets bigger and more independant, but today we did a nature walk and he loved the view and really enjoyed some wrap time

An old friend...

2011-05-05T16:32:00.001-04:00

We lent out our very first wrap, a orange tie dyed gauze wrap to a wonderful Mother for her and her daughter to try. Today after having it for the duration they needed it for, she returned it and this afternoon I was quite surprised to see our youngest who it was made for get very excited to see this old friend.

He never even showed a speck of concern of its whereabouts when it was gone, but I think it was just something he was like "oh yea! I remember that wrap!"

While he's getting a little big to wrap in it since it is more narrow, he was determined to wrap his dinosaur in it. It was beyond cuteness today as he brought the wrap over and his "long neck" to wrap up on his back.

Ring Slings

2011-04-16T19:53:00.000-04:00

I got an email today regarding the learning curve with wraps and the person was looking to learn how to make their own ring sling. Since I used to sell them, they figured I would give instruction, but I decided to pass this person along to Jan Andrea since she is very much the expert on DIY ring slings. Her webpage has all the information you will ever need for making ring slings. A lot of people do like ring slings more than wraps. For one reason, they are much more easier to use when you are starting with babywearing. I think it took a day or so to learn how to really get the ring sling where I liked it, where as the wrap it took a few weeks of trying different things, and sometimes frustration trying to get it just right. However with an older kid I would rather a wrap because there is more support over your entire body, but for wee squishes, I'd take a ring sling.

So for those looking for information on ring slings, I do sudjest checking out Jan Andreas webpage.

Slingin to Church

2011-04-10T14:21:00.001-04:00

Our first really successful experience with babywearing in our home was with ring slings. They were the first carriers we used that I found comfortable enough "to go the distance", so when I have the opportunity to borrow one from someone (since we no longer have any, they have all been passed on to other mammas), we take it... by opportunity to borrow on I mean I called my neighbour and told her I wanted to borrow hers *insert evil laughter here*

Step by Step- DIY your own baby wrap!- Washing, and cutting, and sewing

2011-04-05T16:56:00.002-04:00

Part two of my step by step diy wrap instruction

part one can be found here

http://barefootbuttercup.blogspot.com/2011/04/step-by-step-diy-your-own-baby-wrap.html

After you have found your perfect fabric the first thing you need to do with it is wash the fabric. This is very important because the fabric may shrink a little and if you wait till you are finished sewing it to wash, you are going to have a mess. Your fabric should come with washing instructions, if it does not, ask one of the people working in the fabric shop the best way to care for your material.

My advice for you is, if its going to be a challenge to wash it every time, you may want to consider another fabric. Babies spit up, poop, pee, etc. Wraps can get dirty, so washing usually happens time to time. For the most part, natural fabrics are easiest to care for, so usually dont cause problems.

Dry your fabric in the dryer, this will help make sure it has done its strinking.

When you are done washing your fabric, you need to cut it to the width you want. I sudgest making it between 27-32 inches wide. Rember you are going to be hemming it so I would make it about 1.5, two inches wider than you really want it. Depending on the width of the material when you buy it, you may be able to get two wraps out of it!

Now you will need to hem your wraps edges. Some people like to iron their seams first making it a bit easier at the sewing machine... I am too lazy and I dont do it. As far as thread goes, get the colour you want- most people like to get a colour that is the same colour as their fabric. If you are dying your wrap (I will have instructions soon on how to dye a wrap soon), then you can buy a white cotton thread and it will dye up nice. I always use Gutermann's 100 percent cotton threads. They are very strong good quality threads.

At the sewing machine I fold the edge twice this way you are not seeing the raw edge

fold once fold again

My sewing machine has markers on it so I can make sure that the seam is the same width the whole way down which is why I dont iron it first. I sew a bit then I fold the next stretch, sew, fold, etc.

Sew down the side of your seam near where you folded, that way it is closed. It does not really matter how long your stitches are, but a smaller stitch in my opinion always looks nicer. It takes a bit longer, but in the end, I think its worth it.

Do this down the two long sides of your wrap and the two ends of your wrap and TADA you are finished and have a cheap affordable comfortable baby carrier!

next in the series ~~ Dying your wrap

A strrrretchy morning

2011-04-05T11:16:00.000-04:00

I wanted to gift a darling wonderful friend of mine a baby carrier for her and her wee little baby. Her daughter is on the smaller side, so I figured a ring sling or a stretchy wrap might do her best since they are both new to babywearing and I always found ring slings and stretchy wraps easier to use when first starting out. I happened to have a beautiful blue stretchy material up in our closet so I pulled it out and it was the perfect length and perfect width. And now that I knew my sewing machine had a stretch setting on it, I was giddy with excitement. Ofcourse, you do not need to hem a stretchy wrap if you dont want too since it doesnt fray.. but it does add that nice finished look to it.

My husband came over to me and started asking about stretchy wraps etc and what the difference was because we didnt use a stretchy for very long..mainly because our children were all around the 10lbs mark when they were born!!!! He then asked "why dont you use yours now..." I had to demonstrate...

This is why... LOL. Zayden is over 30 lbs now. And I tied him up at my chest to start...this within a few bounces is where he ended up LOL.

Mind you he thought this spot was great because he was right in front of his lunch. Hense why he is laughing histarically in this photo.

But my friends daughter is only 5lbs at 3 weeks, so I know they will get a lot of use out of the stretchy wrap we made for her this morning. Then when her daughter gets too big for that, we can move her up in babywearing and get her hooked on some other carriers :D

Step by Step- DIY your own baby wrap!- FABRICS

2011-04-02T19:09:00.000-04:00

This is an extention of my webpage www.barefootbuttercup.com

I have been notified that getting this information on the barefoot buttercup blog would be a good idea. So here it goes. Over the next few weeks I will be posting all my DIY ideas and obsessions for my followers and peekers to see (I see you Carly, I know you are there)

Did you know that your local fabric store, thrift store or even department store could very well have the wrap of your dreams inside? The only problem is, its not quite a wrap yet! But it isnt hard to do!

