Formspring

Hey, made a formspring page. Ask me anything! Be nice!

http://www.formspring.me/wallypop

What we’re working on here

This week? Wool Wraps in Forest Green and Bright Pink.

Next week is Fleece Wraps in the same Army and Navy colors I’ve had for a while, plus Raspberry and Blueberry, and LAVA.

The week after that, I’ll be working on MTOs.

March will bring Mama Pads, Snack Bags, and Mesh Produce Bags

April is kind of far away, but I’m tentatively planning to do Basic Covers and All in Ones finally. Let’s all note that I’ve said that for about a year now, lol.

Also, advance notice: I’ll be closed for a few weeks in March and June, and a week or so in July.

Handling Unwanted Advice

This is reprinted with permission.

Handling Unwanted Advice

By Elizabeth Pantley, Author of Gentle Baby Care

“Help! I’m getting so frustrated with the endless stream of advice I get from my mother-in-law and brother! No matter what I do, I’m doing it wrong. I love them both, but how do I get them to stop dispensing all this unwanted advice?”

Just as your baby is an important part of your life, he is also important to others. People who care about your baby are bonded to you and your child in a special way that invites their counsel. Knowing this may give you a reason to handle the interference gently, in a way that leaves everyone’s feelings intact.

Regardless of the advice, it is your baby, and in the end, you will raise your child the way that you think best. So it’s rarely worth creating a war over a well-meaning person’s comments. You can respond to unwanted advice in a variety of ways:

Listen first

It’s natural to be defensive if you feel that someone is judging you; but chances are you are not being criticized; rather, the other person is sharing what they feel to be valuable insight. Try to listen – you may just learn something valuable.

Disregard

If you know that there is no convincing the other person to change her mind, simply smile, nod, and make a non-committal response, such as, “Interesting!” Then go about your own business…your way.

Agree

You might find one part of the advice that you agree with. If you can, provide wholehearted agreement on that topic.

Pick your battles

If your mother-in-law insists that Baby wear a hat on your walk to the park, go ahead and pop one on his head. This won’t have any long-term effects except that of placating her. However, don’t capitulate on issues that are important to you or the health or well-being of your child.

Steer clear of the topic

If your brother is pressuring you to let your baby cry to sleep, but you would never do that, then don’t complain to him about your baby getting you up five times the night before. If he brings up the topic, then distraction is definitely in order, such as, “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

Educate yourself

Knowledge is power; protect yourself and your sanity by reading up on your parenting choices. Rely on the confidence that you are doing your best for your baby.

Educate the other person

If your “teacher” is imparting information that you know to be outdated or wrong, share what you’ve learned on the topic. You may be able to open the other person’s mind. Refer to a study, book, or report that you have read.

Quote a doctor

Many people accept a point of view if a professional has validated it. If your own pediatrician agrees with your position, say, “My doctor said to wait until she’s at least six months before starting solids.” If your own doctor doesn’t back your view on that issue, then refer to another doctor – perhaps the author of a baby care book.

Be vague

You can avoid confrontation with an elusive response. For example, if your sister asks if you’ve started potty training yet (but you are many months away from even starting the process), you can answer with, “We’re moving in that direction.”

Ask for advice!

Your friendly counselor is possibly an expert on a few issues that you can agree on. Search out these points and invite guidance. She’ll be happy that she is helping you, and you’ll be happy you have a way to avoid a showdown about topics that you don’t agree on.

Memorize a standard response

Here’s a comment that can be said in response to almost any piece of advice: “This may not be the right way for you, but it’s the right way for me.”

Be honest

Try being honest about your feelings. Pick a time free of distractions and choose your words carefully, such as, “I know how much you love Harry, and I’m glad you spend so much time with him. I know you think you’re helping me when you give me advice about this, but I’m comfortable with my own approach, and I’d really appreciate if you’d understand that.”

Find a mediator

If the situation is putting a strain on your relationship with the advice-giver, you may want to ask another person to step in for you.

