Where to Find Continuum Family Around the World

I am often asked if we offer our CF line of EC-friendly baby clothing and accessories at wholesale. The short answer is "sorry, no". While I love the idea of having other small businesses support us in bringing our custom items to as many places around the world as possible, we have made a conscious decision to keep things small here at Continuum Family. For now at least, it suits us best to be a family-sustaining business. We have embraced the business practice of smallering, which means we plan to grow the business only as much as we want to grow it, running our business instead of letting it run us.

That being said, there are currently two companies, Dream Nappies in Japan and Windelmaus in Austria, that are carrying select CF items. Dream Nappies carries our prefold belts and T-shirt tunics/gowns and Windelmaus carries our tiny undies and pull up training pants.

 tiny undies order destined for Austria

While we will remain the exclusive distributor for our CF line in North America, we will review any requests for other international companies to carry our CF items on a case by case basis.

Beco Butterfly or Pikkolo?

Julie writes:

"Hi There! Just looking for a little advice... I have been trying to decide between the Beco and Pikkolo for some time now. A friend of mine has the Beco 4th generation and LOVES it. I have tried it a couple of times with my 21 lb. 6 month old son and found it pretty comfy- it didn't hurt my back at all which was awesome! However it did push the top of my pants down and I kept feeling like I should scoot my son's behind up so it stopped pulling down on my waistband. My son loved it- both times he fell asleep within about 10 minutes- and was totally content while I walked, talked, played with my niece. I am buying it for this summer as a convenient way to keep him close and get things done around the house and as we run errands, take day hikes, etc. As for the pikkolo- the reviews are fabulous. I was just unsure about the unpadded waistband- and I know you are supposed to wear it on your natural waist- which I would think dug in- and may not distribute the weight as well as your hips would?? Cool thing is it looks like the baby can see out better- but can they sleep or feel as secure because they aren't as supported? We are planning on having another baby in the not too distant future- so I'd like something that can last me for a couple years if possible. If you had to but only one- what would it be?... Thanks for your advice in advance!" Julie

Hi Julie,

Hmmm, a Beco or a Pikkolo? Really good question! :)

I loved the Beco 4th Generation too. As I'm sure you are aware, Beco has discontinued making it in favor of the Butterfly model, which is quite a bit different than the 4th Generation.

I know what you mean about the padded waistbelt pushing the top of your pants down. I also find this a minor annoyance of that feature, despite it making the carrier very comfy to wear for long periods. I too was skeptical about the unpadded waistbelt of the Pikkolo... until I tried it! I found it surprisingly comfortable. It didn't cut into me at all and the top of my pants stayed put! You do wear it a bit higher but I find that once my toddler is in it ends up settling right on top of my hipbones anyways, so it still distributes her weight evenly and properly. The body of the Beco and Pikkolo are about the same length, so baby will be equally supported in either.

The Butterfly takes a bit of getting used to, especially if you're not used to putting baby in the internal sling of the carrier first, then putting the carrier on. A nice thing about the internal sling though, is that baby is perfectly positioned in the carrier every time. The Butterfly is a great carrier for those new to doing a back carry, and makes it easy to do a back carry with a very young infant using the built-in infant insert. The internal sling also allows you to adjust the distance of baby from your body, totally separate from the shoulder strap adjustment. Wearing baby very close with the sling buckles tightened up, but keeping the shoulder straps fairly loose, makes it so that baby's weight sinks down and is supported by your hips, not your shoulders.

I really like the unique cinching mechanism in the body of the Pikkolo. Not only does that enable you to do ergonomic forward facing front carries (only with babies under 20 lbs though, otherwise it kills your back!), but smaller babies don't have to spread their legs as wide while riding. The Beco Butterfly achieves the same thing with their infant insert, which is narrower than the main body of the carrier. Oh, and you can do hip carries with the Pikkolo, but not with the Butterfly.

