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Meetings
Q. Do I have to sign up for meetings? What should I bring? What happens at a meeting?
A. There is no advance sign-up necessary, and you don’t need to formally join anything in order to come to a meeting. BWI-BA meetings are always free to attend and open to all. We do recommend that you join our Facebook group and follow our Facebook page, however, so that you’ll have access to our “Event” listings and receive notices of any cancellations, changes in meeting location or other important information. Current information is also available on the calendar on this website.
Please bring any baby carrier you’d like help using, and any baby carrier you’re willing to let other people try! You are welcome to bring food, for yourself or to share, but please, for the protection of allergic children, no peanuts or other nuts. Upon arrival at the meeting, you will need to sign in, which includes agreeing to our standard release, and helps us keep track of everyone who needs help!
Each of our regional subchapter meetings may vary a bit in structure, but in general, a VBE will ask what you’re there to learn or try, and you will most likely be grouped with others who have similar questions for a lesson covering a particular subject such as ring slings, beginner wrapping, or back carries. There will be time for trying or practicing with various carriers, and for general socializing with other babywearers.
Q. Can I bring my older child to a meeting?
A. Yes, children of all ages are welcome! Please note, however, that at our indoor meetings, there may not be a whole lot available to entertain restless preschoolers. We make an effort to keep the kids not being worn safe and content, but their activities can be distracting when you are trying to focus on wearing your infant, and we do not provide childcare. We leave it to your judgment as the parent/primary caregiver whether to bring big brother or sister. The parks in which we hold our outdoor meetings offer playgrounds suitable for young children.
Q. Can I bring my spouse/partner? My mother? Or a friend?
A. Yes, absolutely! We love babywearing dads and grandparents; we love families with two mommies or two daddies; we welcome adoptive parents, foster parents, and step-parents as well as biological parents; and we are here to support everyone who cares for a baby or young child.
Q. I’m not actually a parent. I’m a nanny/doula/prenatal massage therapist/baby-gear store owner. May I participate?
A. If you ever need to hold and care for a child while also getting other tasks done, babywearing is for you, and you are welcome at BWI-BA. If you provide birth- or baby-related services or sell baby-related products to Bay Area parents, we would love to have you join us, but please note that we will not allow you to use our meetings or our online groups for advertising or self-promotion. (That rule goes for sales or services that are not baby-related, also.)
Q. Why don't you have a meeting in my area / at a time that fits my schedule / in a better facility?
A. All of our meetings are run by Volunteer Babywearing Educators and, as the title indicates, we are volunteers. Collectively, we would love to offer more meeting locations and times - but each of us can do only so much! We all have kids and a variety of other obligations and commitments,
including for many of us an income-producing job. Also, finding physical spaces appropriate for holding our meetings is a challenge for all sorts of reasons, particularly when the number of people attending can be quite large. We do the best we can within the constraints of cost, calendars, VBE commitments, and so on. We beg your understanding, and encourage you to get involved, gain experience, become a VBE yourself, and launch a new meeting time and location that's better for you! (Our long-term goal is to effectively serve the entire Bay Area, and we'll need plenty of help to do that.)
Q. Do you sell baby carriers?
A. No, we do not. We are a non-profit organization that focuses on teaching babywearing as an essential skill, independent of what tools are used to do it. Our VBEs will be happy to tell you about their personal experiences with particular carriers and/or vendors, but please keep in mind that BWI-BA does not officially endorse any product or for-profit business. Our members may use our meetings, Yahoo Group email list, and/or Facebook group as a forum to offer their personal baby carriers for sale or trade. We host this activity as a convenience to those who wish to participate, and again, do not endorse or promote any particular carrier or seller.
Library Borrowing and Membership
Q. What carriers are in the library?
A. The library inventory can be viewed here. The master spreadsheet lists, for each carrier, the type, brand and model, color or pattern, size where applicable, and the regional subchapter(s) where that carrier resides, and there are also separate sheets for each subchapter location. We also have some books, videos, and other non-carrier babywearing-related materials. We do our best to keep the inventory up to date, but you can also contact a particular location's librarian VBE who can tell you whether or not we have a specific carrier in that subchapter.
