Simple Piece of Cloth

I was chatting with Along the other day about carriers…I realized that there are not very many carriers available here in Malaysia..However, babywearing should be for EVERYBODY. Not just for anyone who can afford expensive carriers…I went looking for simpler options…

I went back to wraps…in TBW it’s often called SPOC –Simple Piece of Cloth. Basically you can use any fabric you have…like long scarfs or kain batik lepas or bed sheets…we just need to learn the right techniques to babywear…

I saw this video of this guy wrapping (front cross carry) and thought it looked SO EASY!! I went home and took out my old SPOC and tried it out. I managed to do it easily, first try! I wrote about this fabric before…what I did was just bought a 45” fabric and cut into two lengthwise. No sewing necessary…

eh betullah baby tak jatuh pun bila buat gini...(eventhough adam was wriggling)

yes..berjaya..senang je..cubalah..

Here’s another video on the same guy doing a back-carry…it looked simple too but I need more practice I think…managed to tried it out and baby was comfy, just wasn’t comfortable for me…I’ll practice more…

Superman toss!

done!

Think about it…all other mommies who WANT to babywear but feel left out because they don’t have/can’t afford/can’t find a carrier….you CAN! Just buy some fabric…or cut up or bedsheets or something..be creative!!!

Here’s a good info on making a no-sew wrap

here’s good info on how you can babywear with kain batik…

happy babywearing!

Handmade Reversible Pouch

Last night hubby was in the mood for taking photographs so I took the opportunity to request for some babywearing photos =)

adam loves the measuring tape =)

I made this reversible pouch last week after attending the MBW gathering. Jess taught me how to make one! Thanks Jess! I had some beautiful cotton fabric lying around that I was gonna turn into skirts but I thought a pouch will be so much more fun! I love the green flower fabric above…you’ll see more of this fabric made into other things I promise..

other side of the pouch

I love pouches! Yay! Soo convenient…and can be as pretty as you want it to be =) it was so comfortable especially for Adam. He took his nap rather happily in this (we were at a loud kenduri). For me it’s also comfortable…although it starts to hurt after about 45mins I think…it’s meant to be worn for shorter periods, as I mentioned before. But it’s awesome for quick trips and around the house and occasions where he needs to be popped in and out….

backview - adam is still munching on the tape..

However, I didn’t get very nice comments from other people while wearing this. Many gave me the bibik/maid/Jawa “compliments”. But I guess that’s standardla…some people did examine properly and gave nicer comments like “ Eh siap ade “seat” la kat sini (the padding)” “Selesa la dia dlm tu..”.

Hopefully the Malaysian perspective of only bibik wearing baby will change slowly…so rugi if only bibik gets to bond with your baby…

*hubby took some photos of me wrapping with Adam too last night. Will update tomorrow.

Babywearing Dad

DH wearing DS @ a wedding recently

Most passionate babywearers are women. But I feel we shouldn’t be the only ones to experience the wonderful magic of babywearing. Hey, daddies DO want to bond with their babies too. I found a great article on babywearing men on TBW. Pls have a read, it’s written by a dad!

It can be challenging though to find appropriate, manly babywearing gear, especially here in Malaysia. I found a thread (you need to register first) in TBW forum on dad-friendly carriers, but most of these carriers aren’t available here. Maybe it’s time I start shopping online ;p

I’m on the hunt for the perfect carrier for DH. I’m so glad he came with me during the recent MBW gathering. Hopefully more daddies will join in the fun next time. He’s already requested me to make him a "Mei Tai with buckles" and a pouch! Yay! I’m so proud of you!

Here’s another fun thread full of photos of babywearing daddies!

*nothing hotter than your DH wearing your babies! I bet many mommies would agree!

DH = Dear Husband
DS = Dear Son
TBW = www.thebabywearer.com
MBW = Malaysian Babywearer
Somehow the babywearing community likes to talk using these acronyms! I don’t know why! Haha…

Adam meet FRIENDS!!!

