Babywearing 102: Wraps

Wraps are basically long pieces of fabric wrapped intricately around your body. The sight of 6 yards of cloth piled in your hands may at first be intimidating, but don't despair! With just a little practice you can master this superbly comfortable way of wearing your baby. First, practice wrapping and tying the cloth around your body. Once you've got that down pat, practice placing a stuffed animal or rolled up bath towel into the wrap. After you feel semi-comfortable doing that, place your baby into the wrap. While it is more difficult to learn than other ways of carrying your baby, it is well worth the effort! The Moby Wrap quickly became our favorite carrier and faithfully served as our go-to carrier for my baby's first 10 months of life outside the womb.

Wraps are unbelievably comfortable for both mama and baby. Baby's weight is evenly distributed across both of mama's shoulders and her back, giving mama hours of comfortable baby-wearing time. The fabric is more comfy than a favorite t-shirt and hugs mama and baby perfectly, regardless of size or shape. And wraps are also fantastic nursing covers. If mama is wearing the wrap (empty) and nursing her baby in her arms, the folds of the wrap naturally fall to cover baby's head and mama's entire chest area.

Wraps are especially beneficial for premature babies and babies with breastfeeding challenges. Both groups of babies need lots of skin-to-skin contact and "kangaroo care" is an easy way to provide that contact for long stretches of time (hands free). Mama takes off baby's clothes (except perhaps a diaper) and places baby into a wrap directly on her bare chest - the wrap covers mama's torso, so a casual observer would never suspect she was not wearing a shirt. Skin-to-skin touch regulates baby's heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones, and body temperature. Mama's chest temperature actually changes to meet her baby's needs, and research shows that kangaroo care is more effective at keeping baby warm than a traditional preemie incubator!

The downside to wraps is the time it takes to put them on. A mama can partially compensate for this by putting the wrap on when she first needs it and leaving it on throughout the day (whether or not baby is in the wrap).

For a comfortable fit and no back strain, baby's bum should hit at or just above mama's belly button. And baby's bum should always, always, always be lower than baby's knees. This protects baby's spine, genital area, and hip alignment.

Click here to watch a great video demonstating how to wrap a Moby Wrap around your body and place your baby in the wrap in the hug hold.

Click on the pictures below to see step-by-step instructions for each of these holds. Of course, this is just a sampling of the great variety of ways you can wear your baby in a wrap. Next on our agenda is figuring out the hike hold on my back.

Cradle Hold


Twin Cradle Hold


Newborn Hug Hold


Hug Hold


Lotus Hold


Sling Hold


Baby K'Tan
The Baby K'Tan is like a wrap without the wrapping. It takes only 5-7 seconds to put on, so is a great alternative to a sling for easy, around-the-house wear. Because baby's weight is distributed on mama's shoulders and back, it is also great for short jaunts out and about. However, it's not as comfortable as a regular wrap for long stretches of time.