The library for each subchapter is brought to every monthly meeting, where you can see and try out any of the carriers. There is no fee or other cost for trying on carriers during a meeting!
Q. How do I borrow a carrier from the library?
A. We lend out carriers from the end of one meeting to the beginning of the next meeting for the same regional subchapter. If you are not a dues-paying member of Babywearing International, there is a $10 fee each time you borrow (the funds are used to buy and maintain carriers) and you must also make a refundable deposit in an amount equal to the replacement cost of the carrier you are borrowing. We prefer that this deposit be made via check, so that we can simply hold the check, and return it to you uncashed when you return the carrier. If you are a member of Babywearing International, both the fee and the deposit requirement are waived! When you pay $30 annual dues for membership, you may check out one carrier at a time, from any subchapter, all year long, with no additional cost and no fuss.
When you check out a carrier, it is due back to us at or before the next meeting in the same location. If for any reason you are not able to attend that next meeting, you are responsible for getting the carrier to that subchapter's librarian before the meeting, so that the carrier will be available for everyone to try and for someone else to check out. If the carrier is not returned on time, you will be charged a late fee (and will not be eligible to borrow a carrier again until all late fees are paid). You can make arrangements to drop off or mail a carrier return by emailing the librarian (addresses here and in the library policy document).
It may also be possible to borrow a carrier outside of a meeting, at the discretion and convenience of the applicable librarian, and we can arrange to mail a carrier to you if you are not able to attend a meeting for the subchapter in possession of the carrier you're interested in trying. Postage is at your expense. See the complete library policy for more information.
You are also responsible for keeping and returning a borrowed carrier in good, wearable condition. Please read the complete library policy, which includes laundering and care instructions and other important information; when you check out a carrier you must sign a copy of this policy to indicate you have read and understood it.
Q. What's the difference between a "member of Babywearing International" and a "member" of the BWI-BA Facebook group or Yahoo group?
A. We do often casually use the word "member" to mean anyone who has joined our Facebook group (which anyone is welcome to do, as long as they follow the rules against advertising/spam and otherwise conduct themselves with good netiquette, of course) or attended any of our meetings. However, more formally, a "member" of Babywearing International of the Bay Area, Inc. is someone who has supported us by paying annual membership dues, has signed a membership agreement, and is entitled to all membership benefits offered by either Babywearing International, Inc. or Babywearing International of the Bay Area, Inc. Our dues-paying members who are not VBEs are "non-voting" members of BWI. BWI-BA is a California non-profit corporation and holds an annual meeting at which our members do have certain voting rights. If you would like to read our corporate governing documents, please contact our Secretary at bayarea@babywearinginternational.org.
Q. How do I become a member (and get free access to library borrowing, and membership discounts)?
A. Annual membership in Babywearing International requires donating $30 annual dues and filling out a membership form. Any VBE will be happy to collect your money (cash or check, and some VBEs are equipped to accept credit card payments via Square) and paperwork at any meeting, or you can handle it by email or using our online form, with dues paid via PayPal. You do not have to attend meetings in order to become a member - but we hope you will attend often! The complete package of membership and library forms and information can be found here.
Babywearing and Baby Carriers
Q. I’m not really a crunchy or “AP” parent. Is everyone in your group a homebirthing, extended breastfeeding, cloth diapering, organic gardening extremist?
A. Nope! Although babywearing is sometimes associated with attachment parenting principles and/or with natural living practices, in fact, babywearing is for everyone. We certainly do have members who are “lactivists” or “intactivists”, who homeschool their children, who use only home-grown cleaning products, and so on. But we also have members who use disposable diapers and give their children packaged snack foods. If you want to babywear, we welcome you no matter where you stand on any parenting practice, political philosophy, religious belief, or social cause.
Please keep in mind, when interacting with others in our group, that we are a diverse bunch of people and the purpose of Babywearing International is to bring babywearers together. It's okay to discuss "hot button" issues with those who are interested, when socializing at meetings, but keep it respectful and friendly. Also, we prefer to keep our Yahoo list and Facebook group mostly "on topic"; we allow some discussion of subjects of interest to local parents, but please do not ask for general parenting advice or post to promote any cause or practice other than babywearing there.
