Covering much more than the subtitle lets on, the book actually begins before the first year. It touching on the planning and preparing for your upcoming birth, making it a great read for mothers-to-be, whether it’s your first pregnancy or not. And the charming introduction offers the lens from which to read the book, with Massaro and Katz sharing their sole purpose for writing this new mama guide, and that is to “bring to life an often-forgotten truth: a mother’s instinct is the best resource she has to crease a joyful and connected relationship with her baby.”

Their hope is to empower every mother to gently and committedly to do their own “gut check” with all that is offered to them as new mothers, whether through cultural “wisdoms,” ideas that are pounded through the media, or even “experts” to whom we look to for help and information.

Massaro and Katz speak to what so many mothers are seeing and feeling today, and that is that “Motherhood has been targeted by advertisers, and bombarded by opinions masquerading as medical necessities.” Their intention behind writing this book is to help mothers reclaim a simpler, more connected first year with their babies based on a mother’s own heart of true joy and relationship.

In The Other Baby Book, you will learn the “whys” behind so many tried-and-true mothering wisdoms, like the incredible healing and protective qualities of vernix (the waxy, cheesy coasting your baby is born with) and why waiting to bathe your newly born baby allows your little one to take full advantage of nature’s perfect plan for immunity.

You will also learn the science behind the magic of touch and physical contact that benefits not just your baby, but mothers as well. Highlighted in the chapter on Touch, is a terrific section on babywearing, which is what Boba Family is all about. Massaro and Katz offer up what stats on what generations of mothers already know; that your baby cries less when held close to you throughout the day, whether by babywearing and carrying. Boba founder and babywearing educator, Elizabeth Antunovic shares with readers how babies and mothers benefit physiologically, psychological and emotionally from babywearing. Antunovic, also a mother of four, details the benefits of upright babycarrying in the book with this,

“With a baby upright on his mother’s body, mom adjusts to all her baby’s movement, and he to hers, moving like perfect dance partners. Constant feedback from his skin and the fluid in his inner ear help the baby understand space, and his place in it. A baby’s muscles become stronger as they respond the varied movements of mom’s body and the force of gravity.

Its no surprise that babies carried upright scored higher on both motor and mental tests in the first of life. The rich environment worked the babies’ neural pathways.

Carrying a baby upright on your chest regulates his autonomic system. Studies have shown that a baby’s heart rate stabilizes, his body temperature regulates, he transitions more easily from one sleep state to another, and actually sleeps longer. His breathing becomes steady, he has less chance of apnea, and oxygenation of his body increases. While on his mother’s chest, his systems are kept at a regular tempo. When apart from his mother, a baby works twice as hard to maintain physiological harmony.

A mother can trust her intuition. By holding her baby close to her heart, she uses the most physiologically beneficial method of carrying her baby, proving the optimal environment for her baby’s psychological and emotional growth.”

Massaro and Katz have written the book that was missing from our bedside tables, by accurately covering a mother and baby’s first year together with practicality, kindness and humor. And all the big first-year questions are covered, from breastfeeding and introducing solids, to diapering and EC, but most importantly, how to build your trust in yourself and your mothering wisdom as the authority for your family. I love that this book is in the world and being shared. Taken in and taken to heart, it will go far in supporting the growing, world-wide movement to heal birth and our families, beginning as it should with the mother-child relationship.

On July 15, 2012 at 2:05 pm we welcomed into the world our darling daughter, Violeta. She arrived after two hours of hard labor and two and a half hours of pushing, all twenty four hours after premature rupture of the membranes (water breaking) the morning before. Here’s how it all went:

On Saturday morning, at 39 weeks pregnant, my partner Pablo and I found ourselves up quite early and decided to go for a walk to see the morning stars and sunrise over our little seaside community (we live on the coast in Chile where Pablo is from). On the way home, I stopped to play with a litter of puppies on the path, squatting down to let them jump all over me and get lots of good puppy chewing love. As I rose from the squat, I felt some warm water leak out (it feels like peeing myself). I thought, “Well, I don’t think that’s pee,” and let my honey know it was time to go home, that something was happening. He happened to be taking photos on the walk, so we actually have a picture of the moment when my water broke. On the walk home, I continued to have a little leaking here and there – few steps, leak, few steps, leak. etc. I’ve been making jokes since the birth that, “the puppies broke my water.” It’s a fun part of the story.

