We love a good contest...

And this contest has a good GREAT cause behind it, so we like it even more! 

You may have heard that baby wearing and baby carriers are under attack. The warning that the CPSC has put out against slings is making many parents scared to buy ANY type of carrier, no matter the brand, style, or good reviews. The Baby Carrier Industry Alliance (BCIA) is trying to change that!  

According to their website, 

"The Baby Carrier Industry Alliance exists to increase awareness of the value of quality baby carriers and to support those in the baby carrier industry. The BCIA was formed in 2010 as a 501(c)(6) corporation. As an alliance of industry leaders, the BCIA is organized to propagate standards across the industry, promote educational outreach, participate in research, and help small businesses comply with standards. We are passionate about babywearing and about the baby carrier industry."

And guess what? By helping the BCIA in their cause, you can win a FREE *custom edition* Butterfly 2! Here's how:

1.Share your baby wearing story on their site.

http://babycarrierindustryalliance.membe

rlodge.org/stories

2.Upload your baby wearing picture on their website and/or Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/BabyCarrierIndustryAlliance

3.Let us know what you learn from their website on this Discussion on our Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=337775342639&topic=14611

We can't wait to hear the responses! Contest ends October 31st.
EXTENDED through November 15th! 


**Note: to be entered in the contest, you MUST post on our Facebook discussion page! That is the only thing that "enters" you!**

Wearer of the Week, Andy

Another babywearing daddy! Read what Andy's wife, Nichole, says about their Beco Butterfly. 

These are a few pictures of my son, Anderson, hitching a ride with daddy, Andy, at the beach.  In these pictures, he was very close to walking, but not just yet.  He also was ready for a nap, so we strapped him in.  He enjoyed the ride, never fussed, and eventually fell asleep.  I melts my heart to see my husband carrying his little boy.  I got a nice break since I am pregnant with our daughter, Annabelle, due in late September.  These pictures are from Melbourne Beach, FL in mid April.  Enjoy!

We also would like to mention that the cover did great on keeping out blond haired boy from getting a burn!  :o)  Thank you for including that feature!

And the winner is....Beco!

Okay, so there was no real contest, but instead a small victory for me, your friendly Customer Service Rep {Katie}. 

At the beginning of October I went to my first ever La Leche League of Georgia Conference. I was so psyched to get to see tons of other moms and dads wearing their babies and breastfeeding. 
Each local group could set up a table to sell gently used and new items to make some money for our yearly expenses. This is our table! Notice the Beco on the left!

The best part was the presentation I was able to give on babywearing! 

I had an hour to tell all the parents in the room everything I knew about babywearing, plus give them some time to try the carriers on. Yikes! But don't forget, I wanted to be non-biased and present all the different types of carriers that they could use. I showed them ring slings, pouch slings, woven wraps, stretchy wraps, mei tais, buckle carriers and *finally*, soft structured carriers. I told them all about the advantages and disadvantages (if any) of each type of carrier, and also gave them some key safety tips. 
A close up of a hand-made "boob hat" on the head of one of my weighted demo dolls!

Finally, the time came for everyone to try on any carrier they wanted. Keep in mind that I hadn't told anyone my love for Beco and that I even worked for them. I wanted to keep that a secret! One by one, several moms (and dads) tried on different carriers. A few ring slings here, a mei tai there. But in the end, what did most of them choose? BECO! You guessed it. Not Ergo, not Babyhawk, not even the Action Baby Carrier or Pikkolo that was available. So many of them were most interested in the beautiful Beco Gemini and Butterfly. And I have to say, I don't blame them. ;-)
My wonderful husband holding our exhausted three-year-old. No, he didn't choose this mei tai- all my Becos were being used or were locked away! :-(

Wearer of the Week, John

We *LOVE* babywearing dads!! Here is what John's wife, Kim, writes about their Beco Butterfly:

Hello! I am sending along a photo of my husband, John and our 10 month old son, Wesley! We hike often and this picture was taken at Purgatory Chasm last month! My husband loves this carrier, he finds it easy to put on and take off our son, it's VERY comfortable, and adjusts easily! We have been using this for the past 10 months (since he was 3 days old!) and plan on getting another one when baby #4 comes in early Aug. We will both be carrying a baby on hikes! We have also had our 3 year old in this carrier, and still found it very comfortable! Thank you for such a great baby carrier!

Wearer of the Week, Marie

Thank you to Marie for sharing her story and pictures. If you have an entry just send it to me (with a picture or two!) to info at becobabycarrier dot com. 

My little peanut of a son is 7 months old now, weighing a whopping 11 lbs.  He was born 6 weeks early and I've been carrying him around in my Beco for 4 months now.  He loves going out for walks in the Beco, or just hanging out while I do things arond the house.  That was the first time I put him in a back carry all by myself.  At first, I was scared to drop him, but it was super easy (and super comfortable).

Wearer of the Week, Keri

We had some waist buckles from last year that seemed to become brittle when they were moved too quickly from warm to cool areas. Keri's waist buckle had been one of those so she contacted me for help. See what she has to say...

Dear Beco,

I received my Beco Butterfly last fall, before my son was born, as a baby shower gift. It is the best carrier we have -- Elliot loves watching the world from its safety....Thanks for your time, and for making such comfortable, baby-friendly carriers. 

As soon as I replied back to her she was so quick to say:

I really appreciate your prompt response and your willingness to replace the broken piece! It has been lovely dealing with you, and now I have yet another reason to recommend your carrier to everyone who compliments me on it. :)



And then we got to see her gorgeous son in their Ryan Beco Butterfly. Thanks for sharing, Keri! :)

If you have a story about your Beco or about our company, please send it to me with a picture (or two!) to info at becobabycarrier dot com. Thanks!

Is all publicity good publicity?

I'm sure you heard about the huge recall on Infantino's SlingRider and the Wendy Bellissimo Sling. If you have been a part of the babywearing community (or more specifically, a part of TheBabyWearer) for any amount of time you probably already knew how dangerous those "bag slings" really are. Note the date on that blog as two years ago, also. :-/

At any rate, when all this got on the news, I had a lot of people asking me,  "Was that recall talking about those things you use?" I explained so nicely that, no, Beco Baby Carriers (as well as just about any other type of carrier when used correctly) were not part of that recall.

So here's the question....is all publicity good publicity? Even though the recall was horribly awful (at least three infants died, other reports would say more) has it brought more good or bad to the babywearing community?