We’re Proud to Support New Zealand Babywearing Groups – Babywearing Wellington

During a visit to Wellington in December last year, my family and I enjoyed joining the end of year Babywearing Wellington meeting at the Rose Gardens.  I’ve been a supporter of the group since it’s inception back in 2010, inspired by New Zealand’s first dedicated babywearing group in Auckland, Slingbabies, which started in 2007.

Babywearing Wellington is run by a fabulous group of volunteers. Some of the faces have changed over the years but the level of support provided to the local community when it comes to babywearing has remained constant. The interest in babywearing has increased so much recently that the group now also has a monthly meeting in Petone in addition to the original monthly meeting at The Southern Cross on Abel Smith Street at the top of Cuba Street.

When the group was first forming back in 2010 I had the pleasure of meeting with one of the original group leaders Beth, and donated the very first carrier for the group’s lending library, a Kozy Carrier. Here’s a pic of Beth and I together the day I handed over the Kozy – Beth (on the left) put it to good use right away!

And so it was with equal pleasure that I donated a second Kozy Carrier for the group at the December meeting. Here’s another pic with Hester (left), the current sling library manager for the group:

If you’re in the Wellington area and would like to try out a Kozy Carrier mei tai then see if you can get along to a Babywearing Wellington Meeting. They next meet on Friday 7th February 2014 at The Southern Cross. In addition to the Kozy Carrier they also have examples of our other brands in their lending library too including 2 x manduca’s, a Storchenwiege woven wrap (4.6m), a Storchenwiege woven ring sling and a JPMBB hybrid stretchy wrap.

Before we left the meeting that day I got to meet a lovely lady (also called Helen!) who hired the Kozy Carrier I’d donated to the group back in 2010. So lovely to see it being put to good use!

I shall leave you with some other pictures that I snapped that day – some showing parents proudly wearing their manduca’s, and three shots where Hester was helping a new Mum learn to use a woven wrap.

Thanks for having us that day Hester and team!  Helen & family. xx

Olive Manduca & red fumbees

Ocean manduca with sleeping hood in use

Hester giving hands on help with a woven wrap.

Happy Mum & bubs!

To find out more about Babywearing Wellington:

• Visit their website: www.babywearingwellington.org.nz
• Visit their facebook page: www.facebook.com/babywearingwellington

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Father’s Day LimitedEdition Manduca giveaway – and the winner is . . .

Thank you to everyone who nominated deserving Dads in the Manduca RAOK giveaway for Father’s Day.  I loved reading through all the entries and wish I could give a Manduca to all the nominees.  To the nominees, what wonderfully thoughtful friends and family you have. So much love was shared on our Facebook page!!  Thanks to random.org a winner has been selected from all those nominated and the name that was drawn is Karyn and Kenny Jack who wrote:  “I would like to second Paula Andrew’s nomination”.  Thank you Karyn & Kenny Jack for enabling Paula’s nomination of her own father to become the manduca winner. Paula wrote:

“I’d like to nominate my dad. He cared for my children for one day a week of the days I had to go back to work since my eldest was 3months old. When she was one I became pregnant again and he didn’t even bat an eyelid at having two to look after. Then I became pregnant again when my 2nd child was one. My twin brother also was expecting his first child. My father was excited about having all four grandchildren to look after and trawled the internet for a new car to fit them all. Sadly he is unable to look after the kids by himself anymore due to being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. We have been contemplating putting a front pack on him in his wheelchair so he can hold the babies without fear of dropping them, however the one we have doesn’t fit him anymore”.

Paula please send a message through the My Natural Baby Facebook page with delivery details for your Dad’s new LImitedEdition HIghFive manduca. If he finds the waist band uncomfortable when sitting please let me know as I’ll be happy to help with a Kozy Carrier or a je porte mon bebe hybrid stretchy wrap as both would work comfortably for someone in a wheel chair. I’m so glad to be able to help your Dad enjoy snuggles with his grandchildren for as long as possible.

Helen xx

 

WIN a LimitedEdition HighFive manduca baby & kids carrier for a deserving Dad you know

This Sunday is Father’s Day in New Zealand and we’ve decided to run a random act of kindness (RAOK) giveaway like we did for Mother’s Day back in May.  YOU get to nominate a deserving Kiwi Dad you know to go into a random draw to win a lime LimitedEdition HighFive manduca baby & kids carrier (pictured above) plus a pair of matching fumbee shoulder strap protectors.

Manduca baby and kids carriers are made with natural fibres, are suitable for kids from NB – 4yr+, and are adjustable for most body types (there are several points of adjustment and the waist belt extends to a generous 1.5m!). The Manduca has been designed to support a child’s optimal spinal and hip development, holding them in orthapaedically correct positioning. Manduca baby and kids carriers and accessories are available in New Zealand from My Natural Baby and selected stockists.