Feeling that labor was eminent, I decided on breakfast and a nap when we got home. Pablo got the fire going really well (we use a wood stove to heat our home, and remember, July is mid-winter in Chile) and drew all the shades to give me a warm, dark pre-labor space. He then ran out to do some last-minute errands. I awoke an hour or so later to a startling sound and smell, then sight – some wood stacked on the stove to dry had caught fire. In a surreal sort of daze, I jumped up to douse the fire with water, my waters leaking as I scurried. I was focused, but laughing at the ridiculousness of the scenario. It was a real adrenaline rush, and though there was no damage to our home or health, the shock of it and subsequent sitting outside to wait for the smoke to clear out put a serious damper on my pre-labor vibe. Perhaps needless to say, there was no laboring that day!

Before bed, I drank a labor helper tea I had prepared earlier to use during labor in case it progressed slowly (black cohosh and blue cohosh, called B&B tea) and relished the chance to sleep before the big event got under way. In the morning, my partner woke up before me and did a little internet research to see how he could help get our labor started. We had read about nipple stimulation helping, and he brought his extra research to bed for an inspired stimulation session (what a fun way to get labor started!). It worked.

About an hour after Pablo woke me, I went to the bathroom and was rocked by my first labor contraction. It was very intense. About three minutes later, another, then another and so on. My contractions progressed to one minute apart over the course of only one hour, then another hour before I felt pushy. These contractions, they really rocked my world. I labored loud and intensely, mostly on my hands and knees, or on my knees and leaning over my fit ball. It all came on so fast that I didn’t have much time to settle in. I imagine that perhaps because of the pressure on my cervix from the baby’s head after my water broke, then the labor tea, then the stimulation, that I had some above-normal intensity to those contractions – they really opened me up fast!

After starting to feel pushing urges, I moved to the shower where I leaned on the ball while hot water ran on my back. I didn’t invest a lot of energy in my pushing at this point, because I didn’t quite trust it. I had never heard of a first baby going into push stage in just two hours. In fact, after about an hour of pushing, I reached in to check on the situation and felt something sort of small and very squishy and it gave me a fright. I thought I had done something wrong and though I followed the pushing urges, I didn’t want to push too hard without the baby in there. Well, how funny is it that? A few minutes later our doula arrived and I said, “There’s something in there.” She asked if it was soft and squishy and I said yes. “That’s your baby’s head.” I about cried with joy and relief and totally surrendered to the pushing. Looking back, I feel a little foolish about that, but oh well. Live and learn.

Throughout all of this, my partner did a lot to support me with the space, bring me food and drinks, and keep the fire going really hot. I remember being afraid because the intensity of the contractions was so hard to bare, especially thinking that it would last eight to twelve hours, as I assumed I would have a normal-length labor! I had always envisioned a peaceful, song-filled labor and birth but I labored like a bit of a wild woman instead – it was very primal, loud and urgent. Pablo was great at staying calm and just being around with things and not talking to me very much so that I could really be with the process and let the oxytocin flow. Our doula mostly did the same. She helped him and held the space knitting on the couch, and offered me hot compresses when I was nearing crowning. We had a midwife available if we needed, but did not use her. My partner and I were really committed to the unassisted “free” birth process.

When I started to feel my baby crowning, I tried to slow down, but the urge to push was incredible! Though I was relaxed with the way in which our baby’s head was crowning then descending back into the birth canal for a while, I knew it was very soon. I told Pablo to come sit next to me because I wanted him to be there when our baby came out. We had not decided on him catching the baby or not as I wanted to see how I felt when the time came. When I knew our baby was about to be born, it was like all the force in the universe was coming through my body and I was responding fully. I delivered the head and shoulders in one push and just kept pushing, I really couldn’t stop. The head and shoulders delivered with a watery sound that got Pablo’s attention and with one more push while kneeling/squatting against the ball, I delivered our baby into Pablo’s responding hands.

Immediately, our darling girl gave out a sweet few cries and Pablo said again and again, “My child, my child, my child.” I cried with love and we maneuvered slowly onto the mattress on the floor, being careful not to pull on the cord. Pablo placed her on my chest and our doula was there with warm towels to cover her. She lay quietly and aware for a few minutes before beginning her sweet scooting and rooting movements to find my breast. I helped her to her destination and she suckled sweetly, so little and lovely, and covered with sweet vernix. Then, I realized we didn’t even know if she was a boy or girl! We had waited for the birth to know, then in the excitement of delivery, forgot to look.  I said, “Pablo, is it a boy or girl?” He said, “Oh my gosh, I don’t know!” I felt a little fumbly with the baby, she was so little and sweet, but finally got her lower parts into view. “A girl, a girl. We have a daughter.” “Violeta,” Pablo said, “Welcome Violeta.” (Though we had actually felt that we were having a boy, Violeta was the only name that ever stuck with us during naming conversations.) I nestled her close and kissed her sweet head. Her eyes were open and I gazed into them with a feeling of relief and of being blessed, but also with total awe that this little precious human was the one who had been living inside me for all those months. I got a good look at her super long legs, too – the ones that enjoyed my ribs so much during the eighth and ninth month – and laughed out loud.

