Behold, the power of the faux Scandi. (Fandi?)

I have discovered mad, phat mei tai love. I've been wearing Jackson since he was a newborn. First I had a little sling, then I invested in an Ergo. Then I found pouch love with Hotslings (they're so awesome for tucking into your bag). Now Jack is really too heavy to wear comfortably with all the weight on one shoulder, and he's too tall for the Ergo's back panel.

Enter: Mei Tais. A met tai, or MT for short, is an Asian-inspired baby carrier. There is a waist strap that you tie on like an apron, then you put your baby on and tie shoulder straps on and wrap them around you & baby. Trust me, it sounds may more complicated than it is.

If you don't wear your baby, how do you get anything done? I pop Jack on my back and vacuum, mop, dust, do dishes, make lunch, you name it. Sometimes he has days where all he wants to do is be held, the MT is great for that. I can hold you all day, Baby, and get chores done. I put him on my back like a back pack when we're out shopping. He's happy with the elevated view over my shoulder and I'm happy because he's not trying to climb out of the cart, not trying to grab stuff off the shelves and not engaging in any other general mischief making.

You can get a basic MT online for $70 to $100 or so. I ordered one online and then said to myself, "Self, you can totally make that." What I wanted was a super nice, oversize, reversible Scandinavian MT though. The "Scandi's" as they are called in babywearing circles (yes, there are babywearing circles) are renowned for their comfort and ease of wearing due to their superior weight distribution. And, the one I wanted was about $300. I'm not Swedish, but I do shop at IKEA and I've had the meatballs there. I can make a Scandinavian mei tai!

And so a-shopping I went. I ordered fabric online. I grew impatient with waiting for it to come. So I went to JoAnn's. I raided their clearance section and found some really pretty stuff! It's costing me $10 to $25 per each to make my own mei tai's. I'm making a few, so I have a vast color assortment to choose from. I made this beige and coral one yesterday. It has embroidered corduroy straps, a cotton panel on one side (hot pink and coral madras plaid) and a silk floral embroidered panel on the reverse. I had to do dishes and make lunch, so I put Jackson on and went about my chores. About 10 minutes later, I felt a floppy head resting on my back so I went to the living room to untie the carrier onto the couch.

Ha ha! Take that, Mr. No Naps!


A shout out to the very talented oliviabolivia of The Babywearer for her clear and concise instructions on her blog, Christmas Eve Twins (which I totally bastardized to suit me, but she inspired me to do it!)