Babywearing

How to use your Karma Baby Sling
Using your sling is simple and fun, but you need to practice a few times to feel really comfortable with it. Following are some simple instructions and tips on how to best wear your Karma Carrier.

Some helpful tips:
  1. Practice when your baby is well fed and well rested.
  2. Always make sure your baby is secure before letting go.
  3. Always support your baby while bending over.
  4. Have fun-this is going to make such a big difference in you and your baby's life!
Click on the photos below for directions on the different ways to wear your Karma Baby Sling:

Disclaimer: You are ultimately responsible for using care and caution when using your Karma Baby Carrier. Please be sure to use common sense For example, do not cook or handle anything dangerous within your baby's reach. And always be sure your baby is secure. Also, check the seam from time to time to make sure it is holding up well and inspect your carrier for tears.

How to measure for the correct size Karma Baby Sling:


Size
Shoulder
to opposite hip
Above
the chest
Body Type
Bra Size
XS
21-23
26"-29"
Small & Thin
A,B
S
24-25
30"-33"
Small to Average
A,B,C
M
26-27
34"-37"
Average to Tall
A-E
L
28-29
38"-41"
Tall and/or larger than average
A-E
XL
30-31
42"-45"
+ Sizes
C and up

Its so easy! Just be sure to take everything here into consideration as sizing is important. Just measure from the edge of your shoulder to the top of your opposite hip, right where your baby will sit. If you are in between sizes, SIZE DOWN!

Some Helpful Sizing Tips
  • Use a soft tape measure. If you don't have a tape measure, use a string or the edge of a blanket and then set it against a ruler.
  • If you're pregnant, measure across your back instead.
  • If you are between sizes, choose the smaller one.
  • Think about what size you might wear in a fitted t-shirt. While they are not always the same, it can point you in the right direction.
Need more help? Contact our resident sizing expert, Jess at Karmasizing@gmail.com. She would be happy to help you find the right size. Tell her your shoulder to hip measurement, your weight, height, and bra size, and, if you can, include a photo in the email.

Top Reasons to Babywear
 
  • You can have a life! When your baby is in a carrier your hands are free, so you can do other things. It is so simple to clean, play with other children and work when your baby is in a carrier.
  • Soothes fussy babies. Nothing soothes our baby like walking around with him in the sling. "Quick-get the sling!" is a phrase that is often heard in our house.
  • Your baby needs to be close to you for his emotional and psychological well being. It teaches him that the world is safe. And since you are right there to love and meet his needs, he discovers that the world is a safe place to be and that he is loved.
  • Babies who are held more cry less! Because her needs are met right away and she feels safe and secure.
  • Get in rhythm with your little one. Carrying your baby puts you in harmony with him. He is more likely to sleep when you sleep when he is carried during the day.
  • Happier Babies. Every baby that we have met that is worn is happy and full of life. I have never seen a worn baby scared of the world. They are alive, joyful, and curious.
  • Optimal learning enviornment. Can you imagine anything better than exploring the world through the safe arms of your mother? She gets to experience all the visual, auditory, and kinestetic stimulation that you do! Best of all, she doesn't get over stimulated. You regulate her intake of sensory experience and she can always take a break and just gaze up at your face (my favorite thing).
  • Breastfeeding is so easy in a sling. Breastfeeding in a sling gives your tired arms a break and lets you talk on the phone or eat (we know how hungry you are now)!

Babywearing by Stacey Potter 
Imagine that you are a baby. You have just spent 9 months bundled up snugly within living tissue. Everything about your prenatal experience was wonderful. You were never cold, hungry, or wet. You always heard mama's voice, felt her heartbeat, and sensed her love for you.

Now imagine being born. There is space all around you. It is cold. You sleep in a crib by yourself. You are put in a car seat and then lugged around in it from place to place. When mama picks you up, you are so happy. Here she is again! Warm, loving, providing total safety and care. And then she puts you into your stroller…so far away.

I came across an old experiment performed by Harry Harlow the other day. He took a bunch of baby monkeys and gave them two choices: they could be with a "mother" monkey that was made of wire but dispensed food, or they could be with a "mother" made of soft cloth that did not have food. Can you guess what they chose? When you think of animal instinct, you think of the drive for food, right? But that was not the case. These babies actually preferred to snuggle into the softness of the pseudo-mother rather than nourish themselves.

What does this say about the need for contact and comfort? Everything. It seems like every day mothers in our country are given some new device that distances us more and more from our babies. The bucket seat is a prime example. With this nifty invention, a baby could go all day without being picked up. Pop him in his car seat and mothering is as easy as putting it into the car, onto the stroller, into the highchair…no need to pick him up at all. Not that it can't be totally useful at times, but there is definitely a tendency to over use it.

So I searched for an alternative that would help make being a new mother easier but would also facilitate bonding with my baby. That is when I discovered babywearing.

Babywearing has been an essential practice for mothers throughout history. Women have always carried their babies in cloth carriers. It just makes sense. Having your baby close to you just feels right. You know he is safe and happy, and you can calm him within seconds. You can look down on him and kiss him whenever you want, but you can still make those phone calls and do the dishes. Wearing your baby makes life so much easier. Almost anything you did before you can do with a baby in a sling.

But the greatest reward is to your baby. He is now totally secure. He knows you are there. He can feel you and smell you. He hears everything you say and can see what you are doing. In fact, babies that are held more cry less. 43% less. Can you believe that? That alone was enough to make me give it a try. I found out that it is totally true. Elijah hardly ever cries. Looking back, we had a very calm and happy baby. Wherever we go still people comment on how peaceful and happy he is.

The thing that I have noticed the most is how confident he is. He will explore anything and simply looks back at me to check in every once in awhile. He is happy playing for long periods of time by himself. He knows the world is safe. That is what I have shown him through babywearing. Still, when Elijah starts to get fussy I just pop him in the sling and he is content. He loves to look out at the world from the safety of his mother's arms. And I will continue to wear him until he doesn't want to anymore. That will be a sad day for me, as I cherish the moments when this independent, soon-to-be toddler is close to me.


References:
Read more about Harry Harlow's monkey experiment at
http://www.a2zpsychology.com/great_psychologists/HARLOW.HTM

Carrying reduces Crying
Increased carrying reduces infant crying: a randomized controlled trial.
Volume 77, Issue 5, pp. 641-648, 05/01/1986 The American Academy of Pediatrics
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