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 Happy Baby Minimize
      

 What's a SPOC? Minimize
A SPOC is a Simple Piece of Cloth. It is exactly that -- just cloth. No rings, buckles, zippers, snaps, metal, plastic, Zelcro, tape or staples. Just cloth. An example would be a shawl, or a pareo.
    

 Safety Minimize
Make sure that Baby's back is in the center of the pocket, with plenty of cloth on his left side and his right side, so that he will not tip out. Keep one hand on the baby if you need to bend forward.
    

 What can you do with your shawl? Minimize
Kangaroo Heart to Heart
Reclining Upright
    

 Kangaroo Minimize
Hold Baby to your chest. Find the center of your cloth. Drape it over your shoulder, with more hanging behind you than in front of you. Bring the tail around your back and up to your shoulder, crossing baby's back at you go.

Make sure that the cloth is well spread out as it passes over your shoulder.

Be sure to kiss your baby and talk to her while you tie. You can also do fast tiny up-and-down bounces and make the "shhhhhh" noise to keep her happy while you get her situated.

Tie a knot at your shoulder, above Baby's head. Alternately, you can tie the knot at your hips.

Spread out the cloth across Baby's back and bottom.

Tuck in Baby's legs.

This is a great carrying position for nursing a newborn!

After Baby nurses, she can sit up more and look out at the world. If doing this carry with a longer cloth, just throw the extra cloth over your shoulder, or tuck it under Baby, or wrap it around you waist.

The striped cloth I am using here is 94 inches (2 yards, 22 inches) long and 45 inches wide. You could do this with only 2 yards and six inches. Also, you could hold the cloth by the corner, and use it on the diagonal, like in the Pouch step-by-by below (with the orange pareo).
    

 Rebozos Minimize
The rebozo is a popular type of shawl in North America. It is used by the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Guatemala. Since the early 1980's , the Rebozo Way Project has been educating Americans (Mexico, US, Canada) about the beauty and value of the rebozo and it's traditional use in the care of children. Because of this work, rebozos are back "in style". Yay!
    

 Heart to Heart Minimize
This scarf is about 2 feet (25 inches) wide and about 5 feet (63 inches) long.

This is a very small scarf, and works well to give me some hands-free capability. If I wanted to have more freedom with my hands, I would use a wider cloth. I include these pictures here not because this scarf is ideal for this carry, but to instill in you the idea that many many different pieces of cloth can serve to help you carry your baby.

Hold the baby heart-to-heart in your right arm. With your left arm, find the middle of the cloth. Put the middle of the cloth on your left shoulder, with half the cloth falling behind your back, and half down in front of you. I look irritable in these pictures because the sun is in my eyes. :o) See my cute baby Toni hiding her face?

Put baby on the left side of your chest, with her face near your collar bone. Hold her back and bottom with your right hand. Spread the cloth across baby's back.

Switch hands. Reach behind you with your right hand. Grab the end of the cloth and pull it firmly to your front.

Tie a knot in the cloth to the right of baby's bottom. Continue holding baby securely with your left forearm, the tight cloth over baby's back, and lean backward slightly.

Reach inside the bottom of the sling, near baby's bottom, and spread out the cloth well across baby's back and bottom.

Add a twist to the cloth on your left shoulder to tighten the grip. There you go!
    

 Hands-Free Football Hold by GypsyMama.com Minimize

These instructions assume you are going to nurse baby on the left breast. That's because that is what is happening in our pictures. Naturally, you can do exactly the same thing on the other side. We wouldn't want you to be all lop-sided and everything.

Tie shawl at your right shoulder. Hold baby in your left arm. Slip his butt into the shawl near your waist/hip. Then, slip his back into the shawl in front of your chest. His head should end up roughly 6 inches from the knot. Make sure that there is plenty of cloth on both sides of baby's ribs. He should be settled deeply into a pouch which you have created by tying the knot in your shawl.
After baby is comfortably settled into the sling, you can slide him around your side. Use one hand to lift baby's weight up and off of the shawl so that you can slide it more easily. Use the other hand to hold onto the knot, pull it away from your body, and then down towards your left breast. Alternately, you can hold baby's bottom with one hand, his head with the other, and then lean forward a little to slide him around your side.
Keep sliding baby around your side until his mouth lines up with your nipple. This technique is especially useful for moms with large busts. You can also do this position with a ring sling and possibly with a pouch.
    

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 Report a Problem Minimize

Broken link? Missing image? Misspelled word? Inadequate instructions? Please email maintenance@wearyourbaby.org. I cannot respond to every email, but I do appreciate your help. I will email you back if I can.  Thanks, Tracy Dower
    

 You are a Master Babywearer Minimize
In China, it is said that "A master is anyone who knows more than you do." So, you are all master babywearers compared with most of the moms in the world. You do NOT need to know everything there is to know about babywearing -- if you know even ONE carry with even ONE type of carrier, you are in possession of knowledge other moms desperately want -- even if they do not yet know they want it. ;-D Therefore, you should all feel confident enough to teach others! So, pick a public place, pick a day of the week, and start sharing your skills with other families! Then, list yourself here.
      

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