It’s finally fall! The weather is cooler and the air is crisp! There are pumpkin patches to visit, forest trails to hike, shopping trips to do, and fun family dinners to attend! Your stretchy wrap (Moby, Boba, Solly, etc) can be a wonderful tool for getting out and enjoying the fall with your baby!
A stretchy wrap does a carry that you can pre-tie and pop baby in and out as needed. This carry is called “poppable.” Poppable carries are carries that you can tie at home (or when it’s convenient for you), leave on yourself, and then put the baby in and out of the wrap as needed. These are the best because you only need to tie the carry once. You can tie the carry at home before you even leave the house. No need to stand in cold flinging long lengths of fabric around or getting your wrap tails dirty in a mud puddle.
Here’s what I do:
1. Wrap the carry at home.
2. Put on my coat or jacket on top of the carry.
3. Put baby in the carseat.
4. Drive and park.
5. Pop baby into the wrap.
6. Zip my coat over both of us (keeping baby’s face visible)
7. Head on my way!
Babywearing During Family Visits
When I was a new mom, I found visits with family (like Thanksgiving) a little stressful with a baby. Everyone wanted to hold the baby, but sometimes I found the baby would get overstimulated and need a break from being passed around. When baby was happy and in a good mood, I would let her visit with her aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas.
However, when the baby got tired or upset, I wanted a way to calm her quickly without drawing too much attention to her or me. I was also new to babywearing and I didn’t want to have to wrap a carry in front of everyone. This used to make me feel flustered (especially if my baby was crying) and I’d make mistakes in my wrapping (like getting my wrap off center, or forgetting a step).
Poppable carries saved the day! I could pre-tie the entire carry at home when I was able to think through the steps without an audience or my baby crying. Then I would leave the wrap tied on.
When I was at Thanksgiving dinner and baby was suddenly overstimulated and upset, I could pop baby into my wrap, walk around the house a bit shushing and patting her back. She’d fall asleep within minutes and I could sit down with a sleeping baby on my chest and enjoy my dinner.
So without further ado . . . .here is the wonderful poppable carry that you can do with your stretchy wrap! It’s called pocket wrap cross carry:
Use this video if you have a newborn or young baby:
Use this video if you have an older baby:
If photo-tutorials are more your style, I have one in English and one in Spanish.
Other Tips:
Keep baby’s face visible
It’s important to keep the wrap from covering your baby’s face. Your baby’s face should be completely uncovered while they are in the wrap, even if they are sleeping. To keep the stretchy wrap from covering your baby’s face, you can flip the shoulder. You take the edge of the fabric that is closest to your neck and pull it out over your shoulder. This keeps the fabric away from baby’s face.
Check your Carry
When you have finished your carry, use the Babywearer’s Task Checklist to check your carry. Baby should be:
- Positioned with chin off of their chest
- Completely visible to you with their face uncovered
- Snug and well supported
- Close enough to kiss
For more information about babywearing safety, see this blog post and for more information about newborn positioning, see this post.
I hope this post and tutorial links help you to really love your stretchy wrap and find it comfortable and simple and that you are able to do something together that brings you joy. If you have any questions, leave a comment here or on my YouTube videos. I do my best to answer every single question and comment that comes into my blog or channel.
Happy Stretchy Wrapping!!
More in the Fall and Winter Babywearing Series:
Do More with your Stretchy Wrap
Fall Babywearing: Staying Warm in Chilly Weather
Poppable Woven Wrap Carries for Fall
Loving your Stretchy Wrap in Fall
Cold Weather Babywearing
Woven Wrap Carries for Cold Days