The great thing about making your own wrap is that no one will ever have the exact same wrap as you. It would be your unique carrier for you and your child. It is something you can look at and say "hey, I made that!" And I think that is a terrific feeling!
What should you look for in a material for making a woven wrap?
I sudgest using a cotton, or something made with natural fibers. They breathe better. You want it to be a relaxed fabric too, something flexible and not stiff, you dont want to wrap a baby in canvas or leather!! Think, "would I liked to be wrapped in this?"
Another thing to conisder is, does "the sun shine through?" When holding the material up to the light, can you see the light peeking through the weave? If so, thats good! you dont want a very tight weave (like in quilters cottons for example) ..that doesnt help it be comfortable. You will most likley end up with pressure points. If the sun is shining through this means more comfort and breathablity... think table cloth like... and btw, woven table cloths make excellent shorter wraps! For a woven wrap, you dont want a ton of horizontal or vertical stretch like jersey would have. You want it to be able to be used with your child through the time you are wearing you child, and that means even when they are toddlers, maybe even preschool age. Stretchy material is fantastic for wearing little ones who dont weigh a ton, but will sag with a bigger child and are not reccomended for back carries. (click link to see why)
Here are some examples of what I have found in hopes to better help you find the right thing. First lets take a peek in the fashion section of your local fabric store
-dont go for fabrics such as quilters cottons, shiny polyesters, or satin. Although yes you CAN wrap a baby in them (because face it, you can wrap a baby in almost anything!) , it isnt as comfy as openly woven, natural materials that also go on sale quite a bit, so in the long run is better and cheaper! :D

Lets have a look at cotton gauze. Gauze usually sell for about 7$ a meter CDN, so 7 x 5 meters =35$
and sales happen frequently, so it can get even cheaper than this!
100% gauze or crinkle cotton is an easy and practical choice. Crinkle cotton is slightly heavier than 100% cotton gauze. It is very breathable for summer, dyes easy . I reccomend buying at least five meters of the gauze or crinkle cotton. If there is too much, you can always shorten it. Better to buy too much than too little. with a wrap that is going to be thin like this, I reccomend cutting it to be around 32 inches wide, that way you have more shoulder padding. Gauze, I find you have to wrap more careful when your children get bigger. By this I mean you have to wrap them slower so its as tight as possible..no sloppy wrap jobs with a gauze wrap because then it can be not as comfortable. But get a good nice carry with it and you're good to go.

Sometimes when browsing the fabric store you will come across amazing woven materials that are cotton or cotton blends or a blend of another natural fiber. The one in the picture shown below is a 55% linen, 45% cotton blend. It is a tiny bit thicker than gauze, and is breatheable, moveable, and has no stretch to it. This type of fabric will make an excellent wrap. Needs a bit more breaking in due to the linen, but works wonderfully. I would reccomend a material like this be hemmed between 27-32 inches wide and again, 5 meters long. osnaberg, woven hemp/cotton blends will work amazing as well, but like linen, they need to be broken in a bit more. I dyed this wrap with Dylon Cold Water Dyes, which are safe for dying and are widley available in Canada at Fabric Land stores as well as other stores such as Walmart and craft and fabric distributors.

Lets journey to the upholstry section!

****a few things to consider when looking here...

Some upholstry fabrics are treated with things like a stain gaurd, or are permanant press. They can be made of synthetic fibres just like you would find in other departments. Make sure you read your fabric label carefully. You do not want to purchase something that is treated with chemicals.. remember, you are wrapping precious cargo in your wrap. If you are unsure ask an employee of the fabric store. They will be able to assist you.

The upholstry section can be a gold mine!!! You can buy some amazing jaquard fabrics, that have no wrong side, are 100% natural fibres and are absolutly beautiful. Some can be very heavy, like in this example of a upholstry material I purchased. As thick as this is, it is a very very comfortable wrap, in all honestly, the most comfortable wrap I own. Even though it technically has a "wrong side".. which would be the lighter side, it is still quite beautiful on each side. So it can be worn either way. It is not 100% cotton, however, it was an "unknown fibre"... but for the price I got it for, which was about 4$ CDN a meter, I grabbed it anyways... I did a burn test when I got home, discovered it is most likley a cotton/rayon blend.

The pictures below show just how much thicker this wrap is from a gauze wrap. Next to that is a photo that shows how the light shines through the weave.

This material that I have dyed using Dylon cold water dyes was also found in the upholstry section on clearance. It is 100% cotton, but called "linen look". It has made a very nice wrap. 32 inches wide, 4.5 meters long.

Get down and really look and take your time especially in the upholstry section. Usually the bolts are stored in such chaos in some stores that a hidden treasure could be burried. My blue woven wrap material was like that. Hidden at the very bottom of the shelf, almost collecting dust.

Next post will be about sewing your wrap. Stay tuned and Happy Babywearing!

Some of my favorite babywearing photos

2011-04-02T08:23:00.000-04:00

Going through my albums recently brought back a lot of memories of babywearing moments that have passed through our household. Each shares such a terrific story. We have so much fun with the carriers that have come to life in our house. I wanted to share some of them with you.

the first sling I ever made. Made with fabric my Mom got at the thrift store and some sturdy hardware rings. Those puppies hold up to 300 lbs! LOL

Cinderella's first Mei Tai

dinowearing (this didnt last long) LOL

That was a long Santa Clause Parade

puppy wearing! Im a proud Grandma!
These were my "furry" sons children LOL.

Eyore wearin'

Spiderman hitchin a ride

wheeeeeeee!

dancin with Mom

Iron Mom

Planting my thrid childs Cherry Tree (he is inside the wrap snoozin away)

peek

teach em young

Step away from the wife with the wooden spoon LOL

who is this weirdo who's wearing me?

Simulator Dolls, highschool, and babywearing

2011-04-01T21:56:00.001-04:00

Remember those simulator dolls from highschool?
Remember bring these things home thinking this was going to be a peice of cake... and if you were like me bringing it back after 24 hours of being sick from nervousness from failing your parenting class, and luggin the car seat around, lugging the stroller on the bus, bringing the big huge diaper bag etc.

Man I really wish I knew about babywearing then.

I think I would have kept the doll for as long as I was supposed to. Instead I wrote an essay about why I knew I would never be a parent...

I have three amazing children as I type this who make me smile everyday. Those dolls do work showing that babies arent easy peasy, but they lack character thats for sure!

But I just sit here laughing because if I just had a sling, or a wrap, heck even a snuggli carrier I would have been soooooo less stressed.

Those things werent even mentioned to me as an option!

I kinda got excited tonight too because I know full out that if my children do have to use these simulator dolls during parenting class I am TOTALLY going to be pulling out the stash that I know I will probably never be able to part with.

Christina's Ruckless Back Carry with a Mei Tai

2011-03-31T19:22:00.000-04:00

A real sweet mamma on thebabywearer.com was tinkering around with chest straps while wrapping her child. She created this way of wrapping her child, and at the same time, I was trying to find a way to wear my son in his mei tai without the straps slipping. Strap slippage has been a problem of mine with wraps, mei tais, pods... I guess my shoulders arent built for babywearing perhaps, but never the less, this has really made it comfortable for me to wear my son in his mei tai. Above is a video I did before I even knew what it was called and then edited it afterwards. Sorry for any confusion. Maybe sometime when I have a good quiet moment we will re do.

Like I said this can be done in a wrap as well as it was designed for that!!

Will it work with all mei tais? Maybe not, depending on the angle your straps are. My mei tai has angled straps and it seems to be a bit lower on one side, but he doesnt feel lopsided in it. But I think that it also depends on the angle. Im not totally experienced in the mei tais. A mei tai with straight straps I bet would rock this carry!!!

snowflakes

2011-03-23T09:06:00.003-04:00

This morning we woke up once again to another dumping of snow. To think yesterday we were in our sweaters only heading to the coffee shop, today, snowpants and winter boots. But its gorgeous out, oh how gorgeous out it is.

Zayden watching me sewing his new pod when
he was just a wee lad.