Search out like-minded friends

Join a support group or on-line club with people who share your parenting philosophies. Talking with others who are raising their babies in a way that is similar to your own can give you the strength to face people who don’t understand your viewpoints.

This article is an excerpt from Gentle Baby Care by Elizabeth Pantley. (McGraw-Hill, 2003)

Gorgeous, abandoned custom ring sling available

The ring sling discussed in this previous post has been abandoned by the local customer who had me make it. It’s completely gorgeous. It’s the green linen pictured above, then finished with aluminum rings, per the customer’s request. The aluminum rings are a bit smaller than the resin ones I would have preferred to use for this fabric, so they’re a little tighter.

If you’re interested in this sling, please let me know. I will throw in free shipping, and prefer to sell it to someone out of state. It’s a complete steal, and being sold at a loss, for $35.

(NOTE: My usual policy is to require upfront, nonrefundable payment for completely custom items like this, because they’re not easy to resell. Particularly in this case, the dyeing took a while, and was completed while Genna was a newborn and we were all adjusting to life with a new baby. Sometimes, I make exceptions to my policies for local customers, but have been forced to stop doing so. I really, truly regret that this is so, but I am a very small business, and I try to keep the prices for even my custom items reasonable. It doesn’t leave a whole lot of profit margin, to make up for the time, expense, and materials lost when a custom item like this is abandoned after over a year of promising to pay for it “next time.”)

New Fabric

I have received new fleece (bright red!) and new wool (A really gorgeous brown and a bright pink) and will be restocking as soon as I can! I was pretty disappointed because I also ordered rust wool, and as it turns out, they were all out! Oh, well.

All About… Mei Tai Carriers

Mei Tai Carriers.

Of all my carriers, I think the Mei Tai is my favorite. (I really love wraps, but the MT is a bit more portable and is probably my favorite all-around.)

A bit about MT Carriers in General

MT carriers are a great all-around carrier. Two shoulder straps distribute baby’s weight evenly, which is a blessing for the wearer’s back. The two-knot design is quick and easy to put on. And the carrier is simple enough to still be quite versatile – there are several ways to tie the carrier on depending on what you’re going for. I love the MT for the high back carry, and how easy and fast it is to throw a baby on my back.

Some would consider it a drawback that baby can only ride in a few positions – sitting facing in, sitting on the hip, or riding on the back. I know a lot of parents want to be able to wear their babies facing out. I will admit that I don’t understand why. Some MT manufacturers have attempted to address this desire by devising all manner of ways to bunch the carrier up in the front to allow baby to sit facing forward, but a MT really just wasn’t designed for this.

And there are several reasons why you would not want to face baby out anyway. (It stresses babies out. The legs-dangling position is harmful to baby’s spine.) (That said, if you want to wear a baby facing out with their legs hanging outside of the carrier, try a wrap. If you want to wear a baby facing out with their legs tucked in, try a pouch or ring sling. I do have several customers who wear their babies facing out with legs tucked in using the MT, as well.)

A bit about safety

Are MT carriers safe? Of course, the answer is yes. I wouldn’t sell you something that I thought was unsafe.

When wearing a newborn, (yes! you can!), make sure to tie the shoulder straps behind baby’s back to keep their torso upright and not slouching over. (Note: this carrier pictured here is my uber-compact, keep it in the diaper bag, use in emergencies, MT carrier, that’s why the body is so small and the straps so narrow.) This way of tying the straps helps provide baby’s little back with the support it needs.

With ANY MT, make sure that it’s sewn together well. Check the seams before use. Fabric can wear out pretty quickly, particularly in the washing machine, so taking a few seconds to make sure everything’s holding up well should be part of your babywearing routine.

At Wallypop, we use long-wearing fabrics – high-quality cotton prints are paired with hard-working twills and denims. We use the longest-wearing fabrics we can find to keep your baby safe and to provide you with a good value for your money.

We sew our carriers carefully and thoughtfully. I typically do not use a “panel” design (where the front of the carrier is made of several panels and looks like a quilt block) because each seam is a potential weak spot in the carrier. Fewer seams = more safety. We reinforce all of our seams – topstitching around the perimeter of the carrier to give those seams extra support, and we sew down the straps in several places, ensuring that they will never pull loose.

