Getting your baby onto your back for the first time with a woven wrap can be quite daunting! And part of that is there is simply so many methods for this. I have spent years not making videos on back carrying for precisely this reason - there are so many different methods and it is really personal! Different methods make sense to different people - there is no this one method is better.
So if you are looking to learn to back carry, or have tried it and struggling to master it, I hugely hugely recommend getting in touch with your local sling consultant and getting them to help flatten the learning curve for you and help you find the methods that do work for you. Or if you don't have a local consultant, I offer online consultations and this is something I can definitely teach via the magic of Zoom or WhatsApp video call. Or if you are local to me - I love teaching this face to face too!
But for those who want to learn on line, or at least give it ago... I have finally made a video. This video shows just one method for getting baby onto your back - the hip scoot method. The main pros of this method is that you get the wrap spread out over baby and baby nicely sat in the carrier with the legs supported in a wide squat before you bring them to your back. This can be really helpful if you struggle to "make a seat" on your back, or if you are worried about baby wiggling as you bring them round as we tighten the fabric so they feel securely held before you bring baby to your back. However, as I've said there are other methods! So if you try this and it doesn't work for you or feels a faff please don't be disheartened - get in touch, there will be other methods that do work.
I mainly chose this method in particular because it is one I have had a few clients prefer recently and I promised those clients I would make it as a reminder for them. It can be really hard to learn new carries from videos. It is hard to describe in a video how something should feel. And a video can't watch you and notice which part is tripping you up and suggest alternatives or explain that part in a different way as I would during a consultation. Instead videos work much better as a reminder or memory jog. So I share this mainly for those who I have already taught back carrries, but also as inpiration for anyone trying to learn online.
Hopefully it is helpful!
The wrap shown in this video is a size 6, which is a base sized (long) wrap for me. You'll notice I have lots of length left over at the end. A standard tied at the front Rucksack carry can be done with a base -2 (mid-length) wrap, which would be a size 4 for me. You can find more on wrap sizing here. And if you'd like to borrow a wrap to give this ago you can find wraps of many different lengths to hire here. Because this wrap is so long, I also show a knotless variation of tying - known as "tied Tibetan" (absolutely no idea why it is called this!) as a method of using up extra length and also making the shoulders of the wrap feel more comfortable.
Happy back carrying!
-Madeleine