While digging in my linen closet this morning I found an old friend. My snowflake podagei I started to make when I was pregnant with Zayden, and then finished while he was literally on my back watching the sewing machine finish the quilted wonder. While it never was our most comfortable carrier, it is definatly the warmest...and I had forgotten all about it.

It took a long time to make. I have never done any sort of pattern like this...not even patchwork really at that time, and to do a snowflake, that was just insane. Its far from perfect, but it really is pretty to us!

So we took it for a spin this morning, no jacket for Zayden because this thing has a sweet layer of quilty goodness on the inside..to be honest, I think it literally is a thick old baby quilt inside. His little face stuck out the top and he just sat so content back there humming "Veggie Tales" songs and having a good time. We tried it with a traditional torso carry and that wasnt working out, so over the shoulders it went, which the carrier wasnt designed for, since it has a wide blanket, but it kinda was nice because the blanket part did come over my shoulders adding nice padding.

When it starts to become a "threat" rather than the norm

2011-03-22T15:10:00.000-04:00

It comes with a huge lump in my throat that I even have to talk about this. The days where my third child no longer wants to be worn all the time while we are out. He's two. I knew these days would begin, because I have seen them come before. But the difference is, with our other children, I was pregnant with the next before the child was done being worn, so I never had this feeling of loss like I do this time.

Does it seem silly to just feel so absolutly bummed out about my son wanting down to run down the sidewalk with his siblings instead of being up on my back? In a way I think it sounds so crazy to think this way, but on the other hand..it powerfully sucks.

I have had babywearing in my life for six years, practically straight. And now it looks as though those days are over...

Today while we were out I wrapped our son up for a long walk to Tim Hortons and the pet store in our area. Getting him in the carrier was hard enough. I knew there was no way that he could walk both there and back so I knew babywearing had to happen. He seen his wrap and went "NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and took off into the kitchen. I grabbed our mei tai which has been a hit for him latley and he shook his head a bit less enthusiastically but none the less he was making it clear he wanted to be FREE today. I got him on my back anyways, and we headed out, after about thirty seconds of complaining he gave up and was content the rest of the way. On the way home however he was furious and wanted to run with his older brother. So I let him down.

Sometimes he would start to go up on peoples lawns or near the side of the road. "Do you want to go up on Mommy's back?"... he would say "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" and behave. I would say "then I hope you are going to stay on the sidewalk then where its safer."

Oh my goodness I am using babywearing as a threat now!!!!!?????????

This is just so depressing for me. Totally bummed. While I know that our babywearing days arent completly over, face it, I know that playing hard at a park leaves a two year old tired and not wanting to walk, so I know I will get to wear him probably another year at the least... but to be making it a threat? Even just this one time? That totally bums me out.

Like I hardly know what it feels like to not have a child "strapped on" to me somewhere while I am out LOL.

I have a lot of people tell me that I'll manage, and I know I will, and that it is a new journey ahead, that there is far more to parenting than babywearing... that I know too. But when its been such a routine, its going to be a difficult one to let go of.

Just felt like pouting a little this afternoon while the children napped all cute... covered in a wrap ;)

(Gotta squeeze it in somehow)

Baby Toting - CBC broadcast 1963

2011-03-06T18:31:00.001-05:00

This was shared on thebabywearer.com this week and I just had to share it here as well. It is a broadcast from May 10th 1963 that was aired on CBC about "baby toting"- what many of us call "baby wearing" today. Mrs Peterson discusses with host Anna Cameron different way she has learned to wear her baby. I found it really awesome to watch!

http://archives.cbc.ca/lifestyle/homemaking/clips/15185/

Enjoy! Happy Babywearing!

Agapanthus

2011-03-06T09:23:00.001-05:00

I have wanted to share this with everyone since I got it finished, but Im not giving it to the Mom till today so I couldnt post it incase she may have found out. LOL

Its for one of my sons Sunday school teachers and her newborn baby and who couldnt use a free hand now and again right?

I just love the rich colour of this sling, and the material I am telling you I am just in awe of. Its so nice. It was a nice find!!

I am not sure if this Mommy has done any babywearing before, but when I look back at my many years of babywearing I know that there is always a time when it comes in handy

When trying to "name" this sling, I started looking at flowers with a rich colour similar to this, and came up with Agapanthus which is found in rocky grasslands on the southern and eastern fringes of southern Africa

agapanthus flower

Slingin gifts

2011-03-01T09:41:00.001-05:00

Lots and lots of babies are being born these past few months. When I think of what to gift for Mom's, Dad's and babes, I usually think babywearing.

My younger sister gave birth to premature twins in October of 2010. They went through a lot of illness, struggles, tears, these tiny wee dudes are tough, and are now home with their Mommy and Daddy. I havent seen them since they were in incubators but this month I have the honor of going to see them again. Both are around the 10 lbs mark and are smiling and full of joy!

Since they are fighters, and both Mommy and Daddy are avid hunters, I had to do them in camo.

I dont know if I have come up for an official name for them but Im thinking one "Elmer" and the other "Fudd" ???

Be wary wary quiet, we're wearing twins.....

Gettin a wee big for being on the front dont cha think?

2011-02-28T18:01:00.000-05:00

Today was the first time in a very long time that I have had to wear our two year old on my front. We have been doing back carriers for what seems like eons now, but today he was just so tired of being out and about (fabric shopping *squee!*) the he just wanted to nurse and go to bed, so I had to put him in a front carry in our wrap. He was very very happy then! But Im telling you, its very hard to do things when you have a thirty pound kid on your front! Trying to pay for things, getting into my purse... to any woman who wears their toddler on their front still even 50% of the time, I tip my hat to you. It wasnt easy.

The looks I got with him on my front were quite different than the looks I get when he is on my back. People were like "wow you are brave"... my back was telling me the same thing ... wearing that big of a baby on your front no matter what kind of carrier takes guts I think. But I would rather him be on the front of me and being a bit uncomfortable for an hour than have him scream out loud "BOOB!" every two seconds...yes we are working on table manners STILL. (he signs it at the same time, does that count?)

Its bitter sweet. We figure this is probably the last year of babywearing in our house unless I do find that ingenious way to wear our husky or cat... (Im kidding..or am I?). I remember him just being born and being all cozy breastfeeding while in the carrier and me being able to do laundry or whatever I needed to be doing. It can still be done, but it requires a bit more paitience and space LOL. But we will cherrish these moments still with a few laughs :D

Barbie Crochet Mei Tai Pattern

2010-12-08T19:00:00.008-05:00

So my boys were in the tub having a bath and I was sitting there with some yarn and a hook. What to do while these boys splash about? Make a baby carrier ofcourse! This was so easy, very basic crochet.

Now I am NOT a pattern maker, so please bare with me if this pattern isn't "pattern like" :)

I used a US G (4mm) crochet hook and some acrylic yarn I had kicking around from other projects.

I started at the bottom of the body of the mei tai.

Chain 8
Row 1- SC across to end, turn
Row 2- 5(or6?) HDC across to end, turn.
To make the top curved a bit I SC the first stitch, and the second then did a HDC the next four, then SC the last two.

