Iris lives in Croatia and has a 2 year old and another baby due in january 🙂 She’s running a free lending library, writes a blog and reviews and does videos as well for her community.
Nestwärme: How popular is babywearing in your country? Iris: The popularity is growing, slowly but steadily. All parents have heard of babywearing but some (minority) choose not to babywear because of their own prejudices (they think it’s hard, that babies are manipulative, they bought an expensive stroller and will use exclusively just because it was a big investment…)
Why did you want to become a babywearing consultant and which school did you visit?
Back when I was pregnant and carrying Adrian under my heart I was wondering what I will be carrying him in when he pops into the big white world. I soon bought my first sling and learned all the benefits of babywearing out of a necessity (hence necessity is the mother of invention). My baby boy suffered from reflux and babywearing became his medicine, my ally and source of comfort for the both of us. Babywearing was not entirely an intuitive act for me, it was a skill I had to master to help him and help my family. After a few months I discovered there is a small but steadily growing babywearing community in Croatia, and it got me to a point where I had to apply for a course in Die Trageschule to learn how to teach others the skill of wearing babies, and help them cope with the big challenge of being a new parent, or caregiver. There are just a few consultant in Croatia now and I’m very happy to be among the pioneers of popularization of babywearing in my country.
How important is it for you and/or your clients to wear babys ergonomically (ideal spread-squat position, rounded back etc.)?
It is very important to me that people understand that there are best, good and tolerable options in babywearing, but i still have not met anyone who insisted on wearing a baby in a NBC.
How many parents are you „teaching“ per month?
I have regular meet ups in a free lending sling library so the number of parents steadily grows. It’s 50-80 people per month, half of them are regular because of the socialization and good vibes 😀 I also love when people actively want to be a part of my reviews.
What’s the thing, most parents ask or have trouble with concerning babywearing?
Most of them want to try out new carriers, some are just looking for the “perfect carrier“, some have problems with their own carrier or want to learn a new carry in a woven.
How big is your « consultancy stash »?
My stash is very small in comparison to consultants in other countries: 10 carriers (SSC’s mostly, but there are a few onbuhimos and a meh dai), 12 woven wraps, 4 ring slings, a podaegi, a stretchy, several african wax prints, and only one demo doll for now. Babywearing is still just a hobby for me so it takes a lot of time for my stash to grow. 😀
What’s your favourite wrap and/or carrier and what’s the favourite product chosen by your clients?
My absolute favorite is an Ada Original from Didymos because of its sentimental value: wonderful people from our meet ups bought it for the new baby.
What’s the word for babywearing in your country? nošenje beba
Thank you for your insights, Iris & all the best for the last weeks of your pregnancy and birth! 🙂 Here’s her site:nosenjebeba.com
