Stretchy Wrap Tutorials and Tips

Need help with your stretchy wrap before the next meeting?  Look no further!  Below are tutorials and tips for using a stretchy wrap.

There are two basic carries that can be done with a stretchy wrap such as a Moby or Boba wrap.  They are Front wrap cross carry (FWCC) and Pocket Wrap Cross Carry (PWCC).

Pocket wrap cross carry is the carry that is typically done with a stretchy wrap.  Moby calls this the “hug hold.”  Boba calls it the “love your baby hold.”  This carry is wonderful because you can pre-tie the whole carry before you leave the house and then pop your baby in and out as needed throughout the day.

Here’s a wonderful tutorial for PWCC by Kathy who is a babywearing consultant.  Her site is www.kathyheffern.com.  You can see how snugly she wraps the wrap when she is pretying.  The wrap should be very snug, just as shown here. You really can’t pretie the wrap too tightly. Because of
the stretch of the material you will always be able to get baby in comfortably,
but if it’s too loose before they’re in it’ll sag and not feel secure.  If you feel you need a hand on your baby or baby is sagging, then it’s too loose.

Front wrap cross carry is a wonderful carry because it’s very easy to adjust and get your baby snug and secure.  It’s also easy to lower and nurse in FWCC and adjust back up after nursing.

I love this video tutorial by Tooralei on YouTube for Front wrap cross carry with a stretchy wrap and a newborn.  You can see how she tightens each strand (or section) of the wrap.  She focuses on the top rail (the top hem and the first few inches of fabric), the middle of the width and the bottom of the wrap.  The key to successful wrapping in any carry is strand by strand (or section by section) tightening.  You can also see how snug she wraps.

To secure a sleeping baby’s head in either FWCC or PWCC, you can tuck their head into one side of the cross pass that comes over your shoulder and pull the fabric away from the other side of the cross so that their face is visible and not covered as pictured here on the right.

If your baby doesn’t want their head tucked but seems to need more head support, you can leave a little roll of wrap at your baby’s neck and tighten that well by snugging the top rail of the wrap.  If that is very snug, their head should stay put, even without a cross pass holding their head.  

Stretchy wraps should never be used for back carries.  They are stretchy and even if wrapped well are not safe and secure used on the back because the baby could lean and fall.  Here’s a video that shows how dangerous a stretchy wrap can be if used on the back.  

When wrapping, be sure to always remember TICKS:
Tight
In View
Close enough to kiss
Keep chin off chest
Supported backYour baby should be held snugly and well supported, high enough to kiss, easily visible to you (without fabric covering baby’s face) and with chin off of chest.  You should be able to get two fingers under baby’s chin and hear baby breathing normally.  If you hear grunting or snoring sounds, that is a sign that baby is having trouble breathing.  If that happens, remove baby and rewrap being sure to wrap very snug and tight.  If you have any problems, feel free to contact us.  We can help you trouble shoot via email or facebook until you can come in for the next meeting.

Happy Wrapping!  If you need any help with your wrap, we’d love to help at any meeting.