Then I started the one sides top strap and chained 40 then single crochet across this again and slip stitched it to the body of the mei tai and fastened off. Then on the other side I did this again, chaining 40 and single crochetin' across and attaching it to the side of the mei tai, and fastening off.

For the bottom strap I chained 30, then single crochet across this to the other end, fastened off and then centered it to the bottom of the mei tai body and crocheted (seriously is that a word? "crocheted"?) them together. And voila! A little Barbie mei tai

Nothing fancy, but for sure very cute !!!!!
If you do one up, I'd love to see it!!!!

Happy Babywearing Barbie!

Babywearing saftey in winter

2010-12-07T15:27:00.008-05:00

Snow anyone?
Here in London Ontario all you can see is white white white white. Its snowed about five feet in a matter of a few days. Our transit is down, schools are closed..state of emergency I believe is now in effect. When it comes to weather like this, I beg all to STAY INSIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!! But for the rest of yas who havent been dumped on like us, feel free to go out and have fun! LOL

Babywearing in the winter is pretty easy once you figure out what system is going to work for you and your child. If you have a newborn, its pretty simple to stick the baby in the carrier underneath your jacket. When it comes to toddlers and preschoolers (because you are probably better off to wear even the three/four year olds in this stuff than making them walk), wearing a jacket that is larger that you can both fit underneath will work or wearing you child over your jacket. If you've got a hubby around that is larger than you, grabbing his spare winter coat has proven to be very effective :)

First and foremost, WINTER BOOTS WITH GOOD GRIPS are important. Dont need any Moms and babe's slipping on their bums. Make sure you go slow and watch where you are walking. Be like a turtle. Slow and steady :)

If you decide to wear your child over your winter coat, make sure you have the child secure. Snow suits can be slippy, so making sure if you are wrapping that your child is wrapped up safe and tight. Winter hats, boots and mittens as well. One downfall we have found so far in our babywearing journey when babywearing in winter this is that some kids love to take off their hats and mits, so if they are on your back, getting them back on can be a challenge. Hats that are tight fitting, with velcro and mittens that are even pinned to their snowsuits are a good idea.. asking a passer by to give you a hand if they do take them off is a good idea, and to keep checkin on your childs head to see if they are still wearing their hats etc.

If you decide to wear your child under your coat, then you may not have to actually put your child in anything more than their sweater and pants and boots. This is all we do. I put a hat on him and mittens and thats it. Sometimes in a bag I carry his snow suit just incase, but since he is under my coat, my coat and our body heat keeps eachother warm. The bennefit of wearing underneath your jacket is that when you get to your destination, the jacket can come off, and you both wont be roasting.

This link is from thebabywearer.com and is about babywearing in the cold

Below in my blog I have some guidelines in making your own babywearing jacket, feel free to use the information to create your own babywearing jacket. If this doesnt seem like the pattern for you here are some other links that you can look at.

http://www.thebabywearer.com/forum/showthread.php?80781-DIY-Babywearing-coat
http://www.thebabywearer.com/forum/showthread.php?424237-DIY-Front-Carry-Babywearing-Down-Coat
http://www.thebabywearer.com/forum/showthread.php?111964-ISO-baby-wearing-poncho-pattern&p=1056721#post1056721

Babywearing jackets are available for purchase at a variety of places.
LilliesOValley from Ontario Canada
http://www.suseskinder.com/
http://www.mamdesign.net/carrying/
http://www.upmama.com/catalog.php?category=12

There are also carrier covers that you can purchase
http://monkeypockets.blogspot.com/search/label/Wool%20and%20Fleece%20Monkey%20Pockets

And the Amauti which is a gorgeous way to wear your baby in the winter. But you need to pre order, but the wait is worth it
http://www.amautibaby.com/welcome/Home.html

I hope I covered everything. If anyone has any questions about winter babywearing please contact me on barefootbuttercup's facebook page, here in the comment section or via email at barefootbuttercup@live.com

Happy Babywearing!!!!

My babywearing journey.

2010-12-03T23:04:00.013-05:00

I have had people tell me they "dont know how I do it." when I just fling my big huge son up on my back and tie him up and go. It looks complicated, frustrating and ..well complicated!!

No kiddin, I couldnt agree more. It does look so complicated and it was complicated for a long time for me. I remember many days of sweat, tears and anger, chuckin the wrap on the floor and huffin and puffin and giving up.

Then I thought back even further, before I even knew what a wrap was!

When I had my daughter, Alexis 6 years ago, we had a baby carrier, I had two, they were simple structured carriers, much like a Snuggli

While my shoulders HATED me, my daughter LOVED this thing.

It was easy enough to use, practical for us at the time, and served its purpose... even if my back was dying at the end of the day! LOL!

After Alexis, I had Tayven, I went to a second hand store, and not still having a lot of knowledge on what was out there, I knew that his chunky legs were not going to fit in the carrier Alexis and I used. So we found an alternative, a pouch sling. However, I didnt know the sizing had to be perfect for one of these to work... and it was too large.

he was only three months!!!!!!!! lol

So since this wasnt work for us either due to the wrong size, we decided to look into alternatives, and discovered the wonderful ring sling! However, with income being pretty low, I decided to make my own. And thats when the addiction started! LOL

This was my first ring sling I ever made. I have no idea what kind of material it was, the green side was a bit slippery, but the brown was most likley a cotton blend and was very comfy. I purchased a pair of heavy duty hardware rings at the hardware store that supported up to something like 300 lbs and sewed them in. Cosmetically the sewing was horrid, but it was safe. We wore this sucker for a long time. She has since gone on to hold other babies in other families, and will always hold dear to my heart.

And I kept on makin them. I made us quite a few, out of all sorts of material- wool suiting material, one out of who knows what, some out of double layers of heavy cotton, some out of flannel bedsheets..ooo that one was sooo comfy!!!

Then I fell upon thebabywearer.com... and boy oh boy did I discover there are TONS of ways to wear your baby! Ooo the options!!! I came across wraps, and was curious...

But wrapping with Tayven backfired hard. The first attempt I had with making a wrap I made it out of some bedsheet material, which can work, however this was a more knitted material, so stretchy, and didnt cut straight, I had no idea at the time how to sew stretchy material, and all in all, just didnt work out...

It wasnt long before I put this idea aside for a long time and went back to using ring slings.

Over the next wee while, I came across podagei's as well, and we used them occasionally however the ringsling was still Tayvens main means of transportation

When I had Zayden, I made him a special sling, one with one side tie dyed and one side black.... this sling was lost somewhere and I am still rather sad about it even though it was almost two years ago now.

So with that I decided to do a bit more research on these wraps again, and decided to start dabbling in gauze. And my love for tie dye, and it kinda just fell beautifuly into place for us.

boy I look exhausted in this picture!

The first wrap I made for us was a bright funky orange wrap. And this baby got a lot of use, and is still getting use by another wonderful babe today. While Zayden is a bit to big for it now, we decided, its better wrapping another child, than collecting lint in our closet.