To enter a deserving Kiwi Dad you know into the draw, head over to our My Natural Baby facebook page, like it if you haven’t already, then leave a comment under the image of the Manduca HighFive RAOK image that’s pinned near the top of the page. In your comment please mention why the Dad you’re nominating is perfectly suited to receive this random act of kindness. Dads – you can nominate yourselves too!  The prize can only be shipped within New Zealand.

For an extra entry in the draw, leave a comment here on our blog under this post with the name of the Dad you’re nominating (so I can match up the entries with those on the Facebook page) and list three things you like about the manduca baby & kids carrier.

A winner will be chosen randomly from those nominated at 8pm on Father’s Day – Sunday 1st September 2013, and their name announced here on our blog.

Have fun with your nominations – I’m looking forward to hearing about all the great Kiwi Dads out there and finding out who the lucky winner of the LimitedEdition HighFive manduca will be!

Helen xx

 

Group ‘pat on the back’ for our babywearing group volunteers

Thanks to everyone who participated in our group pat on the back for the babywearing group volunteers throughout New Zealand. The groups are managed by teams of volunteers who are also experienced at carrying their babies, toddlers and sometimes older children in a variety of baby carriers and slings. I enjoyed reading about the experiences you’ve had while attending meetings and events organised by your local babywearing groups. I attended my first babywearing meeting back in 2006 when I went along to the then very new Slingbabies group in Auckland for help with a ring sling I’d won in a competition. Group founder Jessica Richards was a wonderful help to our family and I’ve been so pleased to have been able to give back to the Slingbabies group over the years by donating baby carriers to their sling library and helping out at group meetings when I’ve been able to attend. As more groups started forming around the country I’ve been pleased to help them with donated carriers too. In 2011 I helped form a new group on Auckland’s North Shore, and last year set up three new groups in Whangarei, Keri Keri and Rotorua, although the latter three groups are on hold for the time being while I attend to my older son’s needs and support him through his cancer treatment along with the usual grind of home and business!

So now I am excited to once again provide a giveaway to a lucky participant in our pat on the back event. The winner may choose a Manduca LimitedEdition HighFive of their choice from the two colours pictured above – royal or lime.  The manduca LimitedEdition carriers are made from 100% organic cotton, are suitable for children from 3.5kg – 20kg and can be used for front, hip and back carries. The winner, drawn randomly from all participants, is Paul John Scott who shared about his experience with the Waikato Baby Carriers group. He wrote:

“I am really grateful to Waikato Baby Carriers for letting me ask all the dumb questions! Always felt welcome and supported.”

Paul please get in touch by messaging me through the My Natural Baby Facebook page and let me know which colour of LimitedEdition HighFive manduca you would like!

Congratulations also to Claire and Kerry who founded and run the Waikato Baby Carriers group. I’ll be in touch to find out which type of carrier you’d like from our range to add to the group’s sling library.

 

Happy Babywearing everyone!

Helen xx

 

Win a LimitedEdition HighFive Manduca for you, and a carrier for your local babywearing group!

Back in June was National Volunteer Week. I had meant to have this giveaway up during that week, but family commitments took priority in the end, and so I’m playing catch up now. I can’t dangle a carrot and then not follow through! And there are some wonderful volunteers I’d like you to help me acknowledge.

Throughout New Zealand there are babywearing groups, managed by teams of volunteers who are also experienced at carrying their babies, toddlers and sometimes older children in a variety of baby carriers and slings. I invite you to join me in a ‘group pat on the back’ for our babywearing group volunteers who do a fine job of passing on their skills, encouraging parents and providing places of friendship and support.  If you have received help from your local babywearing group I’d love to hear about it. So here is how this giveaway is going to go:

One lucky giveaway participant is going to win the Manduca LimitedEdition HighFive of their choice from the two colours pictured above – royal or lime.  The manduca LimitedEdition carriers are made from 100% organic cotton, are suitable for children from 3.5kg – 20kg and can be used for front, hip and back carries. To enter, all you need to do is to share your experience on our Facebook page between Thursday 8 August and Wednesday 14 August, by leaving a comment under the relevant question posted there, and tagging your local babywearing group’s facebook page. Tagging their page will help raise awareness of the groups to our other facebook page members, and it will also allow your local babywearing group volunteers to easily read your experiences and feedback, and hopefully give them some warm fuzzies.