We also don’t use just gobs of thread to hold the straps in place. I’ve seen some carriers that are sewn all around with a really wide, really closely-spaced zig-zag stitch, which I guess looks safer? The problem with this is that each needle hole is a potential tear spot. Fabric is stronger than thread, so when we’re looking for something sturdy, we’re looking for something with more fabric and fewer needle holes!

Now about Wallypop MT carriers

As mentioned above, we use hard-wearing fabrics in our MT carriers. I try to pick out a wide variety of fun prints for the MTs. I can use cotton prints, bottomweight fabrics, or decorator fabrics. I also occasionally use lighter-weight fancy fabrics (silk, etc) as a decorative outer layer. And, one of my favorite things to use – old T-shirts!

The straps are always a coordinating twill or denim. Twill and denim are long-wearing, sturdy fabrics that won’t fold, unduly twist, or wad up. They’re comfortable without being really heavy.

Our straps are unpadded. In our experience, most wearers are quite comfortable with unpadded straps, once they try them. (there’s a strong bias towards thinking you NEED padding, which you don’t.) The unpadded straps are also markedly less bulky! We do offer padded straps as an option on Made to Order MT carriers, which are just a smidge more expensive than ordering one instock.

We sew our waist straps on straight, and the shoulder straps at an angle coming out of the body. There are millions (ok, maybe 5) ways of sewing on straps, and when I was playing around with designs when I was pregnant and when Wally was a newborn, I settled on this one. I just like it. That’s all. I could never get carriers made with angled waist straps to sit right, and found that the angle I use on the shoulder straps is just the right balance between keeping the top of the carrier snug, and leaving room for the baby.

Our straps are pretty long, and will be perfect for most wearers. We do recommend chatting with us before purchasing your carrier if you have any concerns about fit – I can always make longer straps for you! I can also shorten straps of instock carriers if you’re really small.

The body of our MT carriers is roomy, without being too overwhelming. It can seem like a lot of carrier when you’re toting around a 6 lb newborn, but we recommend rolling the carrier at the waist to shorten the body when wearing a small baby – that’ll solve the roominess problem.

Somebody Asked…. about adding a product

Every month, I receive at least three – sometimes more – emails with new product ideas. I love it!!

Seriously. I love getting these emails, because it helps me understand what you – my customers and potential customers – are looking for. Also, they’re very encouraging on a personal level, because there’s an inherent “I want to buy more from you” tone to these types of emails.

But I also want to be clear about something – I won’t be able to start offering all of these wonderful product ideas. It’s simply not that simple.

The main factor in whether I can add a new product is whether I can handle the additional workload. I need to keep a basic stock level of any product I offer. Unlike many stores, which merely purchase and resell items made in factories, Wallypop items are 100% mama made. (We do have a few resale items like Proraps, Wrapsody wraps, and Prefolds) And I’m the mama. I have a few hired sewists who help out with certain products, but most of the items are made by me.

Inventory is a continual struggle, as anyone who’s tried to buy All in Ones from me knows.

Beyond that, there’s also the legal side of things. Not just CPSIA, though that is a major obstacle. But there were regulations before that, as well – particularly on clothing items, which is why I’ve hesitated to offer anything beyond just the basic, basic clothing. What CPSIA did was enact incredibly expensive regulations on toys and child care articles, including bibs and anything involved in sleeping. Out went a product I had all ready to add to my inventory. Frustrating!! These regulations literally have priced me out of the market for these types of items.

But, Sarah! There are small sellers on Etsy and all over the internet selling these items. How can they afford it and you can’t? you might ask. Chances are, they are not in compliance with the law. I don’t know for sure, but there are plenty of small businesses who either do not take their business seriously enough to research applicable laws, or who figure that they’re small enough that they don’t need to comply.

I’m not like that. I’m sorry.

Other products (like clothes) I can likely afford to comply, but I need time (and undivided attention) to become familiar with the regulations, so I can’t offer any products in those categories until I’ve had that time. Genna makes this somewhat of a challenge, lol!