And it kinda just kept going from there, barefootbuttercup which was at the time for me a business where I was selling ringslings from home, began to sell gauze wraps as well.

When Zayden got a bit bigger I decided I was going to try and learn to wear him on my back. MANY Maaannny videos on youtube, countless angry moments and sweat and tears later, and one on one help, we found one carry that would work for us and we stuck with it. After a while we then started looking for other back carriers and let me tell you I am very thankful that my son was as paitient as he was back then because there is no way I would have just sat there on my Moms back for that long while she wrapped and re wrapped LOL. Oh boy was it worth it in the end though ..I have even managed to learn how to breastfeed him while he is on my back..however have yet to try this one in public!!! o_0

This journey, looking back, has been really wonderful. At the time all the carriers I used, whether it was a front pack carrier, a pouch, ringsling, wrap, they all served their purpose, and what I wanted the carriers for was so that my child could be close to me, and we could get places we needed to go, and they did that

This year I stopped selling wraps and ring slings, while it wasnt a hard descision to make, it was still sad. But I changed the angle of barefootbuttercup to helping others with a few tips in what I have learned over these past 6 years. There is still so much I want to learn about babywearing, especially the history, other peoples stories. Its one of my hobbies, its something that makes me smile.

Today I was gifted a Natibaby Dandelion wrap for helping two wonderful women make ring slings here at my home. I must state this is thee most soft wrap I have ever felt in my life. And its my first actual wrap I have ever owned that wasnt DIY! I also recieved news this week of another carrier on its way to me, that I am sooo very excited for and feel so very blessed to be recieving!!!! these past few days have been babywearing excitement overload for my wee head! LOL! SQUEE!!!

Again, another part of our journey is starting and I cant wait to see where it takes me!

Happy Babywearing everyone! Enjoy these babywearing days! They fly by fast!

Winter Babywearing!! DIY JACKET INFO

2010-11-25T20:59:00.010-05:00

For those who have already experienced Jack Frost nippin at your nose, this is for you, and for the rest of us who are just begining to experience winter temperatures for the time this season, I hope this blog entry can help you understand just how affordable babywearing in the winter can be, and how easy as well!

The trouble with babywearing in the winter can be jackets. Trying to wrap over the babywearers jacket can be tricky, you cant sometimes get it feeling comfortable enough, and when baby is wearing a bulky snowsuit, this can be a big problem too. Some snowsuits are made out of materials that slip and slide and just make it hard for the wrap, sling etc to grib comfortably for the babywearer and the one being worn.

There are a lot of products out on the market that can help you wear your baby UNDER your jacket. This way, your child can even just be in his/her sweater, and be comfortable with just a hat and mittens and boots. There are vests, jackets, poncho's, amauti's. Some made by bigger companies, some by smaller work at home Mom businesses. Im hoping next week to be able to go into this in more detail, but tonight I would love to talk about DIY babywearing jackets.

The easiest method ofcourse to wearing your baby under your jacket is to buy a jacket that is too big for you. That way you can fit both you and baby comfortably underneath.

The only problem I have ever encountered with this is because if you are carrying a bigger child, the shape of your body with the toddler attached changes, making the arm holes of the jacket a little strange. You can kind of see it here in this photo. -------------->

so what to do....................................

Last year I came up with a solution for this problem for me and my son Zayden. I went to a local thrift shop and for 7 dollars or so purchased a wool dress jacket that has buttons up the front and a waist belt. It is 100% wool and very warm, but thin.

So I got the jacket and split the seam in the back from the collar to the waist. Wool material can be verrry expensive so I purchased some material that was "close enough" that was on clearance at Fabric Land that week. It even has a touch of stretch. I doubled it up so it would be warm.

Here in the photo, the outline in blue, inside that is the pannel I put in. It comes right to where the waist belt lays. So when you tie the belt around you, it rests right under your childs bum. I didnt worry about lining the inside of the coat so you couldnt see where it was placed in, the way I figure it is, you want to make it most affordable, and no one is really going to see the inside of the jacket anyways ;)

I put a bit of a pleat I guess you would call it near the bottom, it is outlined in the green. This way when the baby's bum is resting against it, it fills out, and when baby isnt inside, then its not hanging there as much. This made the jacket significantly larger, so I dont wear it when my son isnt on my back, which is rare LOL.

Theres is no real need to have massive expert sewing experience for it, just a good needle that will go through thick material, and a machine thats up for the challenge.

I wish I had done a pattern when I made it, so I could help explain it better.

Now about the hood. Made with the same material as the pannel in the back of the jacket, I made this sucker big enough to fit over my son, and myself for those cooollld winter days that the wind is blowing like mad and you still need to get out. The measurments are for each pannel, I sewed them up together at the back of the hood. I also lined the hood with an old thick fleece blanket that was close in colour. Makes it extra cozy. I sewed this onto the neck of the jacket and voila, a babywearing jacket for under 20 bucks!

My son and I really love this jacket. This will be its second winter season this year. Its perfect because when we are going into a store, I can just take off the jacket and we wont be roasting the whole time we are doing whatever it is we need to do, and then when its time to go back out into the cold Canadian weather, we can throw it back on and away we go!!!

** please note that this jacket is not like an Amauti, you do need a carrier for this jacket to work. It simply goes over top. :)

Have fun this winter and happy babywearing!

Can we not bottle the Autumn air?

2010-10-16T11:14:00.005-04:00

I want to start off by saying the Autumn has got to be the most wonderful season. Each has its own charm, but there is something about when the air gets a tad bit cooler here in Canada that just makes me feel all warm and cuddley inside.
Its a time where you are not sweating your buns off or freezing your toes off. Its comfortable, its beautiful, the leaves are changing colours and everything smells so good!!!

I made a wrap back in the summer in honour of this beautiful season. I call it "Crunchy Leaves". It is a beautiful 55% linen, 45% cotton blend I picked up at our local Fabric Land here in London Ontario, and dyed it using Dylon Cold Water Dyes. I to be honest, wasnt sure I liked how it turned out. But as the days went by it really started to grow on me. My son who gets to be wrapped up in it on these beautiful days of Autumn really seems to get excited when it comes out of the closet to be worn.

The one tricky thing with anything linen though it seems is that it is, really a bit more crunchy than material that is only cotton for instance.

It wasnt as soft to start and required "breaking in" .

This required some knotting, ironing, sleeping on, sitting on, using it as a tug of war toy between children (they did really enjoy this).

Now I find it is a lot more soft. And linen is really supportive as well! Its a very comfortable wrap! Dyes up quite nicely as well. Its like a rock, its sturdy. We like it!!

First Fabric Pickin' Day - September 22nd 2010

2010-09-01T22:53:00.007-04:00

I am very excited to be having my first fabric picking day for people interested in a hands on experience in a fabric store looking at the different types of fabric you can use for making your own DIY wrap carriers! While the plans are still in the works, the idea is to have us all meet and go into the fabric store where I will guide those who are wanting to make their own wonderful wrap carriers into choosing the correct fabric. It should be a lot of fun! Following this, perhaps a week later, we will have a sewing day where everyone can get together and sew up their wraps as well.