The post to look for on our facebook page from 9am tomorrow (Thursday 8th August) is:

“Have you received positive babywearing help and support from your local babywearing group? Please share your experience and tag your local babywearing group’s facebook page in your comment to give the group volunteers a virtual pat on the back!”

A winner will be selected randomly and announced here on our blog on Saturday 17th August 2013.

Your local babywearing group that you tagged in your facebook comment will then be contacted by me and invited to select a baby carrier from our range to be added to their group sling library! They may choose a carrier from one of the following ranges: manduca, Storchenwiege, Kozy Carrier and je porte mon bebe.

Good luck and thanks for joining in the ‘group pat on the back’ for our babywearing group volunteers.

Helen xx

 

Two Surprise Giveaways . . . sharing the manduca love

The following two surprise giveaways follow on from the Mother’s Day Random Act of Kindness giveaway we did where so many people nominated deserving Mums they know to go in the draw to win one of the new manduca LimitedEdition HighFive carriers.  All the nominees were very deserving and just one lucky Mum was drawn to receive that LE HighFive.

Two nominees stories stuck a chord as they are both living through extreme challenges with their children right now.  Both these nominees carry the responsibility of caring for children who have life-threatening diseases.  Being a Mum of such a child myself, my heart goes out to them. Our family have been blessed so much by the kindness of others since my 6yo son’s leukaemia diagnosis at the end of January this year, so these two surprise giveaways are what many would call ‘paying it forward’ I guess.  Continuing the chain of kindness and concern for others.

The two nominees are:

1. Harley Lass

Harley has a 2yo child with a condition called Immune Complement Deficiency which means her immunity is compromised. This means that activities that most people take for granted put Harley’s child at risk for serious illness.  Bacteria and viruses that, for someone with a fully functioning immune system, would cause mild illnesses, are life-threatening for someone with a compromised immune system – think hospital admissions, IV antibiotics, isolation and sometimes worse. My own child has suppressed immunity due to the chemotherapy that he is on so I know first hand how challenging and sometimes restricting it can be to keep an immunocompromised child safe.  Being able to have her daughter close in a manduca will help reduce exposure to bacteria and viruses.

2. Paula Baigent

Paula’s son Mostyn, a previously active two year old, was diagnosed in December 2012 with Anti N-methyl D Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis. Since diagnosis Mostyn has been inpatient at Starship Children’s Hospital while his parents do their best to juggle supporting him with the needs of their other three children (two older and one younger than Mostyn) in the family home in Whangarei. Having spent inpatient time with my son at Starship Hospital, and having met families there from out of town, I feel so lucky to have Starship right on our doorstep. It’s one of the many silver linings I’ve found since my son’s leukaemia diagnosis. I really feel for families from out of town and the extra stress of extended seperations from family members and familiar routines.  You can follow Mostyn’s story on his facebook page: Mostyn’s Journey.

Harley and Paula, please send me a message via the My Natural Baby Facebook page and I’ll arrange a NewStyle Manduca for each of you in your preferred colour – choose from black, chocolate, red, ocean, sand, olive or navy.

Best wishes to you both as you continue to battle for the health of your precious children. What you live through each day goes above and beyond what a mother and family should have to endure. Much love from our family to yours.

Helen xx

 

LimitedEdition HighFive Manduca Giveaway – and the winner is . . .

Thank you to everyone who nominated deserving Mums in the Manduca RAOK giveaway for Mother’s Day.  I loved reading through all the entries and wish I could give a Manduca to all the nominees.  To the nominees, what wonderfully thoughtful friends and family you have. So much love was shared on our Facebook page!!  Thanks to random.org a winner has been selected from all those nominated and the name that was drawn is Cathy White!  Congratulations Cathy.

Cathy received many nominations and the nomination that was drawn was from Cathy’s friend Tracie Frandi who wrote:

“I would like to nominate the lovely Cathy White too – She is one of the most amazing and caring mummas I know, with such a huge heart. Totally deserving of such an awesome prize. I know her lil diamond would love to be snuggled in such an awesome carrier.”

Cathy please send a message through the My Natural Baby Facebook page and let me know which colour HighFive manduca you’d like – grey, royal or lime.

But wait! There’s more! There will be more giveaway news announced here on the blog tomorrow night in support of two families who are living with the extreme challenge and responsibility of life with children who have life-threatening diseases right now. Being a Mum of such a child myself, my heart goes out to them. Our family have been blessed so much by the kindness of others since my 6yo son’s leukaemia diagnosis at the end of January this year, so this is part of the ‘paying it forward’ process in my book! More news on this tomorrow xx

Manduca baby and kid carriers and accessories are available in New Zealand from My Natural Baby and selected stockists nationwide.

Sharing the babywearing love!

Helen xx