Obimama

This is Wakoshi, Japan. A sleepy, working class city on the outskirts of Tokyo. Sleepy by Tokyo standards anyway. It's a concrete jungle without any flare. It's my home.

Mt. Fuji in the distance; a view from my apartment complex

We moved here with my 1 year old daughter in tow and soon after settling we welcomed a second child into our small family.

Before moving here I knew a good bit about babywearing, I had already been through a great deal of carriers and had a stash consisting of a "Kelty" external frame back pack for babies, a "Moby" stretchy wrap, an "Ergo" soft structured carrier with buckles, a "Comfy Joey" ring sling, a "Sprout" pouch sling and a striped "Storchenweige" woven wrap, and yet something was. . .lacking. . .with each one.

The stretchy wrap that I had was long and hot and often needed adjusting, and the woven wrap that I had was also hot and stiff, It was my very first and only woven wrap for my first baby and at the time I felt kind of like I was trying to use cardboard to carry her. (Now I regret selling it; however back then I became very frustrated whenever I tried to use it.) My slings were great at first, but hours of wear became diggy and uncomfortable, for both myself AND my kids once they got bigger. My slings were also not good  carriers for long family outings or adventures. I came to rely heavily on my Ergo but even the Ergo had things about it that I didn't like. For one thing, my husband was too broad shouldered for it, and so could not use it.  And whenever my daughter would lean back I got very nervous because the ergo has a short back when compared with other carriers. We often traveled with the Kelty because it was the only carrier that I had that we both could wear. However that was REALLY bulky and we got quite a few strange looks as we walked and rode to our various travel destinations within the cities, even so, we still felt it was preferable to using a stroller.

This picture may look cute, however, using the Kelty external frame carrier on train trips was a real hassle. We don't own a car so we rely on trains and buses.

Often times there was not much room for our gigantic Kelty back pack.
This would would make us very embarrassed sometimes.

Japan is a great place to use a baby carrier, most parents and grandparents use one, and it's quite crowded and narrow, so often times there is no room for a stroller, or "baby car" as it is more often called. However, here in Japan, a baby carrier is just a parenting tool and not a hobby. Yet I still got a lot of joy out of wearing my babies and I appreciated every carrier that I used despite each one's short comings or high learning curve. And I was always on the hunt of a new ways to experience babywearing. Once my second child was born I became quite the "churner" and was constantly selling carriers to fund new carriers, both here in Japan and overseas. Both my children are no strangers to babywearing, my son in particular has great deal of experience being worn in a diverse array of baby carriers.

My daughter wearing her favorite stuffed bunny "Usagi" in a child's Onbuhimo.
The Onbuhimo is one of Japan's cultural contributions to babywearing.

Long ago Japanese women developed a way to carry their babies using the obi (sash) of their Kimonos. It is a method that is still practiced today but it is rare to see in cities such as mine. However, one day I did see a mother at our local park carrying their baby this way and I instantly wanted to learn more! I started looking online for information about using an Obi to babywear and this is how I stumbled upon Obimama.

Obimamas are not sashes, they really have nothing to do with a Kimono other than the fact that both items are very beautiful. Please don't let this confuse you. Obimama was not what I was looking for when I started googling "Obi" and "babywearing", however it was just what I needed to find! When I first saw Obimama mei tais and ring slings I was instantly captivated by the beauty of these carriers. Then I realized that the strap design was unlike anything I had yet seen. The straps are a hybrid of padded mei tai straps and wide woven wraps. So these carriers are like a combination of a wrap and a soft structured carrier (back pack style carrier.)  I decided that I needed an Obimama and I purchased the featherweight design because it was summer. When I got my Obimama I didn't know what to expect; I was pretty sure I would enjoy the carrier but I didn't know that I would love it so much! First of all it was wayyyy less hot than my Ergo which quickly began accumulating dust once my Obimama showed up.

My featherweight Obimama. This is a reversible mei tai, and each side is beautiful. Best of all this design is both comfy and cool for summer weather!

Obimama Mei Tais fit a variety of parent sizes so my husband can wear it too! This allowed us to travel with much greater ease than before, and made us feel confident as babywearers also. These wrap straps are extremely versatile and can provide a much better fit in my opinion than an SSC. My baby felt more secure than before, and I also had many more options for carrying him. This helped us both be more comfortable for longer periods of time. The straps were easier for me to use compared with my woven wraps yet provided similar support. Before using the Obimama I had not been comfortable using woven wraps but because of the Obimama strap design, I am now much better with woven wraps.  I enjoy using both wraps and mei tais very much! A little too much in fact.

I wore this carrier every day that summer!

It's great to have hands free so you can carry your preschooler when needed!

The featherweight that I owned was stage 1 and sadly my son is very large and a toddler so I had sell that one (to a local mama! and size up to a stage 2. This time I went with a wrap conversion mei tai. When my eagerly awaited package arrived I knew that I would love it! And I was surprised again, because I adore it! I don't know how Obimama does it but the products get even better each year! These carriers are obviously made by knowledgeable seamstresses and designers, with a great deal of care and attention to detail. They are also gorgeous to look at!

"The art of wearing, wearable art"

 Now that I have this carrier I have slowed down considerably with my frantic churning of carriers, because now I have my ideal carrier, I am "stashified."

As I previously mentioned I had about 6 carriers for my daughter and of those I most often used the Kelty and the Ergo for her. With my son I have used a much larger variety of carriers. Below are some pictures of our adventures in babywearing. . .

Yes, my son did not like Girasol in wrap form that day.

 

. . .saving my best for last of course!

Obimama love. My dull city just got a little bit brighter!