On Sunday pulak we went to visit Mommy of Triplets who just gave birth to another miracle baby…baby Uzair…yahoo…so many friends for Adam…(mommy adam yg excited actually..hehe)

Baby Uzair baik je the whole time we were there…tak nangis langsung…kecit jer dia….comel…

Masa kitorg sampai Uzair dgn Athirah tgh nap…So Harith la menyambut kitorg..hensemla Harith…Harith pandai main drum tau..terus Harith ajar Adam panjat tangga..jgn main2 ok…adam pulak jakunla tgk tangga..dia tu jarang jumpa tangga…

Skejap pastu Athirah pun bangun..wow this girl very active and creative..segala tempat dia boleh cari dan masuk…hehe..dia suka main rambut Adam..comel jer…

Ni 3 of them playing together..wah bestnye tgk…main baldi2 kecik pun jadik yer? Adam rambang mata sgt tgk all the toys…ade this one point ni kan, both Harith and Athirah usap Adam at the same time..mcm ckp welcome je kat Adam…hehe..wah mcm magical moment lak tgk…diorg berdua ni mesti ade magic signal dlm kepala diorg..connected to each other, betul tak Munirah?

Cuba masukkan Adam dlm ni…penuh dgn soft balls…ingatkan mestila dia heaven kat dlm tu…rupenye penakut..heheh…Harith dgn Athirah elok je siap tertimbun2 dlm tu…


Lps dah snack time diorg main bubbles pulak…

Romantic tak pic Adam dgn Athirah ni…hehe…

Skejap je Athirah dah boring main bubbles..

Adam still jakun….hehe

Bila kitorg nak balik,Adam dpt present..guess what?? baby pool mcm Harith and Athirah punya!!YAYY!! bestnye!!! Dah lama (mommy) Adam teringin tau...!! Thanks munirah!!! blom sempat tiup lagi pool tu...hehe...can't wait nak celop Adam dlm tu,...

syoklah...nanti kite playdate lagi nak??

Malaysian Babywearers Gathering!

Yay finally have time to update the blog….bear with me, I sense this is going to be a long entry..byk gambar saya “mengendong anak”…hehe

So last Saturday we went to the Malaysian Babywearers KL gathering. We had SOOO much fun! So awesome to meet other people who are just as passionate about babywearing!

The main topic was “Eyes on Pouch”. In the photo above Jess (the founder) was sharing with us about the pouch – how to use it etc. I’m wearing Adam in one of Jess’s handmade pouch there.



Here’s Adam in another cute pouch. I finally get why pouches are so popular. Normally I try to stay away from one shouldered carriers because I thought it wouldn’t be comfortable. I tried one before, it wasn’t comfortable at all and never bothered again since. But at the gathering Jess showed me the right way to wear Adam in the pouch and I must say, it was really comfy! Plus, it’s so convenient! I can pop him in and out at any time. And the pouch folds up to almost nothing so you can just throw it in your purse.

In comparison to my all time favourite, the Mei Tai, I think the pouch is suitable for use around the house or in occasions where I’ll be wearing him for short periods only, like maybe at a wedding where I may have to pop him out from time to time to let other ppl hold him. The Mei Tai is a 2-shouldered carrier and thus more appropriate for long duration, like for long walks at the beach or a shopping trip. The Mei Tai although more comfortable and you hardly feel the weight of the baby, when folded up it is more bulky and takes longer to tie up so it’s not very poppable.


Here I am trying out the very famous gold standard Mei Tai, The Kozy. I’ve been drooling at it for a long time prior to making my own. After trying it on I decided I’d rather make one than buy one. The body of the Kozy is way too wide. Baby’s legs hang out rather awkwardly. See in the photo I look a bit worried =) I prefer the size of my own Mei Tai. However I need to reconsider my fabric options, I think. Try something natural, like cotton canvas. Mine is synthetic.

Look, how cool this one is! Cool AND cooling! Looks like a hammock. Hehe..Belongs to Mama Shmontel and her daughter Sarah. Feels like I could shower with the baby in this…hehe…

Here’s Mama Shmontel and Sarah. Cute Sarah pulak nampak cozy la dlm Kozy tu. Maybe fit her better because she’s bigger.

p/s: Mai, SOO great to have met you! Next gathering kite pegi lagi together-gether eh?