The house hummed with the joy of what had happened, and we waited for the placenta. It actually took about four hours for the placenta to deliver. We had been waiting for it before cutting the cord, but after about three and a half hours I felt a strong urge to cut the cord to shift the energy, and it worked. We said a prayer of thanks, I told Violeta that we were thanking and releasing her soul sister and when Pablo cut the cord, she gave out a little sweet cry. I then got up to use the bathroom and the placenta delivered right out with a plop into the toilet. After that, we had no more worries and just lay enjoying the peaceful presence of our daughter and ourselves, new parents.

Today, as I write this, Esperanza Ana Violeta is six weeks old and sleeping sweetly on my chest in my Boba Wrap. We are all enjoying each other, the growing, the challenges, the little sleep and lots of sweet, and every day I fall more and more in love with her. It hasn’t all been easy, but if you’re a mother I imagine you know that very well, and that the joys outnumber the tough parts, and that it is all enveloped in a deeper peace of knowing that this is the real stuff of life.

One thing that helped me very much during labor was an affirmation that I had written out earlier in the week that read, “Countless mother before me bless and light the way.” A number of times during birth, when I was uncertain and shaky I would say to myself, “Countless mothers,” and know that I was one of millions who had done just this – birthed life into this world through trial, hardship and joy. I knew all would be well and I was, and continue to be, so thankful for all the mothers in my life and all the mothers that I have never and will never meet, past, present, future. We are a blessed and blessing lot, and I am so thankful to be among us. Motherhood is amazing.

I also want to say a dear thank you to my Boba friends and team. Working for such a great family-focused company and having your friendship and support before and after the birth has been really wonderful. Thank you!

Heather for Boba: Diaper Dude is such a popular brand and your products are very cool. Congratulations on your success! Which part of this ride has been the most fun for you?

Chris Pegula: Wow, this is a tough one since there is so much of my job that is fun and that I love.  I would have to say after looking back over the years, if anyone ever told me I would be designing diaper bags for dads I would’ve told them they were crazy!  This is the last thing I thought I would be doing.  But the fact that I can be inspired by my family and have them involved in my career (coming to work, tradeshows, etc.) has to be the best part for me.  They are really the inspiration behind the brand.  It’s also fun to see our product in weekly magazines sported by different celebrity dads and moms.

Boba: Were you a babywearing dad yourself when your sons and daughter were little?  

CP: Yes. Totally!

Boba: As a father, what do you appreciate most about babywearing? 

CP: I loved that I could hang out with my child while they were in the carrier and have amazing experiences like walking to the beach or even hanging around the yard.  Carriers really give a connection that dads don’t get to experience during pregnancy.  So much is foreign to dads for the first year since your baby is heavily dependent on mom (eg. Feeding.)  I liked that I could spend one on one time with each of my kids and feel confident that I could handle their needs.  I loved when they would fall asleep while on a walk.  There is nothing more precious than seeing your sleeping child so peaceful.

Also, since my youngest son was a preemie, we learned that physical contact impacts physical and psychological wellbeing.  We made it a point to share this contact time with him.  We totally believe this made a difference in his growth and strengthened him to recover more quickly than normal.  I believe the same holds true for anyone using the Diaper Dude Boba carriers.  It strengthens the bond and gives the security your child needs and loves.

Boba: There are a lot of different kinds of carriers out there, and a lot of different baby carrier companies. Why did you choose Boba for the Diaper Dude branded carrier?

CP: Boba really felt like the right partner from the start.  We both share the same idea about making life easier for parents.  Our design focuses on creating products that eliminate stress for parents.  Working with a company that shares that same concept was a no brainer for me.  Plus they have a great design.  I wish they were around when I had kids, but I am long past that stage.

Boba: Diaper Dude and Boba have similar freedom-based “make life easier for parents” goals. What do you think bringing the two brands together for the Diaper Dude Boba offers today’s fathers most?