Q. I’ve heard that frontpack carriers like the Baby Bjorn are bad for babies, and now I’m worried, because I liked mine well enough. What’s your position?
A. For assorted reasons, our VBEs don’t generally recommend frontpack carriers. But that does not mean that frontpacks are harmful! They are not. Mostly they are just not as comfortable or versatile as, and cannot be used as long as, other types of carrier that you could get for the same or a lower price. If you own one and you are comfortable using it, you are a babywearer and we welcome you! In fact, come to a meeting and we’ll be happy to offer you a number of suggestions about how to make it work even better for you and your baby.
You may have heard or read of a concern that frontpack carriers are associated with spondylosis or hip dysplasia. However, this is mostly speculation with little in the way of medical evidence to back it up. Hip dysplasia, in particular, is now understood to be a congenital condition, and while holding a baby's legs in an extended position (such as in a tight swaddle with legs straightened) or prolonged use of any baby seat that allows the baby's legs to hang straight down might worsen the problem for an infant with a mild dysplasia, there is no evidence whatsoever that frontpack carriers cause hip dysplasia. (If your baby has been diagnosed with hip dysplasia, then we would recommend a different type of carrier; you have many choices and we can help you select one and learn to use it.)
Q. I read that slings aren't safe for babies under 4 months old! What should I use for wearing my newborn?
A. Babywearing is safe, for newborns as well as for older babies. Some consumer product safety organizations have suggested that "slings" should not be used for newborns because of a misunderstanding about what a "sling" is and how it should be used. The vast majority of ring slings, pouches (sometimes called pouch slings), wraps (sometimes called wraparound slings) and other baby carriers can easily be used to safely position a newborn. It's true that you should take extra care when wearing the tiniest of babies, especially a newborn who was born prematurely or at a low birth weight, or who for any other reason may be at a higher risk of breathing problems. That is because, as with infant carseats and other types of baby seats and hammocks, poor body positioning in a baby carrier can create a risk of suffocation. (On the other hand, keep in mind that the number of injury reports associated with all types of baby carriers is very, very low when compared to those associated with other categories of baby gear, such as strollers and cribs. And the use of slings can be particularly beneficial for preemies, when used as a tool to assist "kangaroo care," and for newborns, helping them to maintain a healthy body temperature, heart rate, and breathing pattern, and to feed well and gain weight. You can contact a VBE if you need more information on that subject.) For more information on how to ensure your baby is safely positioned, see the Other Resources page, and come to a meeting, where we'll be glad to help you develop the skills to keep your baby's head and back properly aligned in any type of carrier.
Q. What about strollers? I’m a little embarrassed to show up at a meeting with one.
A. Don’t fret! It’s true that some babywearers find they have little or no use for strollers. But other babywearers also use strollers quite a lot – and may even be every bit as fascinated with a variety of stroller brands and models as they are with different types of wraps! The same goes for “bucket” carseats, bouncer seats, play yards, and other baby gear. Babywearing can be an alternative to all of those things, or it can fit into a lifestyle that includes many other ways of holding, carrying, and containing a baby.
Q. What’s the best baby carrier?
A. There’s no such thing! The “best” baby carrier varies from person to person, from situation to situation, from one developmental stage to the next, and even from one baby to another. We’d love to help you sort out which choices will work best for you, but it’s impossible to cover that subject here.
Q. How can I decide what baby carrier to buy?
A. Join our Facebook group, come to our meetings, and we’ll be more than glad to help you out. But it’s a highly individual decision. Check out our Other Resources page for some articles that you may find helpful, including Babywearing International, Inc.'s brief guide to Choosing A Baby Carrier. A good place to start is this 2015 blog article by BWI-BA Advanced Babywearing Educator Jay McMillin, and this 2009 article (pdf) written by BWI-BA VBE Holly McCroskey Lewis, describing the uses, strengths and weaknesses of the most common types of carrier. (Some brand names and links in the older article are outdated but the general carrier type information is still good!)