Thursday 25 November 2010

Snow day

We began our day with plans to go somewhere - anywhere - but quickly changed our minds after looking out the window this morning.



It's not much snow for a northern Manitoba girl, but on the lower west coast of Canada it looks pretty much surreal. And while I'm confident in my snow-driving abilities, I'm not so confident in the same of the locals, nor did I think a mere handful of snow plows and an abundance of steep hills were a great combination for driving.

So in we stayed.

We read books in front of a warm fire, practiced some French, sang songs, and watched the snow falling thick outside. We drank hot chocolate with candy cane stir sticks. And while the boys were occupied with general mess and chaos, I finally finished the older one's months-old request: a baby carrier for his babies.

I first promised this carrier during a walk this summer, when I glanced over to discover that the boy was casually walking down the street with his "baby" (a beanbag animal of some sort) hanging out of his pants. He thought his underwear was a pretty clever baby carrier; I suggested that perhaps it wasn't the most appropriate way to carry his baby while in public. And so he asked me to sew him a baby carrier for his babies, just like I had for his baby brother.

I use a variety of carriers with my babies. With my first, I preferred the versatility and support of a good sturdy wrap. With my second, I find myself most often reaching for my mei tai, choosing speed over the wrap's extra support.  I do still love my wrap, though, especially if I'll be wearing him for long stretches of time.  The baby just had a nice nap on my back in the wrap while at a playdate last week.

Because the boy sees the mei tai used most frequently, that was the style he requested. Months of procrastination later, it is done.




He loves it. The first "baby" he grabbed to put in it was, of all things, a stuffed bat.


 Second was his most favoured "baby", a small beanbag puppy.  He wore the puppy in it all evening, only reluctantly taking it off to eat dinner.

 

When it was time to clean up toys after dinner, he asked if I'd put his beanbag bear in the baby carrier first.  Once his bear was snuggled in place, he said, "This is great!  Now I can clean with my bear!"

This kid's gonna make an awesome daddy someday.

6 comments:

  1. Love it!!! They make Moby Wraps for kids to wear their dolls etc but how cool is a homemade carrier?! That's one of the things I love about AP-type parenting - seeing how the older child learns to respond to a sibling (or substitute like a stuffed animal) and how to care for their own children someday :-)

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  2. I wanted to make one of these for my oldest.... but there's no way that she could put it on by herself, and I didn't want her to have to be dependent on my to carry her baby around. So.... I made her a sling. it's pretty awesome, and she was fully capable of putting it on and "mono" inside at 2 years old. We may move on to some more advanced carriers soon. I have a ergo carrier that I think you would love... it's similar to a may tie, but it has buckles and padding for the heavier babe. I still use it with my 17month old and she likes it.

    anyways- I'm glad you got around to making the boy a carrier so that he can follow you around and clean up hands free. That's pretty awesome :o)

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  3. that is so adorable!! love it!

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  4. That is awesome! He has gotten SO big! He looks like such a little boy!

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  5. That is so cute. And your boy is beautiful! The snow is so pretty too. I can't wait until it starts snowing here. Your snow day sounds so cozy and nice!

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