Ok this carrier is my new Must-Have. Apparently it’s called an Alpino. It’s an SSC –Soft Structured Carrier. Belongs to Rayhana, the Host for this gathering. Structure is like a Mei Tai but with buckles. What I loved about it was how easy and comfy it was to back-carry in this! Just exactly like putting on a backpack. I did try back-carry with Mei Tai but I constantly feel insecure, like the baby’s about to fall out. But with this…wow…

I was chatting around with other ppl and almost FORGOT I had Adam on my back! That’s how great it was…I can’t make this one so must buy…must buy….hehe…Hubby said he’d totally wear it too…It didn’t look too great at first, but after I tried it on, I’m never looking back (literally! Tak payah check Adam kat blakang langsung. Relax je. Dia pun happy je dlm tu…). Senang nak masak/basuh pinggan etc in this I bet…

Kat Malaysia takde jual the Alpino…but during the gathering Joanne (of Littlepods) came and brought her prototypes SSC. She said she’s not happy with the design yet and wanted us to try them out.

Here i am wearing Adam in Joanne’s SSC on my back. The prototype SSC isn’t as comfortable as the Alpino, but it wasn’t bad. I suppose after further tweaking it would definitely be worth considering. Plus this one would be available in Malaysia…

Ok now the photos of the ladies wearing all their babies.

See how beautiful? I wish one day all the streets and shopping malls in Malaysia will be filled with babywearing parents like this….yay…

I can’t wait for the next gathering…hehe

away

Been away on a tiring course and will be until tomorrow. sigh.

Can't wait to come back and update on the activities from last weekend, the Malaysian Babywearer KL gathering and visit to Mommy of Triplet's house!

both best sgt!

now too penatlah...thursday, i promise :)

Sorry munirah...tp happy dah dpt time tonight to read your blog!hehe..

weird zebra

Here's the zebra that i was making for Saeed, but turned out weird looking..

he can't even stand properly..the poor guy..

But Adam sure loves him..

He especially loves the wild hair on the zebra's back..whenever i run the hairy bits all over his face, Adam will smile =)

syok sgt main sampai khayal...

Adam's WALKING!!!

My baby took his first few steps last night! Yahoo!! I'm so thrilled!!

(pandai Adam pilih time when we were visiting Tok Uda and Opah Uda..so we have witnesses! it wasn't just my imagination ok!hehe)

first he took a couple step towards me from the coffee table. masa ni i dah jerit dah surprised tgk dia..

and then from the sofa suddenly he WALKED towards the water fountain outside without holding onto anything and also without realising he's doing it! Many steady steps! Of course then i screamed and clapped my hands and then he landed on his bum. and smiled at me wondering what was all that fuss about =)

unfortunately i left my camera in the office...(because i loaded the pants photos from yesterday, dang!)

Adam, Mommy's SOOO proud of you!!!

Pants

no entries on the crafty side for a while now huh? after the huge bag overload i thought i'd give bag-sewing a rest and focus on sewing things for Adam...unfortunately i didn't come up with too many things...

here's one though;

adam ready for school - pic taken this morning

no, not the gorgeous red beads..those are mine..(although Adam seems to think it's his). i made the 3/4 linen pants. very easy, no patterns necessary. the fabric is a linen blend, so it doesn't wrinkle so much. plus linen is lightweight and breathable, perfect. i have more of this linen in purple, but would purple pant look too weird on a boy? (i bet hubby is thinking NO PURPLE PANTS for my boy!) but this green one is great too, kinda looks like school pants, so i like to put it on him with a white shirt in the morning so it looks like school uniform...hehe...

oh i stitched an applique. can you guess what it is? it's supposed to be an elephant..but it kind of looks like..tapir? haha..oh well...

Babywearing

i found a Malaysian Babywearing community! At last! Seems to be new but it's amazing! they even sell the Kozy Mei tai...