The Pikkolo has great memory foam shoulder straps which I found really conformed nicely to my body. The Butterfly has narrower, ergonomically curved shoulder straps which makes for a very nice fit and is especially great for narrow-shouldered wearers. The fabrics used in the Butterfly are softer quilter cottons and twills. They are gorgeous, unique and colorful designer prints. The Pikkolo fabrics are more neutral, subtle, heavier canvas-like fabrics that soften up great with washing and are ultimately probably more durable.

Also, you will be able to get a padded waistband sleeve for the Pikkolo as an accessory option that will attach to current models -- should be available in the next couple of months and will make that carrier even more versatile.

As for which one I'd personally choose? Hard to say - they're both great! I do reach for the Pikkolo more often at this point because my youngest is 2.5 and I find it too awkward to get her into the internal sling of the Butterfly. I'm also an experienced babywearer so don't like having to put her in the carrier first, I like to just quickly hoist her onto my back. But, if we were to have another baby, I think I'd lean towards the Butterfly as the fabric is softer and I like the idea of the built in infant insert to do early back carries.

Another important consideration for many when choosing a carrier is -- which one has the fabric/pattern you like best?

Hope this helps you some!

Waterproof vs. Non-Waterproof Training Pants

Koyuki writes:

"I am EC'ing my 3-month-old. Currently, I just use cloth diapers - a snappi'd prefold at home, and a prefold in a Bummis cover when outside. It's OK at home, but a little bit of a pain when out and about - taking it all off and putting it all on again. So I want to look into training pants, which I feel like would be easier. My main question - what's the advantage of a partly-but-not-fully waterproof pant like the Shi-Shi-Nix (perhaps worn with a wool or fleece cover) versus a fully waterproof pant like the Bongo Baby pullup...? Also, would something like the Shi-Shi-nix fit under a wool cover like Lanacare/Aristocrats/MamaBless?"

Hi Koyuki,

I definitely recommend moving to training pants when you're in the EC'ing groove, as they are infinitely more convenient to use (and less laundry to wash) than diapers. If you're still having poop misses, a side-snapping trainer is a good one to choose, but if you're down to only a few pee misses a pull up trainer is the ultimate in ease and trimness.

The advantage of a partly waterproof training pant such as the Shi Shi Nix, Eco Nix or Little Beetle Learner is that it will absorb a full pee without getting outside clothing wet (provided you change it right away) but it's still relatively easy to tell when you've had a miss because it will feel damp on the outside. This enables you to to keep in tune with your baby and communicate about misses promptly but not have to be wiping up puddles.

A fully waterproof training pant like the Pull Up Pocket Pants is useful when you want more protection for outside clothing in the case of not being able to change your baby right away, such as when you are out and about or during the night if you are not EC'ing at night. The wool or fleece trainer covers that I have designed are a very handy and economical way to add more protection to your stash of non-waterproof trainers, so you don't have to buy (as many) separate waterproof trainers. Also, many people do not like the PUL outer of many waterproof pants and prefer to use the more natural wool cover for the extra protection.

My trainer covers are cut lower in the rise and are trimmer than regular diaper covers. They will fit over many types of trainers, including Shi Shi Nix, Eco Nix, Little Beetle Learners, Papoose, Gerbers, Imse Vimse, Bright Bots and other trainers of similar cut. (Note: I will also soon have my own version of a bikini cut side snapping trainer similar to Poquito pants which will also fit under my covers. And, I am also currently working on designing my own version of a pull up pocket trainer since Bongo Baby is no longer wholesaling these).

You can certainly use a cover such as the LANACare, Aristocrat or MamaBless wrap over a trainer. We found with the LANACare (which I used before I thought to design a wool trainer cover) that we could size down when using over a trainer. It was still fairly long in the rise, but did the job nicely, if being somewhat overkill. It's a trimmer and softer cover than Aristocrat, which is why I carry it. Although the Mamabless wrap is beautiful and soft, I wouldn't recommend it for use over trainers because it is cut very large and is quite stretchy. It's really designed to be used over fairly bulky cloth diapers. Plus the wrap/tie design makes it a bit cumbersome to take on and off quickly for EC. I recommend it more as an overnight cover.

Hope this proves helpful!