I made a mei tai and I love it a lot.

Do you ever make something and wonder how you ever got along without it?  That's how I feel about my mei tai.  I use this thing probably at least twice a week these days.  I love wearing my little guy.  When he was teeny tiny I loved the moby wrap.  As he got bigger and heavier and the weather got hotter, I loved it less and less.  I feel the moby stretches too much with a bigger baby.  He got so heavy I felt like he ended up around my knees after wearing him a while and the wrap stretching.  And it gets so HOT!  Not fun in a super hot summer.  

After the moby got less and less comfortable, I made a simple sling out of some fabric I had laying around.  I loved the look of it.  It was easy to make.  I probably would have really loved it if I had made it before Daniel wanted to sit up and see what was happening in the world.  I followed this tutorial I found on pinterest.  It's been almost a year since I made it, but I vaguely remember it taking roughly an hour to do.  

I still keep it in Jason's car just in case Daniel is in the mood where he needs to be held and we need to stop by the grocery or something.  Even though I don't love this one, it is nice to have it available just in case.

The photo above is the first time Daniel was ever in the mei tai I made.  We really love this carrier. It's a simple design and I find it very comfortable to wear.  

If I'm by myself, the front carry is the easiest and most comfortable.  I can also get him into a hip carry by myself, but it spreads the weight to one side and my shoulder usually ends up pretty sore from carrying all of the little man's weight in the one place.  It is nice to put him on my hip if I need to use my hand and would like to keep his reach a little further away from what I'm working on.  The boy has monkey arms!

He really does love to be strapped to me.  

The fabric I used was an awesome striped denim somebody had given my mom.  It's so soft and breathes nicely.  It's sturdy.  And I think it has kind of a hippie aesthetic to it that I think suits it's purpose.  


We didn't even take a stroller on our Colorado vacation.  We brought my mei tai and a backpack carrier that is more comfortable for my husband and just carried him up every mountain we climbed. 

The back carry is the most comfortable for me to have him in, but it's the most difficult to get set up.  Daniel is so wiggly and I'm not confident enough to do it without somebody helping me make sure he isn't going to take a dive off my back onto the pavement, so I really only do it when I have a helper.  

I think Daniel likes this carry the best, too.  He can see out over my shoulder to look at what's happening in the world.  He can see what I'm doing from my angle, too, instead of having to crane his neck around to scope things out.  





































Works well as a teether, too.  Popped 2 new teeth on this trip!

The tutorial I used was from pinterest.  It calls for 2 1/4 yards of fabric.  I only had 2 yards of the denim, so my straps are a little shorter than ideal.  I'm not a huge person, so it works for me.  I also didn't have quite enough fabric to make the hood in the tutorial.  I do see the benefit of it (see photo above) and think sometimes it could come in handy.  

Babywearers, don't worry.  My tying has gotten much better and tighter and Daniel doesn't sag quite as much as in the photo above.  I'm now able to tie him on so his butt sits just right and we're all comfortable.

Also, Happy 30th birthday to my fabulous husband, Jason.  I love you!

-Jessica