CP: I think our brands give dads a product that will help them to be confident in their new role as a father while bringing them style and ease of use at the same time.  What could be better than that?

Boba: Not much, I don’t think! What kind of father will the Diaper Dad Boba appeal to most? Who should be getting one for Father’s Day this year?

CP: I think dads today overall are more style conscious but that doesn’t mean that these carriers won’t appeal to all dads.  Just like the Diaper Dude brand gives that feeling of belonging to the dad club, I believe the Diaper Dude Boba carriers will add a whole new level to that idea.

I know a few celebrities already got their hands on some, like Chris Hemsworth, Bruce Willis, Cash Warren and JR Martinez.

Boba: Okay, design moment of truth: Pinstripes or Camo? Which would you be sporting first?

CP: I have to say at first I was all over the pinstripe carrier but once I saw our camo carrier on our model, Thomas, I was immediately swayed.  Camo is definitely the way to go!

Boba: How about a fashion tip for our babywearing dads and moms buying the Diaper Dude Boba for them (or themselves!) this year? Personally, I’m in love with the Yellow Submarine line, so I’m torn between the Pariscope and the Sea of Holes bags to go with the Pinstripe. What do you think?

CP: I’m all about color so I would go for the Sea of Holes bag myself.  It’s so much fun!  The periscope is definitely a cool bag too but for that more conservative Beatle fan – if there is such a thing J  And which would you pair with the Camo Diaper Dude Boba?  It depends on the mood and how daring you are.  If you are feeling like the dad who is ready to kick some butt then go all out camo with either the messenger 1 or II camo bag.  On the other hand you can accent the carrier with the more subtle colors like our messenger 1 black bag or our messenger II gray bag.  The choices are endless and that’s what makes it so much fun.  Who ever thought we’d get a chance to express our style when wearing our kids.  I gotta admit, that is kinda cool and the reason I love my job!

Boba: I love your job, too! It’s so great to see all the great ways that you have spread the love of being a father – you are an awesome role model for today’s dad! Thanks so much for taking the time for this interview and congratulations again on all your successful ventures, and adventures!

About Chris

Chris Pegula, the founder of Diaper Dude diaper bags and products for dads, helps make a dad’s life easier with serious style. Pegula is a lifestyle expert in all things family, parenting and partner related with the goal of making a man’s transition easier when he becomes a dad. From maintaining a great marriage, to staying connected to your partner and kids while traveling on business, Pegula understands the challenges and expectations of being a great husband and father, and uses humor and creativity in juggling the everyday chaos that accompanies his family-man lifestyle…

…continue reading at www.ChrisPegula.com

Last year, after the big launch of our Boba Carrier 3G, we were finally able to prioritize product development for something our baby carrier customers have been asking for from us for a long time – a carrying sack for their carriers. People told us of all the creative ways they were storing their carriers, but that they wanted something that was really easy to use and that matched their Boba Carrier print. So, in 2011 we went to work on it.

We decided that a very basic, economical fabric carrying bag would be best, like those we use for our sleeping bags. When we looked around for examples of this classic “stuff sack” (a term popularized by the sleeping bag industry; “stuff” being a verb, mind you), we found a lot of standard examples with the drawstring on one end and handle on the other – the same orientation you’ll now find on the Boba Carrier Stuff Sack. We were excited that our search also led us to a working mother with a popular baby carrier accessories shop on Etsy.com selling her version of the classic stuff sack, made especially for soft-structured baby carriers like the Boba 3G. Charlotte Kaufman runs the Etsy shop Red Charlotte where she sells a variety of pretty and functional custom fabric pieces including stuff sacks (she was the first to gear a stuff sack towards baby carriers), teething pads, and more. Unfortunately, after much conversation and earnest wishes to work with another mom-led company, and after running the math of sizeable production and distribution needs, we weren’t able to source our stuff sacks from Charlotte due to volume and pricing obligations. However, her experience and devotion to babywearing, and her strong support of carrier companies continues to be an inspiration to us! In fact, we’re featuring her in our upcoming Babywearing All-Stars series where we pay homage to the people, companies and places that have inspired a growing movement in regions where babywearing had long been forgotten as the best way to move through the world with baby (in the meantime, check out Red Charlotte on Etsy – we know you’ll love it and we’d love to show her our appreciation with the traffic to her store).

