Babywearing International of Southern Maryland

​Two Saturdays ago, I made my way to the Edgewater Community Library in Edgewater, MD to attend a Babywearing International of Southern Maryland meeting. BWI of SoMD has various meeting times and locations, which you can check out on their “Free Meetings” page. The one at the Edgewater Library is usually held on the 3rd Saturday of the month at 9:30am (but double check their calendar before you head over).

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The four volunteers at BWI of SoMD were (from left to right):

• Kristi Little, Chapter Support Volunteer
• Libby Beer, Advanced Babywearing Educator
• Aimee Bark, Volunteer Babywearing Educator
• Jami Funk-Wilbanks, Volunteer Babywearing Educator

These volunteers were very knowledgeable of the many different types of baby carriers out there and helpful in finding the right fit for every parent that came in. They even gave prenatal advice to help parents-to-be! Libby took time to answer my questions and show me how to use a Meh Dai, a woven wrap, and a ring sling.

​Anyone who is interested in learning about babywearing and baby carriers is welcome to attend for free. BWI also offers a membership ($30/year) that allows parents to check out and borrow any carrier for one month at a time. This is a wonderful resource because as infants grow, their baby carrier needs change, so instead of investing a lot of money in a carrier that you may not need or use later, you can try on and check out one of their carriers. This particular chapter of BWI had 2 overflowing suitcases worth of carriers so there are plenty of options to choose from!
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Babywearing International was founded in 2008 and has since grown to over 85 chapters throughout the United States. Their mission is “to promote babywearing as a universally accepted practice, with benefits for both child and caregiver, through education and support.” (1) Benefits to babywearing include: happy and healthy babies, bonding between parents/caregivers and babies, and comfort and convenience. There are lots of different carriers and BWI volunteers want to help teach parents about their different uses to maximize the benefits for parent and baby.
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To find your local chapter, check out https://babywearinginternational.org/chapters/.

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