Simoni Gruber – Wrap Kiss Carry – Athens
Simoni Gruber is a mother of a three year old and, a babywearing consultant and artist living and working in Athens/Greece. The Greek islands are the place where I’ve spent almost every summer during my childhood and teenage years, together with my parents. I’ve so many lovely memories that it’s a pleasure to interview Simoni Gruber today.
Nestwärme: How popular is babywearing in your country (Greece can be pretty hot in summer, I wonder if people still wear their babies then)?
Simoni Gruber: Babywearing in Greece is gaining popularity very fast. Parents usually start carrying their babies to make their daily life easier but they soon discover that babywearing has many benefits beyond that, for both, parent and child. We still get strange looks while walking down the street but we also receive sweet smiles.
There is still much work to do to spread the babywearing love but we are getting there. I know so many parents who are passionate about it and willing to do the best they can. Of course living in Greece means that it gets hot in Summer. But we follow the rules of safe babywearing in the heat, wear airier fabrics, do one layer carries etc. When it gets extremely hot though we do take little breaks from carrying but just for those couple of days.
When I started babywearing, I begun researching anything I could find on the subject, it fascinated me! The Internet can be such an amazing source for knowledge. I thought that I would get tired of it, but I blinked and three years went by and I had still that same passion.
I found out that I loved teaching everything that I learned when I became a member of a growing facebook community, Babywearing Greece – Love & Appreciation. I saw that there was a need for more babywearing consultants (we are still just a handful in all Greece!) and that it was something I was strongly attracted to.
I chose Die Trageschule® in Munich and it was a perfect fit for me, I loved every single day of the training and I had so many eye-opening moments that it took some days to absorb everything that I learned. I can’t wait to go back and learn more!
I try to explain to people new to babywearing two things. Why we babywear and what the ergonomic position is. When parents understand that their babies are active clinging young the anatomy of the ergonomic position suddenly makes sense.
Once they truly understand the ergonomic position of the rounded back, M shape legs in squat position and tilted pelvis they are ready to wear a ring sling. If we skip one step they will probably struggle to wear the sling. A big percentage of parents are unaware of the ergonomic position but as soon as they find out why it is so important they never look back.
How many parents are you „teaching“ per month?
I do most of my work voluntary on social media. I also do monthly group lessons and personal consultations. People in Greece rely mostly on the salesperson in the sling shop to show them how to use a carrier, or other more experienced parents. The role of a babywearing consultant is still not as established as in other European countries. So I don’t know how many people I teach but I hope that my social media activity and videos reach as many lovely people as possible.
The number one question is: “What type of carrier should I buy?“. It’s a hard decision for most families because they can only afford one carrier, so they are looking for “The One” that will fit from newborn to toddler, for every season, for breastfeeding and for both parents. The second would be achieving the M shape legs and deep seat.
How big is your «consultancy stash»?
I stopped counting, I have mostly wraps in my personal collection but I have all sorts of carriers, full buckles, half buckles, ring slings, meh dais, wrap conversion meh dais in my consultation stash. I feel lucky that so many companies are generous enough to donate or give us consultants big discounts, it makes our job so much easier.
I often mix my personal and professional collection, I don’t use carriers in my lessons that I wouldn’t use in my personal babywearing time with my daughter. This way everything is truly tested and loved by us.
My favourite wrap is my Didymos Prima Aurora that was a gift from my brother. It was my first woven wrap and my first love. I feel forever connected to it. But I love each wrap for a different reason. The Didymos EBW2018 Carrying Connects wrap is my baby, I was fortunate enough to design it with the European Babywearing Week team and it was a great experience seeing it coming to life.
Unfortunately woven wraps are not that popular in Greece because people are afraid that they won’t manage to learn how to wear them and they choose something that is more “ready to wear” like a SSC or Meh Dais. Ring Slings are also popular because they are easy to breastfeed in and good for the warmer days. Woven wraps are slowly but steadily gaining more fans and I am really proud!
What’s the word for babywearing in your language?
The Greek language is known for having a word for everything, well I can’t find one for babywearing. Maybe the most fitting expression would be “φοράω το μωρό μου” (forao to moro mu), wearing my baby. But we use “Babywearing” most of the time.
Thank you so much for your very interesting insights into babywearing in Greece!
Visit Simoni Gruber on Wrap Kiss Carry!
Photos: Simoni Gruber