Triplets and a Big Sister!!

When I arrived, I found 3 sleeping Babies (and a sleeping toddler) and 3 Very Happy looking Caregivers!  But then we started waking them up.

This is Mom and Grandma with the two boys.  Sisters were still sleeping and we played with the boys in the carriers first.  We all talked about our goals.  This mama had been given many carriers and this visit from me as a gift from a dear sweet family member who is a babywearing enthusiast.  This amazing mom of 6 week old triplets and one 22 month old was determined to explore her options in babywearing and to try everything.  So thats what we did!

She was hands free and happy in no time in a gauze wrap. worn in a front wrap cross carry.

Babywearing creates such a wonderful opportunity for one on one closeness and special time.

Then Daddy tried on a Beco Butterfly.  They were comfy and happy!

We added in some of the carriers that I brought over. The chimparoo Mei Tai is a wonderful mei tai that has adjustable drawstrings allowing you to size the body appropriate to the baby.

 

We played Musical Carriers and switched babies every time the mood struck. Triplets are so much fun!

This couple was rising to the challenge of having 3 babies and a toddler beautifully.  They we exuding confidence and trying their best to use all of the resources that were offered to them. They Were inspiring and fun and I was so impressed with all of the love in their home.

Grandma was glowing with pride for her babies, and I think she has caught the babywearing bug. This is wrapsody Kai, and little girl triplet.

I was, of course, In my own kind of Heaven. Isn’t she a doll?

Then, Big sister woke up toward the end of my visit and put the icing on the cake of our wonderful day. Here she is with her mama, in a babyhawk.

Over all, we explored and tried on the following carriers:  Beco Butterfly, Moby Wrap, Wrapsody Wraps, Sleeping Baby Productions Ringsling, Chimparoo Meitai, an Original Ergo Carier and a Babyhawk Meitai. We had a blast, and I think that these parents felt empowered by their new arsenal of powerful tools for their life journey with 4 babies!

Love and Babywearing to all those expecting triplets!

Micah’s Rainbow Girasol Is Now Available!!

Just to make it official.  You can place your order here!

http://www.elephantearsonline.com/Micah-s-Dream-Elephant-Ears-Exclusive-Wrap/

Help us Celebrate Micah by letting anyone who might feel connected to this wrap in some way feel comforted by knowing that it is available.

With Love!!

Micah’s Rainbow Will Be Available For Pre-Order Soon!

Hello Friends!  Elephant Ears is Announcing That  Micah’s Rainbow Girasol Exclusive Will Be Available For Pre-Order From January 17th to January 28th!!!!

A link will appear here as soon as the pre-order goes live!

Here is the Image of Micah’s Rainbow. The colors are a tribute to the hospital where he lived most of his life, and the rainbow at the top represents the joy that every little life that we love brings to us, no matter how long or short we happen to have the pleasure of their company.

Today I Celebrate Life – Micah’s Rainbow

Today is the day that we have set aside to say goodbye to one of the most amazing little men I have ever met.

Micah Canvasser –  an angel who brought love and endless inspiration that will last my whole lifetime.

This beautiful photo was edited by on of Mom’s dear friends to remove the lines and tubes from Micah’s beautiful face

You can catch up with my relationship with this client in these previous posts:

http://closeathandbaby.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/contagious-babywearing-passion-twin-edition/

http://closeathandbaby.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/sometimes-in-rising-to-meet-a-challenge-we-find-deeper-love-than-ever-before/

http://closeathandbaby.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/look-whos-home/

Micah and his Twin Brother Zachary, his Parents Jennifer and Noah, and all of their close family surrounding them, have been using babywearing to multiply in front of my eyes the joy that they experience with each other  in the unique situation that they are living through.

In order to wrap this family, Mom, Dad, Twin, Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins in Love and Support  We have designed an Exclusive girasol together that we have named Micah’s Rainbow and will be offered to the world soon through preorder at elephantearsonline.com.  The preorder will be announced shortly, and the wraps are projected by girasol to arrive to us in June/July.  Proceeds from Micah’s Rainbow will be donated to “Micha’s Smiles”  a fund set up in Micah’s name to contribute to the University of Michigan Mott Hospital, where Micah lived most of his life.

Here is the Image of Micah’s Rainbow. The colors are a tribute to the hospital where he lived most of his life, and the rainbow at the top represents the joy that every little life that we love brings to us, no matter how long we have the pleasure of their company.

 

Oh, Micah.  It was Just too short a time for me.  I am looking forward to your Life Celebration Today.  I know it will be beautiful, just like you.  We have all been asked to wear Rainbows and Bright colors for the occasion.  I promise to be happy knowing you are at peace. even though I cannot help feeling sad inside.

My heart goes out this moment and every moment to all who have lost a child.  It is Our hope, The Canvasser Family and the Morse Family – That this wrap can comfort all who have lost, in some small way.