Here on my webpage are some guidelines on picking your perfect fabric for your wrap

www.barefootbuttercup.com/page5.php

For more information please check out my facebook group http://www.facebook.com/pages/London-ON/Barefoot-Buttercup/11221931497

The new webpage is up!!!

2010-08-21T16:40:00.005-04:00

www.barefootbuttercup.com

I have completed about 98% of the new webpage over the past little while, its still missing a few things I would rather photos with, and a few links , but other than that it is up and I am very happy with the page so far.

I am hoping that this will help guide people interested in creating their own wrap carriers, providing them with good information. I know there are other sites out there that do the same, but I think knowledge is power, and the more people sharing that knowledge the better!

Also, I am still going to provide a page that will direct visitors to purchase a carrier from other WAHM's. If you are a WAHM who makes baby carriers and you would like to link off my webpage (doesnt have to be just wraps, it can be anything), lemmie know and I will be happy to add you.

Happy Babywearing!!!

Changing the look of Barefoot Buttercup forever...

2010-08-11T16:39:00.006-04:00

I have been sitting here chewing on my whole buisness for a while. Do I really want to make a profit off a cause that is so dear to my heart???
I have never really dont barefoot buttercup for profit. A lot of people have contacted me infact stating my prices are way to low, there is a reason for that... I want babywearing to be accessable to all, not just some. However, as the years have gone by I have realized my true passion is helping people create their own beautiful wraps. This has been the most fun. I had a tie dye party a few months ago, where ladies came and tiedyed their own wraps they either had purchased or made themselves out of a simple peice of gauze. This made me realize, this is where I want to be, helping ladies make their own carriers, and not nessesarily making them for them.
So what do I do? Im thinking of holding workshops, providing information over the internet and standing up for the simple peice of cloth that sometimes gets forgotton.
So over the next while on my webpage and blog and facebook pages, there will be changes. They might be gradual or abrupt... but they will happen. And I am feeling pretty good about it too!!

Happy Babywearing!!
~~Candace

World Breastfeeding Week!

2010-08-02T17:04:00.006-04:00

I figured I would make a post about my two favorite things, breastfeeding and babywearing. babywearing can be a wonderful tool to help aid in breastfeeding on demand. One of the things I found is that if I am out and my son is hungry, all I have to do is wrap him on my front and I can nurse and continue on my merry way!

How wonderful is this!

Some women still are uncomfortable of NIP (nursing in public), when nursing in a wrap, you can do it discreetly if you choose too. A great first carry to learn to breastfeed in a wrap is demonstrated in this youtube video www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTS3wd2BbV8

Now, heres a little fun! Are you one of those moms who has a nursing toddler and you are thinking, "gosh, I always wear my child on my back, how can I breastfeed in my wrap?"

Well, a member of the babywearer.com's forums started a discussion on this that I was so excited to participate in.

A double hammock rebozo carry is a great way to breastfeed while your child is on your back. Though a bit strage, it is possible! This is the video I did in response to the thread.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsMAsV1-EH8

Happy breastfeeding and happy babywearing!

Moved and Settled In. Enjoying babywearing in London

2010-04-18T22:16:00.012-04:00

So lots has gone on. We moved to London, and we are really enjoying our time here. Its a big change from little old Arnprior, which I miss a lot! But being in the big city has its advantages..for on..the fabric stores! LOL.

I came across a few great finds at one store here for wrapping. The first find was wayyyyy low in the upholstry section. Burried under bolts and bolts. It was the last 5 meters and I snagged it. It was an unknown fiber, but after doing a burn test I have concluded its rayon. It is so comfortable. I was able to make two, one has gone to a great home, and the other one is still with me. The material was on clearance too. it was generally 18 dollars a meter, and was marked way down. Which is always a bonus.

The second one was not so hidden in the upholstry section, but a beautiful woven cotton that I couldnt resist. I made a pod for a customer using it and made a wrap for me. And ofcourse I had to grab a pile of dyes to change it from its plain white to something unique and one of a kind

So if you are thinkin of taking the DIY baby carrier plunge dont be afraid of getting down on your hands and knees and looking hard in the fabric store for some amazing comfortable finds!!!

babywearing in the rain and snow. It can be done!!!

2009-10-23T20:36:00.003-04:00

I just feel so much frustration for the moms and Dads who are trying to push a stroller through the snow. You know they must be cursing under their breath and the wheels get caught in a snowbank.. and that snow is again just around the corner for us Canadians. Today I see parents trying to adjust a plastic cover over a stroller while its pouring out. Lets face it, sometimes life gets busy, and if you are like us who dont drive you have to face the elements, even when they are being ultimatly discusting. My 9 month old son is breastfeed, and doesnt use a bottle so even if there are days we can leave our older children with someone, mr. "Turnip" must come along. But I smile to know that even on a day like today where it was so windy, rainy and ..well..gross..he was so snug and warm under my coat in my podaegi.

So what can one babywearer do to face the elements with baby? Its so simple, and I want to share some of the options.

There are coats out there made for babywearing. They are well made, beautiful, and can be used from pregnancy and beyond. http://www.suseskinder.com/ http://www.pslingnewyork.com/ http://www.birdiesroom.com/Products/DIDYMOS-Jacket__CL-DI-BWJ.aspx... these are some of the many company's that offer babywearing jackets.

If you are a crafty woman, or man, or know someone who is handy with a sewing machine, there are some wonderful DIY babywearing jackets you can make. Plus, this way is also quite cheap if you search second hand stores for your jacket/poncho you would be using. This is what we did using this tute http://www.sedlmeiers.net/photos/Babywearing/BabywearingCoat/instructions.html

Then there is the new sew fleece poncho... now I think anyone who is able to get their hands on some fleece and sisscors can do this! http://magiccityslingers.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/no-sew-babywearing-fleece-poncho-with-fringe-revised/ This is something I think we will be trying out this season. If not for the winter soon approaching, perhaps for spring!

But, if you think it cant get any easier, it can!!!

I mean, you can go to a thrift shop, and purchase a cardigan or sweater for like 2 bucks, one that is a few sizes too big for you, and you and your baby can fit just wonderfully under there!

I went to a thrift store and purchased a mohair wool sweater a few months ago, for two dollars. It was an xlarge. This has been keeping my son and I beyond warm over these fall days.

For the winter months, a larger jacket can do just the same... we purchased a heavy downfilled jacket, for 10 dollars at a second hand store, and my second born and I happily used it through the most blistery days happily warm underneath.

But if you reallly want to spoil yourself in what I believe is the most gorgeous way to carry a baby in the winter, go for it and purchase an Amauti. http://www.amautibaby.com/ is one I know of. They do cost quite a bit of money, but they are well worth the money!! Absolutly gorgeous! An Amauti is definatly on my wish list, even if I have to purchase one, long after my babywearing days are over.

