Beco Gemini Release!

As of today, the long-awaited and much-anticipated Beco Gemini baby carrier has finally been released to the public!

If you haven't yet heard of it, the Beco Gemini is Beco's newest baby carrier design. It's a 4-in-1 baby carrier that will allow you to carry your baby comfortable in the front (facing in or out), back and hip.

The Gemini has a few key differences to the Beco Butterfly. Most notably, the Gemini does not have an internal harness, which is one of the key features of the Butterfly. This will appeal to fans of the Beco 4th Generation (retired in 2008) and more experienced babywearers and will also allow for easier nursing in the carrier. A unique design feature of the Gemini is that its base adjusts narrower through snaps to accommodate smaller babies or to allow for an ergonomic forward-facing front carry.

Mainstream babywearers unfortunately often turn to crotch dangling, front facing out carriers like the Baby Bjorn, mostly because they don't know there are better options out there. But now that the Gemini has arrived, there will be no excuse! To those that say the front facing out carry is overstimulating, ergonomically dangerous and/or uncomfortable for the baby, I agree that in general it is best to wear your baby facing in to your body. But some babies do seem to prefer facing outwards at least some of the time. So if you do it, please make sure you do it in a carrier that supports your baby properly (such as the Gemini or Pikkolo, but NOT the Baby Bjorn), pay attention to your baby's cues and turn him back inwards when he shows signs of overstimulation (neck turning, hands coming up to the face, fussing).

Other differences? The Gemini does not include a removeable hood like the Butterfly, but it has a padded headrest that can flip up if need be for support, and which will make the body of the carrier longer to accommodate toddlers. With the Gemini, there is also the option of crossing the shoulder straps in the front carry, to distribute baby's weight more comfortably than in backpack style. This option also facilitates using the Gemini to do a hip carry. The Gemini is a lighter-weight carrier, weight tested to 35 lbs as opposed to the 45 lbs of the Butterfly, but 35 lbs will still take you well into toddlerhood.

Sound good? Our shipment of Beco Geminis will be on its way to us very soon, and you can pre-order yours today! We also have a layaway option available.

Happy Babywearing! <3

EC Essential -- The Tunic!

Even though I have 3 weeks of sewing orders in the queue, I took a half hour today and whipped up a tunic for Malcolm out of some lovely camel colored wool jersey that I just got in:

For an almost-11-month-old who's now walking (aacck!!), this is a really handy piece of clothing. It's long enough to keep him warm with only trainers underneath (and he would be discreetly covered if he was nakey butt) but it's not so long as to get in his way when he's crawling or sitting on the potty. And, add a pair of matching wool pants (not yet sewn) and we're ready to go out and about.

In addition to the tunic length, I also make these as a regular shirt length (4" shorter) and a gown length (6" longer), in either long or short sleeve. They are currently available in both cotton and bamboo, and I will be getting more wool jersey colors in a couple of weeks.

EC Gift from Japan

I was touched and absolutely thrilled to receive this gift in the mail the other day:


It was from three of my Japanese customers -- a ceramic chamber pot and lid. In case you can't read the card, it says:

Dear Deirdre,

Hi. We hope you and your baby Malcolm are spending the sweet and intimate time! This chamber pot is a gift from the three of us. We find it extremely helpful in ECing baby boys :). Good luck!
Sincerely yours,
Keiko, Chiharu and Maiko from Japan
P.S. We love your hand-sewn baby gears. Thank you always.

I am really loving this pot! It is perfect for nighttime pottying. It is so much more stable than the plastic ones (no worry about spilling the potty contents all over the bed in the dark) but it's not that heavy. And, it is perfect for pottying a boy because it is deep enough that I can lower his bum right down inside without touching bottom and he doesn't pee over the top! :)

I will definitely be getting some of these for my store in the near future. They will be a great alternative to the plastic potty.

New Beco Butterfly II Model Released!

We are excited to announce the release of the Beco Baby Carrier Butterfly II! This new model has the same great features as the current Butterfly carrier, plus several brand new features resulting from Beco design efforts and customer feedback.

Main new features:

• Removeable infant insert is adjustable in size (recommended for infants 7-15 lbs)
• Removeable head rest (hood) -- design changed from a square to a more complex shape with flexible sides which attaches to the body with resin snaps in a faux pocket. Hood/shoulder straps also attach with snaps.
• Webbing part of the shoulder strap is the same length as the current Butterfly; fabric part is 2" longer
• New retail packaging, DVD and printed instructions
• Butterfly 2 is proudly produced exclusively in the USA

Fabrics available for the Fall 08 season are:

• Avery
• Carnival
• Espresso
• Jacob
• Metro Black
• River
• Sara
• Trinity

We will have our first shipment in mid-October - they are available for pre-order now!