Twin Update – She’s Having My Baby Edition

Hi all!  A few people have asked for an update on the wonderful couple that I was working with last year privately adopting twins.  THis was the special couple who was involved with the Oxygen Network TV show “She’s Having My Baby” that came through Elephant Ears and our lives near the end of last year.

Te episode aired as the Finale of the Series and our Featured Birth Mom’s name was Lindsay.  You can see a review here:  http://www.ivillage.com/im-having-their-baby-season-finale-review/6-a-483157

To close off the multiple success of this story, here is an actual screenshot I took of the episode at the end, of Mike and Julie with their Son and Daughter, happily wrapped on camera for all the world to see, in a Wrapsody Bali Stretch Hybrid Kai. It has been perfect as parenting can be, ever since.

I feel so inspired by all the beautiful adoption stories out there, as well as all the beauty of twin parenting.  My practice has seemed to bring me into so much contact with so much of both, and I am so eternally grateful to all of the families that share their experience with me so that I can become a better educator for all of the babies and parents-to-be that are out there, that are just looking for a little closeness.

Much Love

Happy International Babywearing Week 2012!!!!

We had a wonderful Ann Arbor Babywearers Meeting yesterday.  So many people showed up to share their love of babywearing with each other and to celebrate the love of carrying babies close!

We had every kind of beautiful baby carrier in use today you could imagine.

3 moms of twins showed up today to wow us all. This new mama, and 2 of our experienced mamas to help her! She is wearing a moby wrap with a sleeping baby productions ringsling right over top.

Tiny faces!!!

 

I wish I could post a 360 shot of all of the wonderful interactions and happenings that were going on around me all the time through the meeting

This little guy was so happy to be joining his little brother up on mama!

 

Beautiful Wrapsody Brigid and a 7 week old peanut.

 

First Rucksack Carry in our Chimparoo Azure  it was a total success!!!

 

Beautiful 2 year old twins in a Wrap and a Kinderpack Carrier.

We all did a ton of playing with mei tai carriers yesterday. Lots of happy success in the room !!

In case you are wondering, this is what success looks like Dolcino Mauritus.

 

International Babywearing Week had also come to Elephant Ears  by the time I got in to work:

Preparing for the arrival  by practicing with a doll in Elephant Ears beautiful Babywearing Center.

Miles and his mama hard at work.

 

Nothing makes me happier than to see a little baby walk through the store, right where it wants to be, and a mama looking like she is at peace with motherhood.

 

Baby Boy Fights, and Amazes Us All!

 

If you scroll back to the spring, you might recall a couple who’s baby boys arrived a bit earlier than expected.  Last we left them, one was home with his parents, and the other was living in the hospital.  Lets Check In Again!

Look at his sweet smile as he is cooed at by his loving grandma! He is growing stronger every day and as happy as any baby you will ever meet.

 

Mommy and Sons spend all day together with loving family and friends going to and from the University of Michigan Hospital. The Nursing Staff has been Really amazing on this journey, and all involved with this beautiful family send their Love and Thanks to Baby Boy’s Amazing Nurses!!!!!!

I’ll be back with Pictures of his brother in a day or 2!!!  They are quite a happy pair of boys, with the most amazing strong family I have ever had the pleasure to work with!

A Picture Song of all of the Twin Baby Nursing/Babywearing Positions I Have Ever Seen

I wanted to collect and keep in a single post pictures of twins nursing and nursing while babywearing.  Everything I’ve ever seen work for anybody during my time working with twins and twin parents.  Check back at the permanent sticky page at the top of the blog for updates!  Twins are a special gift with tons of success to be found in the challenge of raising two babies at once.

The first position I have seen work very often is called the “laid back” position. It is great in bed with pillows for support or as shown here in a glider, using the arm rests for support and with the footrest up.

Gravity works for you as it holds the baby to you and the pulling is reduced because baby is no longer fighting gravity to hold their head up. Baby feeds more upright reducing gas intake, and head support is provided by the sides of moms arm. mom should be well supported and relaxed, able to fully enjoy nursing.

Little boy is cross cradled and little girl is in a bit of a football hold. this one is good with littler babies.

Babies 5 months and up can often sit up and nurse while facing mom, sometimes holding the breast themselves

Here a Ringsling is helping me burp an hold one baby while nursing the other. The large Dutalier Cadenza really helps support all of this tandem nursing activity.

Here I am nursing one while wearing another in a Monte Grano Glider. My sling is an Elephant Ears exclusive Girasol.  I tucked the tail of the ringsling out of the way to reveal the baby and the nursing position , but the tail is great for coverage if you desire it.

Here I am using the sling for one baby, and getting her latched on while little boy waits for a minute.

Now baby boy joins in, and the sling allows you to relax and occasionally adjust a latch or a foot or grab a swig from a water bottle.

Here we are with a baby in a high rucksack carry on my back in a woven wrap. The scenario for this baby is, she just ate and now is thinking about falling asleep.  I put her on my back in a wrap and now I am hands free to feed and tend to her brother.