The Apprentice, Barefoot Buttercup style

2009-09-29T22:29:00.004-04:00

Im on the journey of making myself my own quilted wide blanket pod. My husband is out for the eveing so I decided that I would start doing it tonight, we have been so busy packing for our big move I have no idea why I decided to take on a project NOW...but I did, and there's no stopping me...

or is there??

This is the one evening, my almost 8 month old son decides he needs me to lay next to him in order for him to be at bliss. Nevermind sneaking off once he's snoring. Cheek to cheek, no going back to the sewing machine. Do not pass Go, do not collect 100 dollars...poo poo on this.

So I said HAHA I'll show you!!

In the pod you go.

You can learn how to sew as you sit back there, you can learn the art of making carriers. You can take over for Mom one day

this Podaegi can get done before the snow flies!

Excuse me there is a baby following you!!!

2009-09-28T22:12:00.003-04:00

"Excuse me, there is a baby following you!"

I just had to laugh today when a neighbour of ours pointed this out to me as I carried Zayden under my heavy wool jacket in his pod to do some errands this morning. I stopped in my tracks, looked left, then right and shouted "WHERE!?! WHERE?!?!" then I peeked back to see his amazing smile and said "oh that guy, yea he seems to do that alot!"

I also must add that I am so very very happy to have discovered babywearing. Yesterday evening

my husband and I decided to bring our big old double stroller out and on our way home, at about 9:30pm, the wheels had it and the double stroller kicked the bucket. This would probably anger someone who doesnt know how to tie a baby on their back, but HURRAY! I can do just that!!! SEE YOU LATER YOU BIG OLD DUMB STROLLER! I NEVER LIKED YOU ANYWAYS.. although it did hold groceries quite well!!!!

upcycling fun

2009-09-13T14:37:00.006-04:00

Upcycling is defined by wikipedia as "a component of sustainability in which waste materials are used to provide new products. It is generally a reinvestment in the environment. "Upcycling is the practice of taking something that is disposable or downcycled and transforming it into something of greater use and value." This process allows for the reduction of waste and virgin material use."

I had a beautiful old OLD dress in my closet. It is older than my Mother who is 50.
Sorta this style ( I really should have taken a picture before hand)

So since its been in my possession forever now, and I really have no use for it at all... I did the unthinkable and took the siccors to it and made yet another baby carrier. I had beautiful orange satin sitting around for the past two years, I finally found its purpose. I had enough of both materials to make myself a podaegi, my daughter for her dolls

and ofcourse Cinderella needed one too!

Teaching them to love Mother Nature, young!

2009-09-02T19:10:00.016-04:00

So yesterday we took a biiiiiiiig long walk down the macnamara trail. http://www.ontarionature.org/network/groups_detail.php?ID=101 ps_detail.php?ID=101 We found a lot of beautiful things, like mushrooms, chipmunks, acorns, streams. The kids had an absolute blast! When I was a wee little kid myself I remember my Mom doing the same. From the second I found out I was pregnant with my first, I knew that I would be teaching my children about the beauty in nature and how to respect it. Teaching them to get down low and seeing whats below there feet. They were amazed at all the amazing mushrooms and critters we came across!

So we do try to get out into local conservation parks as often as possible, but some days the weather doesnt nessesarily want to co operate. so I have taken extra effort to bring nature indoors as much as possible with the kids. this mostly comes in with indoor gardening. They love watching things grow. We have done the traditional beans in paper towel, but last year we had a lot of fun planting a pomegranate seed. We didnt really know if it would actually grow, but after a long germanation period it did! What a surprise to us to see it sprout up!

(Taken May 2008)

so as the days went by our little experiement began to grow and grow, the kids love coming to check on how BIG the pomegranate bush is getting. Ofcourse due to our climate, the bush cant be planted outside so its found a nice little home in our kitchen. We are treating it sorta like a bonsai, I gave it a trim today, it was starting to get reallly crazy. My daughter keeps asking if it will ever grow pomegranates, unfortunatly I dont think it will, but I tell her to be paitient and see if it wants to someday grow them and if not, we will enjoy the ones we buy at the market.

There is one particular branch that has always made me smile, knowing that it needed a swing on it. So tonight that is what we did, found an old broken truck of my sons, took off one of its wheels and made a tire swing with some old hemp twine and then made a little wire dude to sit on it. I can just see now how my childrens minds are going to go off into this little wire dudes world, does he swing when we are not in the kitchen? I can picture it now.

While out on our nature walk yesterday we came across a LOT of acorns that squirrels knocked out of the oaks above our heads. The kids had pockets full of them when we got home. I sudjested we put them outside for our local squirrels but keep one and see if we could get it to sprout as well.

So we have planted this little acorn in a shallow dish in hopes it will grow into a mighty oak, just in tiny size!

barefoot buttercup is moving!

2009-08-31T22:58:00.004-04:00

Well the family and I are packin up and moving to southern ontario in October. We are very excited to move back to London after being away for 6 years. There is a lot of things we will ofcourse miss but I will definatly enjoy the perks of a bigger city, PLUS meeting lots of new babywearing crunchy moms like myself! There are lots there! So barefootbuttercup wont be taking orders till the end of October.

Zayden is getting so big, and lovin to be worn. We have been using the pods a lot latley, he really loves to be carried on my back, so he can see the world. He is a very curteous passenger too, only pulls my hair every once and a while! LOL

He just keeps growing and growing!

2009-06-20T22:54:00.006-04:00

My little Turnip man. He's getting so big! Just shy of five months and already 19 lbs!!!!!!!
Its getting so hot outside too, so we have been doing rucksack carries and I have even started him in a pod. We had some left over unbleached cotton from my cloth diapering days (oh those days are over, so many diapers already in my home ) and we dyed it up! Like I needed another baby carrier in my house!

(hehehe) He seems to enjoy being on my back a lot now. So thats how we do things these days!!!

Earth Day festival 2009

2009-04-25T21:58:00.003-04:00

What a blast my daughter and I had at the Earth Day festival today! Tons of people, lots of new things learned!!!!
(seen some really cute piggies too! :) That was the highlight of my day!) A terrific first time vendor experince! Cant wait to do it again!

Will be a vendor at the Earth Day celebration!

2009-04-12T22:26:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know Barefoot Buttercup will be a vendor at this years Earth Day Celebration downtown Arnprior Ontario, being held Saturday April 25th 2009, from 10-3pm on John Street! There will be a lot of other vendors, music and food so be sure to come on down!! Its going to be a wonderful earthy time!!!

Barefoot Buttercup has an official site!

2009-04-03T20:35:00.003-04:00

Im so super pleased to announce Barefoot Buttercup has its own official spot on the web

http://www.barefootbuttercup.com/

Please feel free to check it out! It feels so nice to have a spot that everyone can see the slings and wraps Barefoot Buttercup makes! Its been a long time coming! :)

when your life throws you toddlers...

2009-03-30T20:36:00.002-04:00

Put him on your back!
My two year old son, can master a buckled stroller seat, untie a tie around his waist in a wagon, and proceed to the intersection. This obviously made me nervous when I was having him as well as my newborn son out. So heres the solution- wear em both! Did I ever get looks! but it worked!