Well, after several rounds of designing and redesigning our would-be baby carrier stuff sack, reviewing seven different prototypes and then sourcing production, the Boba Carrier Stuff Sack finally arrived to market this month and wow, were we surprised at the response! Though we knew the people who had been asking for them for so long would probably jump at the chance to get them, we had no idea how fast they would sell out (most of them went in one day!). As of this blog post, we’re waiting for our next shipment to meet back-orders and have even re-worked our production schedule to help prevent these kinds of sell-outs in the future.

All in all, new products like the stuff sack offer us a world of opportunity to experience the excitement of our customers, hone our abilities to answer requests and meet new needs, and grow as a family and business. We continue to thank all our Boba fans for their love and use of our products. We can’t wait to include you in our next new product launch (hint, hint: there’s a big one right around the corner)!

Because of this, this blog post is dedicated to everyone I have to thank for such an amazing experience so far, and all the wonderful things that the future holds.

To Robert and Elizabeth Antunovic – Thank you for taking a chance on a stranger that emailed 100 times about a customer service position. Because of you I have had the opportunity to learn so many amazing things that I never would have known about. Because of you my son was brought into this world in a way that I am truly proud of and my family is so much closer because of the things that I have learned in this journey. Because of you I have had a chance to grow, find my strengths (and weaknesses) and find my path (even if it may be a dotted line that twists & turns!). Because of you I can come to work every day feeling happy and grateful – you have given me something that I will never take for granted.

To the amazing distribution team I know – Each of you have inspired something new in me, challenged me and helped me to develop so many new skills – THANK YOU for not only being an inspiration but also that fire that made me find my true passion for international business. I’m sure most of you don’t know this, but I’m currently pursuing my masters degree in strategic management – with a concentration on international business… all because of you! One day I will make it around the world to meet each of you, if we haven’t met already, and toast to such an exciting past and all that the future holds.

To my favorite Boba family – Whether you have been here for months or years, I have you to thank for helping me learn, maintain my sanity, and laugh through it all.

To my family-family  - I am truly blessed to have a husband who supports everything I do, a son that makes me laugh and gives me a chance to really learn from a firsthand experience all these incredible things I’ve picked up on through the years, a mother that encourages me no matter what the situation may be, and a father that inspires me each day.

To all of those who sent me emails, LinkedIn/Facebook messages, or texts – THANK YOU for making me smile! It’s exciting to know that I have made an impact, even if it’s something small and seemingly insignificant, and to feel like part of something even bigger than my “Boba circle” – thank you being a part of this.

To everyone else reading this – There are not many companies out there who put PEOPLE above all else – be it employees, customers or total strangers on the street. The fact that you are reading this right now gives us even more inspiration and desire to continue making these efforts to create a lasting impact and build relationship with people all over the world, so thank you for your part as well!

Thank you again to everyone – I’m truly looking forward to many more years of excitement and opportunity!

♥

Abby Armijo, Executive Vice President

My Boba Family on a recent company outing:

We know that lots of you sing the praises of Boba Carriers and Boba Wraps all over the web. We love you too, and want to offer a sweet reward for your help in spreading the #bobalove with the new Boba Affiliate Program.

Ours is like other common affiliate programs that offer website owners an extra site-based income opportunity. Affiliates generate traffic and sales via linked banner ads on their sites, in their blogs and via their email, and earn a commission in return. But, you don’t have to be a technical code-tracking whiz to get started – we’ve made that part pretty easy. Actually, we’ve made the whole thing pretty easy and sign-up is free.

Here’s how it works:

• Once you sign up and have been approved, you can choose a banner ad from within your account and put it on your website, blog, signature line etc.
• When someone clicks on the banner ad, comes to our website and makes a purchase, you receive 10% commission on that sale. Once you have acquired $150 in payable commissions, your rate is increased to 15%.
• These sales are not applicable to Wholesale Orders or any international orders (U.S. only).
• Commission payments are made through PayPal on the 1st of each month for the previous month.
• Payments are only made if you have acquired $50 worth of commissions.
• You’ll be able to log in any time to our online affiliate software to check your performance statistics.

To learn more or sign up right now, visit our Boba Affiliate Program page.

Got a Boba Customer Service story to share? We’d love to read about it here in the comments, in tweets to @Boba, on our Facebook Page, or in the sky over our Boulder offices (all trick-biplane-like).

A trip down not-so-distant memory lane with the Antunovic family, as highlighted in this previously-published www.babywearer.com spotlight. Enjoy the great recap of how Boba got started as Sleepy Wrap, the Antunovic family’s international travel with their young children, and the passion and joy that inspires it all as told by Boba founder Elizabeth Antunovic.