Say that the baby on your back got antsy and wouldnt let you sit there and nurse. you can step into a ringsling, spread it over the back over the babe, and load baby 2 on the front and you can nurse while walking around and swaying to soothe the baby on your back.  There is a video instructional for this move in my twin link on the sidebar.

Make sure if you are going to use a pillow to nurse, that it brings the baby all the way up to your breast level, not forcing you to hunch over. I’m not a big fan of nursing pillows, but I am a big fan of variety. It can be nice to have at the begining to use as shown, when the babies are really little to do a double football hold. Babies have their feet pointing back toward the back of the chair, fully supported on the U shaped pillow. A nursing pillow like this Little Star or 2 regular bed pillows will really help with this. Most Moms of twins that I go to are not finding their pillow to be helpful for very long. I actually have taken 3 various pillows away at the mothers request this year on home visits because the mothers felt they were totally unused.  I think it really depends on who you are.

I hope to continue to build this resource as I walk my path helping many moms of multiples along my way.  Please feel free to comment and I will post pictures of any new positions as the surface.

Tandem Nursing is an amazing adventure.  I am so glad to have walked this path, though not as a mom of twins, as a mom of children close in age, and I hope to support anyone on this journey, or hoping to be.

Happy Wearing!

Becca

Look Who’s Home!!!

Thats Right!  Quick Update!!

Look who has been home for a few days now and came in with his beautiful family to see us at Elephant Ears!

 

Now that one brother is home from the NICU, these parents are focused on the three of them helping his twin brother pull all of his strength together and join him at home.

All of us involved in this journey, would just like to say, that Babywearing has been such a gift during the transition from hospital to home.

Please send all of the thoughts and comfort that you have to spare – to little baby twin brother, who is still to come home to his family.

My your healing be swift.

 

Sometimes in rising to meet a challenge, we find deeper love than ever before.

Each baby and parent combo is totally unique and special to me.  Each one is a challenge weather it be physically, logistically, or as in this story, emotionally.  Each family is a joy in my life that brings me a gift of experience so I can better serve the next one I encounter.  I think last week on this visit, my heart grew a little bit bigger.

This story is about beautiful twin boys, born early (around 26 weeks) who have been in the NICU, and the warrior parents by their side.

Lately I had the experience of working with a wonderful family who's babies were in the Brandon NICU Unit in University of Michigan Hospital. They called me up to help them master their wrapsody wrap with one of their babies, who is soon to be going home for the first time

For these parents of 2 preemies, the first taste of parenthood wasn't at all like they dreamed, and yet they have risen to meet their challenge with such grace. Mama is pumping here after a great session of breastfeeding, and daddy is topping big boy off with a bottle. As these little guys approached their 40 week gestational mark this guy was 7'9" this day.

Good Job to all! Mommy, Daddy and Brandon NICU Nurses and Doctors, look at those cheeks!!!! Mom and Dad were anxious to wrap. The both had purchased Wrapsody wraps before the birth and had attended Ann Arbor Babywearers in preparation to wrap their boys. On this day we could only wrap one baby, and our main goal was to take him over to visit his brother and to have some family time. Our other stated goal was to get both parents comfortable with their wraps and snuggling with their baby.

Mom went first, in Wrapsody Jandrea. We all agreed that she felt secure and relaxed in a front wrap cross carry, (as much as was possible) and the suggestion of daddy wanting to try was put off to later. I have noticed sometimes in my work with parents of preemies, that Babywearing can be a great way to help give the parents, often for the first time, the feeling and experience that they expected parenting to bring to them. A taste of having things be "normal" or as they expected, even for just a while.

As soon as we were done relishing in how awesome it felt to be wrapped up together, we took him to visit his brother. Mama said how nice it was to be able to hold both her babies as close as possible at the same time. It was a magic time as we all focused our energy and love on this little boy who needs our thoughts. Many nurses were following and watching us, they were all so loving and helpful.

Daddy finally convinced mommy that it was a good time to switch. Mom had a nice long talk into that isolette about how it was time to heal up really strong and come out to us, because mommy and daddy expected to have 2 babies to wrap, and he was so wanted and loved!!!

Daddy explaining to the nurses how the wrap feels and why he loves it. They were so interested, and more nurses were behind me watching.

We just popped his monitor down through the wrap and poked it out the bottom and wrapped over it. It worked really well

I brought them a ringsling as well, just to play with, and i gave them a little lesson and left it there for them to use, just in case they needed another tool in their belt.

Babywearing was a high point in these parents day, I think we all agreed on that before I left. Mama was right with both her boys, up close and I could tell that her spirits were lifted.

I am wishing with all of my heart, that everyone who reads this will send a thought out to this family.  This is their wish, that and to share the gift of babywearing with other parents that are on this type of  journey that might feel that it could help them.

Thank you so much to this  Mama and Daddy for sharing your family’s brave story with us.  Our goal was to show how beneficial babywearing can be in a NICU setting at the right moments.

I will update on this family as it is available.  But for now, Send your good thoughts and prayers.