CarryMeToo

Okay so I have been searching for the perfect baby carrier for a LONG time. I have researched for a LONG time, and for a LONG time I was without my perfect baby carrier. Then I discovered baby wearing. I knew this was for me. Leah loves to be held and I don't always like taking a stroller wherever I go. For convenience, I wanted something lightweight where I could be totally hands free, easy to fold up, washable, not an overwhelming amount of fabric (I don't want me and Leah to sweat to death!) it had to have no clips or rings (no pinching!), and I wanted to be able to wear it hip, front, or back AND I wanted it had to go from newborn to toddler AND it had to be super cute! I know . . . . . . . . . . I am demanding.

As the search continued I found something similar to the mei tai sling that I thought was great, but then I looked at the price. OUCH $130 dollars. No way man, I want quality for sure, but I knew I could find something for less.

I got to thinking, I should design and make my own baby carrier. So I researched online about baby wearing. I did more research on weight and measurements. Then the fun part came . . . . FABRICS! It took me a few weeks but with the help of Chelsea Coburn (my awesome sister-in-law) we gathered all the best parts of my research and designed the perfect baby carrier. And here is the best part - we made the design totally reversible! So one carrier is really like having 2 totally cute and comfy carriers! Then we sewed it together with sturdy cotton canvas and had the perfect carrier.

After we were done sewing Chlesea looked at me and said,"Carissa, you should sell these." And I replied,"NO. WE SHOULD SELL THESE!"

And we have started. We are at the beginning of a small business here folks so we started a blog and with just a few sales we will have our website up! We already bought our web domain! Please give a warm welcome to CarryMeToo.

Our blog is www.carrymetoo.blogspot.com Please visit and feel free to email us with any question, and especially if you are interested in buying one! All of our standard, and by standard we mean totally cute and reversible, carriers are $65 dollars. If you want custom fabric, longer than average straps, or extra shoulder padding (there already is shoulder padding in every carrier) than you just add 5$ for each. But I must say, the standard CarryMeToo fits the average person (XS S M L) If you are taller or you think you got more to love and you want longer straps, we would be happy to do that for ya.

We really are very excited about these. Our kids love them. We have made some for friends already and their kids love them too! They hold 5lbs, to 35 lbs. There are different ways to carry a newborn infant compared to a toddler. But you always have more than one option. Most of our CarryMeToo's are made from cotton canvas. They are washable and easy to tie. They also stay tied since they are made from a thicker textured cotton, and they also won't knot up into a knot you can't get undone. They are lightweight and easily folded. I keep mine in my purse! They are super cute and it is easy to learn how to use them. Please, if you are looking for a great carrier, look no further. We sew and check every stitch for safety and are positive anyone with a CarryMeToo will be pleased!

So go check out our blog! We will be updating it with more pictures as much as we can. Does anyone want to volunteer to model? Until we have our website up our orders can be done through PayPal and we have drafted up directions (with pictures!) to send with the carriers for ya. But they are so easy! If you do have any questions or want more info just email me at: carissa@carrymetoo.com and I will respond promptly I promise. In the meantime feel free to read up on baby wearing!

Here are some links:
Increased carrying reduces infant crying The original study by Hunziker and Barr (1986) (at portareipiccoli.com) is widely quoted and discovered an average reduction of 51% in crying and fussing during the evening hours, when babies were carried an extra 2 hours daily.

• Does infant carrying promote attachment? The answer is "yes" according to this landmark study by Anisfeld, Casper, Nozyce and Cunningham (1990) which found that babies who are carried, are more likely to be securely attached to their caregiver. (Abstract only, at PubMed).
• The Origins of Human Love and Violence (1996) on the correlation between carrying babies and peaceful societies (among other things) by James Prescott (at violence.de). (2 shorter and perhaps more accessible articles by Prescott on the same topic are Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence (1975) (at violence.de) and The Origins of Love and Violence (2002) (at touchthefuture.org)).
• Emotional Learning in Children by Michael Commons and Patrice Miller. (This is a pdf version and includes interviews with Commons and newspaper articles about the report, at tiac.net.) HTML version is just the article (at naturalchild.com).
• Does a baby in a babycarrier get enough air? The answer is "yes" according to research conducted by Dr Waltraud Stening et al. of the University of Cologne (Köln, Germany). Babies carried vertically and horizontally in a wraparound carrier were compared with babies lying down in a pram. (Abstract only, at pediatrics.aappublications.org.)
• Skin to Skin contact (Kangaroo Care) can make the world of difference for premature babies and their parents. KC is now also being recommended for full-term babies. Krisanne Larimer's page includes lots of links (at geocities.com/roopage).

Here is Leah and me in our very first CarryMeToo.