———

From Babywearer.com 
December 16, 2007

Elizabeth Antunovic is the owner of Sleepy Wrap (now Boba), a manufacturer of stretchy wraparound carriers. Read our article to learn about how she and her husband run their business while traveling the world, including a babywearing adventure on a camel!

Describe your business.

Sleepy Wrap (now Boba) is a wrap around baby carrier company that has successfully filled the gap for a great quality stretchy wrap. Sleepy Wraps (now Boba Wraps) can currently be purchased through our website at [www.bobafamily.com]. We will start to supply retailers in the US, Canada and Europe in the beginning of 2008 and will add other countries throughout the year.

Tell us a bit about where you live.

We would say that Boulder, Colorado was home. Yet, we left Colorado at the end of April to live the dream of simultaneously traveling the world and working. We spent the summer in Europe, a month in Egypt, and now are in the desert of Rajastan, India. We are planning to return back to Boulder sometime next year. We feel very fortunate and appreciative to have such a fantastic and professional support team back in the US that enables us to live our somewhat nomadic lifestyle. There’s nothing better than being a WAWM – work around the world mom.

Tell us a bit about your family.

I am fortunate to have two beautiful children with my husband Robert. We met while I was working as an English teacher in Eastern Europe. He happened to be cycling through the town of Kosice, Slovakia en route from Slovenia to explore some neighboring countries. For a meeting of chance and at first not even speaking a common language, we have continued throughout the years to complement each other in a wonderful way. He is always contemplating new ideas and is a risk taker. We started our life together in Slovenia and moved to Boulder almost three years ago. Robert always has new ideas. America is an ideal place for souls like his as there isn’t so much red tape when it comes to testing out different ventures.

Isabela is my charming, curious, compassionate “four and a half and four months” year old. She has an incredible ability to relate to anyone from infants to teenagers to the elderly. Her remarkable imagination keeps us entertained with stories of gnomes creations of things like woven rattles of green sticks with rocks inside. She dances like no one is watching. We hope to keep her curiosity alive by letting her learn with life. “Unschooling”- they call it these days.

Nikolai is my little boy who came magically into our lives as I birthed him unassisted one year and four months ago. He is very independent and has the cutest cheeks, so irresistible to the Indians that they always end up pinching a little too hard. When we are in Boulder they ride in my bike trailer and we go everywhere together. They have brought unimaginable joy into my life. More so than any traveling, any membership in any club or network, or even standing at the top of any mountain. The giving and receiving- that pure love- is indescribable, the kind that comes only from children.

How long have you been in business?

We started researching different options about five years ago before Isabela was born. Yet, it wasn’t until the birth of our son that we thought that I had finally created the perfect way to carry a baby. Two years ago I started purchasing fabric, creating the wraps by hand and giving them to friends to try, but I couldn’t keep up with the demand as friends started telling their friends. After people kept approaching me and saying “wow that looks so great – where can I get one?” we decided to start manufacturing them on a much larger scale, making our wraps widely available.

What inspired you to start your business?

People would put down their books while they were reading in the library and stare and smile. People would stop me in the grocery store, and in restaurants and in airports. Older women would approach me and say “I wish I had one of those when I had children.” It seemed as if everyone knew someone who was expecting and all were eager to know where they could buy one.

What is the most challenging thing about manufacturing/selling baby carriers?

We get the occasional email where you can see that the woman is writing in anger. I imagine a crying baby and a mother who wants nothing but to soothe her little one, but is completely daunted and overwhelmed by this long piece of fabric that is in front of her. I wish that I could be there to at least hold the baby while she ties the wrap. I wish that I could give her pointers and encourage her. It’s a big difference to go from selling the wraps locally in person to selling them internationally without seeing the customer’s face. Yet, we strive to maintain personal and exceptional customer service the best we can even if we cannot be physically present to help first time wrapping customers.

What is the most rewarding thing about manufacturing/selling baby carriers?

The most rewarding thing about selling Sleepy Wraps (Boba Wraps) is the whole idea that our product enables mothers to form a secure loving bond with their little ones. It’s so nice to think that instead of leaving their baby behind that moms and dads can take their baby anywhere and have fun! It is also amazing that the business can run itself with us being on different continents. It is truly awesome how connected the whole world is through the internet and that mothers in Canada, Mexico, Japan, England, Portugal and Italy (to name several) are contacting us to tell us how happy they are and how much it has helped their lives. Receiving an email from an enthusiastic mom who swears by our wrap really makes all the difference. It reaffirms that we are doing a good thing.