So, please keep the new product ideas coming!! But also please understand that it’s just not that simple to add to my product line. The wheels here at Wallypop turn slowly…

Argh. CPSC’s Final Rule on Baby Slings

So… The CPSC has issued the final rule about Durable Nursery Products. Baby slings are, for the first time ever, defined as a Durable Nursery Product in this ruling. That’s bad, folks. Bad.

It means that I will need to start including a product registration card with every sling that I sell starting in December of 2010.

This means that I need to get cards printed up (shouldn’t be a big problem, I can make them myself and have Office Depot copy them for me, but it is an additional expense). I need to stamp them. I need to track them as they come in, log them into a database, and store them somewhere.

Not necessarily a huge deal, though it is more time and hassle on government regulations. And definitely expense in both postage and time. I’ve absorbed a LOT of the increased time cost related to CPSIA so far, but there’s a point at which I just can’t absorb it any more. I’ve reached that point.

But what bothers me more is that I don’t see any way around having to start packaging my slings. I have so far avoided packaging them for several reasons. First, the idea of having disposable packaging around my products just really bothers me. I know most “name brand” diaper and sling makers use disposable packaging, but, well, I’m not them. Second, the packaging just represents an additional cost which would need to be passed along to the consumer.

Packaging goes against the two main driving forces behind Wallypop – reducing waste, and cutting out unnecessary expenses in order to keep prices as low as possible.

I’ve got a year to figure this out, obviously, but as I work on packaging and including cards, I’ll more than likely need to put in a price increase on baby carriers. This makes me very sad, because of the overwhelming number of emails I’ve received since opening from customers who were discouraged because they were having trouble finding quality babywearing products in their price range. One woman wrote, “until I found Wallypop, I was afraid my choices were the bad-looking slings of dubious quality that I could afford, or buying something that was out of my budget.”

Darn you, Congress!!

And there’s always the chance that the CPSC will clarify and we’ll be able to do electronic registrations, which would be nice.

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PS, I posted my comments to the CPSC during their request for comments phase on here earlier. My point remains valid. I have more information on who has purchased what sling than I could hope to ever receive via product registration. 90% of my slings are sold direct to the end user, who has had to give me their name, address, phone number, and email address. I can pull up a list of everyone who’s purchased a ring sling from me since I opened, then peek in to their invoices and tell you exactly which one was purchased by each customer. That’s for 100% of my retail sling sales. That’s waaaay better than any product registration card system.

I’m  also willing to bet that my sling retailers have this level of detail on THEIR customers, meaning that the 10% of slings that I sell wholesale are also trackable. More trackable than through registration cards.

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Incidentally, in researching this further, I found that in 2001, the CPSC considered requiring a product registration card for every item sold for use by/with children. Fortunately, they decided not to proceed. Can you even imagine? I’d bet that such a law would actually reduce the number of parents who bother to fill out registration cards for the important things like carseats, etc.

Also, not for nothing, but the inclusion of slings as Durable Nursery Products can only mean trouble from here on out. Durable nursery products have stricter regulations than most other baby products. Not good, not good.

Warning, Graphic Photo

I warned you!
We added two snakes to our family this month – Spot and Sarah. They are both corn snakes. Wally loves them, and they seem to accept his handling of them just fine. We feed them about once a week, pre-dead baby mice. Yum, right? Other than the ick factor in handling the defrosted dead mice, the snakes are pretty cool, and feeding them is really fascinating.

Holiday Schedule

Not so much for Christmas, but more for end of the year processing. I’ll be closing Dec 24 in the morning and reopening sometime Jan 3. The website’ll remain open, but the cart will be disabled.

Not only do I need a break to spend time with my family, but I also have to master a new accounting system. It’s a very long story, but my current accounting system will completely stop working on Jan 3, and I have suddenly realized that I have just over a week to not only learn a new system but convert everything twice and hope it works! Yikes!!

Please email if you have anything urgent. I’ll be around, just busy!!