WHAT A LIFE EH!?!

2009-03-12T18:53:00.001-04:00

a day in the life of a babywearer.

2009-02-25T22:21:00.000-05:00

For three and a half weeks I have been a mother of three. Its absolutly wonderful, but at times, a bit (or maybe a tad more) chaotic! My second born, who is two, has decided that getting into things he is not supposed to is best done while I am nursing his baby brother. Thank goodness for babywearing. I dont know how anyone without a carrier who has a gassy baby with a toddler in the house, and a preschooler with a really loud wild imagination gets anything done. I just about fall over at the end of the day running all over the place, trying to keep up on laundry, cooking, entertaining the kids, changing diapers, breastfeeding etc. With my son being carried contently against me, I can nurse him, and pull my two year old off the dining room table and talk to him about the dangers of getting into Daddy's shaving cream without having a baby crying for the boob. I can do my dishes and laundry without wondering if my two year old is trying to take his baby brother for a walk, or hitting him in the head with one of his trucks. I can go run errands without having to lug our big bulky double stroller out, getting up and down the narrow isles of certain stores is so much more easier with the baby all snuggled up on me. My baby also has taking a disliking to his little baby bathtub and taking a bath with me. But absolutly loves the shower, so into a sling he goes and we take a shower together..much easier than holding a wet slippery baby in your arms..much safer too! Plus, so many of the slings, wraps, mei tais, pods out there today are so flippen cute, it makes it so much fun!!!

We're babywearing again in our household!

2009-02-21T17:06:00.000-05:00

I am super pleased to announce our third (and final) blessing was born Feb 1, 2009 at home, a beautiful baby boy 10lbs 2 oz. We named him Zayden-William. He just loves to be worn! Its fantastic. Such a wonderful baby!!

My energy is in abundance, and I have decided to start taking orders again, earlier than expected. Life's blessings sure are wonderful! We are so pleased to have three beautiful children! The house is filled again with baby slings, cloth diapers and breast pads gallore! Its fantastic!

We got a breech brat! lol!

2008-12-29T21:23:00.000-05:00

About 7 weeks ago or so, my midwife announced to me, our baby boy, due January 29th was breech. This scared me, but when I went back to my next appt, he had went head down. WELL, last week I went in again, and found out the little stinker is head up again. Im 35.5 weeks about now and I am nearing the end of the road here lol! My midwife will come to my house on the 6th and check again. I have been getting a lot of people to pray for baby Zayden and I that he will turn for the birth if it is what God wants. I am terrified of having a c-section, but if that is the safest route for my baby, then that will be what I am happy with. My first two were births in a hospital, my daughter I had an epidural, my son who was a whopping 10.8lbs, I had natural. This time I am planning a homebirth. In Ontario, you cannot deliever a breech baby at home. I did try an inversion tonight. dont know if I was successful or not. Im a bit nervous about trying new things. I wouldnt want to hurt the baby at all in any way. I know that whether I have the baby at home, at the hospital or in surgury.. I just want him to be healthy.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-10T10:05:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Babywearing during pregnancy.

2008-10-08T21:00:00.000-04:00

Edited- October 10th - I took a picture yesterday afternoon of my big man in his carrier.

I cannot believe the looks I get from people when I am wearing my 18 month old son and carrying my other son inside me. Its so bizzare. I am used to people saying to me "that cant be comfortable!" when I wasnt pregnant carrying my big old boy, then only to make them realize that its so absolutly wonderful, but to now have them just blatantly FREAKING OUT because I am babywearing during pregnancy. Just makes me wanna go bonkers!

I looove being pregnant, and I love wearing my son. I always carry him on my back now, and he just loves it! I really need to get a pregnancy picture of me carrying him. There is no reason for a woman to stop wearing there baby if they are pregnant if they are used to doing it anyways. I dont see the difference between that and bending down to push a stroller or pull a wagon. This is a great article on baby wearing while pregnant for those interested!
http://www.mamatoto.org/Default.aspx?tabid=79

Celebrate With Me

2008-10-04T19:28:00.001-04:00

Celebrate With Me

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Previously Sold Ring Slings

2008-10-04T15:13:00.001-04:00

A Gallery of Previously Sold BarefootButtercup Ring Slings

Barefoot Buttercup Ring Slings

Autumn 2008

2008-10-04T13:41:00.000-04:00

The summer was very wonderful to our family and we feel extreemly blessed!
Autumn is now here and things couldnt be better!

Next Saturday Barefoot Buttercup will be giving away a baby sling at the 2nd annual Breastfeeding Challenge in Arnprior's OEYC. Nursing Mothers get ready and be there! Nurse off is at 10:30!!!! Show your support to breastfeeding moms everywhere!

~*~*~ This is the sling that has been donated~*~*~

We are expecting a beatiful baby boy in January 2009! We could not be more excited to have another child as well as to be able to wear a newborn again!

The tie dye slings are finally a success!

Took some tinkering with dyes etc, but I got it finally and now we are selling them!

Natural Moms Talk Radio

http://www.babyfriendly.ca/challenge/index.php

Fruit Dyed slings for spring!

2008-03-08T10:12:00.000-05:00

I am so pleased to announce that I will be doing custom orders for fruit dyed ring slings this year! They are done with unbleached cotton and the colours are absolutly wonderful. I will have photo's posted soon of swatches. The cost will be 40$ plus shipping. The cost is higher than my other slings because of the process that comes with fruit dying. Just takes a little more care and time. Please contact me if you are interested!

Trying tie dye for the first time.

2008-01-30T21:01:00.000-05:00

What an exciting process this has been, even though I did not wear gloves, and my fingers are now a few colours they werent before I started.
I used acrylic paints and 100 percent unbleached cotton.

I did a halter top as well, but forgot to take pictures. It was fun, I hope it turns out because if it doesnt that would be a waste of fabric, but I cant see how it wont work. I have been told it will turn out really good with acrylics! So heres hoping!

Totally in love with babywearing

2008-01-26T19:07:00.000-05:00

If I was to go back about 10 years I would have never thought I would be carrying a baby on my back in a ring sling, and I definatly wouldnt have imagined I would be making them! But here I am, making them and LOVING it!
For those who dont understand how wonderful baby wearing can be, let me tell you it is so fantastic!
I want to do a whole post on this later on hopefully this week. Right now I am dealing with a head cold and a teething baby boy. But baby wearing has helped me along during my sick day. He's up in my arms, and I am not chasing him everywhere around the house while I am trying to get as much done as I can while feeling like...poo!

A little quick mention about what this page was started for, my ring slings. They sell for aprox 30 dollars unless you have a specific request that would obviously run the price up (ie, hemp fabrics and other fabrics that are expensive).

Again I appologize to those who have been bugging me to get this page up and running. I have just been so busy! This business has taken off and I am so proud of it!

Thanks!
Candace ~~ Barefoot Buttercup

Welcome!

2007-12-18T08:18:00.000-05:00

Hello and welcome!
I am new to the blogger! I want to thankyou for visiting my home business' Blogger page. Please bare with me as I work out the kinks!