Tell us about your personal babywearing journey.

I knew that I wanted to mother my children the best that I could. With a history of a fractured thoracic vertebrae and a previous shoulder surgery for recurrent dislocations I wondered if I’d be able to carry my baby. After Isabela was born I knew that I wanted to carry her no matter what it took. At the time, I thought that my only option was the classic sling. I still remember how bad my shoulder ached and how crooked and off balance I felt at the end of the day. Isabela would always have a red line on the hamstring part of her legs when I took her out. When Isabela turned nine months old I abandoned my sling and simply carried her in my arms which was more tiring but better than the pressure points of the sling and better than far away from me in a stroller.

I knew that for my next baby that I would find something much more comfortable, with no metal rings and no pressure points on me or my baby. I loved wraps because they were simple and went over both shoulders. I would try them out with my friends’ babies and although surprisingly enough the tying method was not that difficult, I could never guess quite right how tight I had to tie them or how much room I needed to leave in order for the baby to fit in just right. The woven wraps were beautiful, organic, and sometimes made by hand, but too restrictive.

I went to the fabric stores in Boulder and experimented with different fabrics, and found the perfect fabric. No more guessing games on how much space to leave to get the perfect fit. I just tied it snug against my body. It was durable, soft, amazingly comfortable even while I was trying it out on my friend Jill’s twin girls when I was five months pregnant. I loved it. I made one for my neighbor Rebecca, and she and her little Elle loved it. I could take Nikolai in and out of it without having to retie it; this was essential since he has been diaper free since birth. Nikolai has virtually lived in his Sleepy Wrap (Boba Wrap) since a week after birth and at sixteen months old still loves it.

How do you balance your personal and professional life?

Balancing our personal life and professional life is far from easy especially when you are a husband-wife team. It makes it especially difficult when you catch yourself still talking business in your free time. Every month, on the 21st – the day of our wedding anniversary, we make it a point to have a special date. It’s nice that my children and I will have time to grow and weave in and out of each other and that this will not end when my children turn five. I won’t be sending them to school or off anywhere. Essentially I only end up working few hours a day after the children go to bed while Robert does his early morning to noon shift. We have to remember what our priorities are in life. It is so easy to get sidetracked and forget.

What do you see for the future of babywearing?

It’s wonderful to see that it is going more mainstream. In Eastern Europe it seems like all the mothers want to show off their hard-core strollers. People would stop me and tell me that they had an old stroller available. They couldn’t imagine why I would choose to carry my son. I thought no woman would wear a Sleepy Wrap (Boba Wrap) in public, but maybe they would try it out around the house, but as soon as any woman tried on a Sleepy Wrap and felt her little one snug against her chest, she was thrilled. I gave my wrap off my back to a woman at the playground who was doing her best to keep an eye on her two other children while tending to her crying infant. She placed him inside and started to sway back and forth. Within two minutes he was sleeping on her chest. I ended up talking to her about travels in southeast Asia while she pushed her other little boy on the swing as her littlest one slept peacefully safe and secure. I think when moms start talking to other moms and women start sharing with each other what works for them that it is inevitable that the word of the benefits of babywearing will spread far and wide -and we are ready for it!

Describe your favorite babywearing memory/moment(s).

Isabela had so many questions about mummies and sarcophagus’s and the burial traditions of the Egyptians. First we had to check out most of the interesting picture laden books in the library, then she stated that we simply had to go and see the pyramids. We arranged to take some camels through the desert to actually see these immense wonders. Isabela rode with Robert. I had Nikolai. It was truly breathtaking as our guide and a boy riding bareback on a little white donkey led us up to a panorama where we could see five pyramids in a row. Nikolai decided after about an hour of camel riding that it was time to go to sleep. I had my Sleepy Wrap handy like always and I put him into it and nursed him as we went down a sand dune. If you’ve ever ridden a camel downhill you know that your center of gravity is completely off and you have to hold on pretty tight. I was laughing out loud and told my husband “Can you believe he’s nursing on a camel in the desert in Egypt?? This is too much!!” He didn’t get to see the Sphinx because he was snoring that cute little baby snore on my chest five minutes later.