Go on there and join...they have a gathering in KL on the 16th of August...huhu

click here

(hey i'm not paid for the promo ok..i'm just overexcited...hehe)

look at these photos of simple ethnic babywearing. i'm so moved by all the photos, beautiful. In Malaysia people have this perception that babywearing is more of a "low-class" activity. mcm bibik2 je yg pakai. truth is these "low-class" people have much more wisdom when it comes to attachment parenting...the mother child bonding is so apparent in these photos...oh...

Adam makin besar..

Adam @ 10 months

At 10 months young, Adam is;

More active than ever. Moving around everywhere in the house, driving us crazy..hehe Just last night he toppled over my bucket of water that I use for sterilizing. We found him happily playing in the puddle, all wet.

Ready to start walking (or I’d like to believe he is, hehe). He’s been cruising steadily for a while now. Nowadays I like to hold the tips of his fingers and releasing him so that I can see him standing by himself and then walk towards me a couple of steps. Ok that’s cheating, actually..hehe…but he usually gets so excited when I do this..as I count 1,2,3 before I release him he’s already squeaking excitedly and tapping his foot like Happy Feet.

More prone to separation anxiety. Daddy says he’s Baby Center boy because everytime Baby Center announces a new baby development for his age in their weekly update, Adam will show us the development on the dot. Nowadays whenever we send him to the nursery he will scream at the top of his lungs and cling to me like crazy. Apparently it’s just a drama that he plays every morning ( to break my heart) because his teacher says after we go he’s just fine. In the evening also comes another episode when other babies’ mommies come to pick them up. When we arrive he’s usually all teary eyed and only smiles when he sees us coming.

Loves the Azan. Whenever he hears it, he’ll stop whatever he’s doing and listens intently. If it’s coming from the tv he’ll watch the tv. Then when it’s over he continues doing whatever he was doing…haha…oh, my son is going to be bilal or ustaz…hehehe…nowadays when he want him to stay still for a while we recite the Azan outloud, like when trying to put on his diaper or cutting his nails. Skarang dia dah pandai ikut skali…Orang Azan dia pun jerit AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaa!!!! With rhythm. Hehehe…

Scared of strangers. Dah tak boleh dibawak majlis ni =)

Terrified of CHICKENS! During our last trip balik kampong Perak, in the morning banyak ayam2 berkokok. He was petrified! His whole body shook and he hugged me really tight. Everytime one more kokok comes he hugged me tighter. Langsung dia tak boleh sambung tido..So funny..budak Bandar betul….hehe

Adam balik kampung

Very much a Mommy’s boy, Daddy says. I’m not complaining ;) though I think other ppl are starting to get irritated because they want to play with Adam too…hehe…

Starting to have a better appetite. He simply cannot see other ppl eating, mesti dia nak jugak…wlaupun dah kenyang…kalau suap dia mkn, tak boleh slow, nanti dia grunt “HURGH!!!” means cepatlah! Very impatient when it comes to food……hehe..tapi taklah byk sgt pun dia mkn,.selera je lebih…

Still biting me….uwaaaa…..but I think he’s starting to get the idea that it hurts…hopefully he’ll stop soon…

Has yet perfected the art of kissing. That doesn’t stop him from trying though.

Adam trying to wake Daddy with his kisses

pic taken just before Adam planted a wet slobbering kiss on my beautiful cousin Anis


Unable to sleep without comfort nursing. I noticed this since the sore ni**les. I tried to avoid comfort nursing and only feed him when hungry. I think it’s become a habit for him. Middle of the night at least 4-5 times he’ll seek me out to nurse. If I try to avoid and just tepuk2 and hug him, he won’t be able to sleep soundly – he’ll toss and turn and even cry with his eyes closed, until I give up and let him nurse. Actually I treasure all these night nursing sessions (when else do I get to bond with my baby), it’s as comforting to me as it is to him. However, with bleeding ni**les and more biting for him….means very little sleep for me and no chance for my breasts to recover…I’ll update on this situation in another entry..

Nowadays it gets really difficult to put on his diapers and clothes. He refuses to keep still even a few seconds…he hates being confined…so we sometimes dress him while he’s crawling around doing his own thing…

HAPPY 10 MONTHS BIRTHDAY, ADAM!!!!

We love you so much! Muahs!