Another time etched in my memory was on our fifth anniversary. I had never left Nikolai alone with anyone. I left him with my mother in-law for four hours while my husband and I went for a little romantic dinner to celebrate. When we came home my four year old told me that everything was alright because when Nikolai started to get a little cranky she told her Babi (“Grandma” in Slovenian) how to tie the Sleepy Wrap (Boba Wrap) and that they all went together, with Nikolai all snuggled up inside the wrap, to pick walnuts up on the top of the hill.

What do you feel is the biggest challenge in getting carriers into the hands of new parents?

I feel women that are higher up on the socio-economic ladder are more apt to embrace babywearing and other aspects of natural parenting. I would love to see women of all economic and social backgrounds embrace the idea that carrying their child is modern and not indicative of how rich or poor you may be. I have friends from Mexico who laugh at me when I wear my son. About half of the woman nurse their children and the other half have never even tried because that’s what the old school did and now they can afford formula. One of my friend’s sisters asked me if I was embarrassed to carry Nikolai in a wrap because I looked like a “poor homeless indigenous woman”. Unfortunately there is a stigma attached to mothering your child in some developing countries. In India, you prove your status if you can afford disposable diapers, formula, and a stroller. The poor women here smile and come up to me and nod approvingly. However, the middle class don’t get why someone from the west would resort to such a primitive style of rearing children. Even in eastern Europe, everyone is quick to point out how much everyone’s stroller is worth. Hopefully with time and with women sharing warm stories with one another of their awesome experiences with babywearing, things will start to change. We have tried our best as a company to keep our prices affordable so that all women may have the opportunity to carry their babies comfortably.

Describe a typical day in your life.

Right now I am sitting in a hammock tied between two guava trees. My little girl Isabela is in the other end of the garden hiding behind a wicker chair with a boy from Argentina eating beans that grow from the radish plants nearby laughing and saying “hola- hola”. My son Nikolai is sleeping in our one little room not so far away so I can hear his little coughs if he wakes up. In the morning Robert wakes up early and goes to a rooftop in the market so he can plug in his laptop and connect to the rest of the world, check the new and processed orders, pay the bills, and reply to the technical emails that have accumulated overnight. He does most of the financial work, devises and optimizes the marketing strategies and deals with the suppliers and the computer programmers. I usually drink a chai and read and look up every once in a while to my children’s laughter.

Sometimes Nikolai comes to nurse for a while and then resumes his play. Every other day is laundry day and I take the clothes out of the bucket and lather them up and scrub them on the cement and then hang them on the line. Isabela and Nikolai keep themselves busy in the garden. Monkeys jump up on to the walls. Cows come to eat the overgrown grass. Parrots tear off chunks of papaya from the trees. Isabela plays all morning with her brother and with Pargati and Lalu, two Indian children. She creates her world from fallen tomatillos, pieces of bamboo, sticks and dirt. She sings her own made up songs as travelers play their guitars. Today she found two straight sticks and tied them together to make a kite.

Nikolai, the joy of all the workers, tries to feed the puppies rocks and goes into the kitchen with a screwdriver to see if he can help. He observes the ritual offerings of incense and flowers to the various Hindu gods while saying “hot hot” all the while. Robert comes home around noon and we eat together in the market and spend the afternoon together. Usually we put the kids to bed around 7:00 so that we can work for another few hours and still have some time to unwind and simply be together in each other’s presence. Life is good!

Anything you’d like to add?

Most of you reading this probably share the same passion for babywearing as we do. I think the world needs our children.

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Elizabeth and Robert Antunovic now have a third beautiful child, Gloria, and still enjoy international family travel.

Nothing de-stresses you quite like a good run on the go-cart track:

Not all companies have the ability to say that all of the employees are a true team, but at Boba we do – each and every one of us love our job wholeheartedly and enjoy the time we get to spend joking around after a hard days’ work.

“My husband and I had the idea to make a Lipdub about babywearing… we made invitations and called as many families as possible, we searched the place, the right song, the material, and sponsor  and created the movie. We had the collaboration of a choreographer, two cameras, an assembler, etc.. and everything ready to record! It was no particular celebration, we just got together to make this video for a fantastic morning. I spent many hours of work preparing this video and I am very happy with the result.” – Laura, Kangura

The Lipdub about babywearing was the collaboration of a choreographer, two video cameras, an assembler and a group of amazing babywearing families. The video is a must-see:

Thanks to Laura and those at Kangura, we have some special photos to share from the event:

Babywearing around the world truly is something worth celebrating and we can’t thank Kangura enough for allowing us to be a part of this exciting event.

A special thank you as well to Laura for providing English translations to the fun song featured in the video!