We are excited to announce something special we’ve been working on for all you babywearing moms who want the perfect outer layer for you and babe to enjoy cooler weather comfortably (and stylishly). Boba Vest has arrived. This high quality, thoughtfully crafted baby carrier cover fits over you, your little and your Boba Carrier just right and provides that extra layer of warmth for early morning walks, later afternoon adventures, and outings of all kinds, regardless of dips in temperature. (Check out the Boba Vest press release below).

To celebrate this exciting release, we’re giving you a chance to win a Boba Vest in a Boba Prize Pack complete with new Boba Carrier 3G and Baby Carrier Stuff Sack (print of your choice), and our organic cotton teething pads. Enter below now through February 28 (ends March 1, 12:01 am).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

_____________________________________________________

Contact: Bethany O’Donnell                                                                           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tel: 888-567-9727

Email: bethany@bobafamily.com

DESPITE COLD WEATHER, PARENTS AND KIDS CAN CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THE WORLD TOGETHER

Avoid cabin fever with these cold-weather safety and comfort tips

BOULDER, COLO., Feb 25, 2013.— As families around the country settle into a cold and snowy winter, parents of young children are finding ways to get out and explore despite the freezing temperatures. Children’s need for outdoor time doesn’t change with the seasons, and with certain safety and comfort precautions, the outdoors are just as accessible in winter as in any other time of year.

One way to keep young children warm and protected in the elements is to share body warmth through babywearing, such as with wraps or baby carriers. But babywearing parents are often deterred by lack of outerwear that will fit over the baby.

“My son’s first winter, I only took him for a walk one time in the snow,” says Abby Armijo, Senior Project Manager at Boba (www.bobafamily.com), a Boulder, Colo.–based company that creates award-winning baby carriers and related products. “When we had to run errands, I would put him in the carrier, wrap myself up in a warm blanket, and speed walk into the store to avoid frostbite.”

But this winter will be different for Armijo and other babywearing parents, since Boba has launched its new line of vests designed to fit snugly and warmly over baby wraps and carriers. Boba Vest is the result of Boba’s acquisition of Peekaru, a company that has been making popular baby carrier covers since 2006. The covers are not only more fashionable than blankets or oversized coats, but they also close the gap between parent and child to keep out the cold.

In addition to sporting outerwear specifically designed for babywearing, Armijo offers these safety tips for venturing out with baby in the cold weather:

1. Dress appropriately. Little ones are especially sensitive to the elements, so make sure to dress them in layers—and don’t forget the hat.
2. Keep the airway clear. It is very easy to get lost in layers, so it is critical that fabric never creeps up around the baby’s face or anywhere that could compromise an open and clear airway.
3. Protect baby’s neck. Babies are wiggle worms. Avoid any potential strangulation hazards by making sure no fabric could get tangled around their necks.
4. Get comfortable first. Make sure your baby is in the carrier properly before putting your cold weather cover on. Although you can still make minor adjustments to the carrier with the cover on, it’s much easier to do beforehand.

About Boba
Boba (www.bobafamily.com) designs thoughtfully crafted products for active parents who want the time and freedom to create a real and caring bond with their child, while living life to the fullest. We care deeply about what we do, and our customers’ happiness is our highest motivation as a company.

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.

We’re proud to be chosen Editor’s Pick for Top Baby Carrier by BabyCenter.com! Boba 3G was among 15 Top Baby Products featured by Baby Center. The parenting site teamed up with baby gear guru Jamie Grayson to choose from among hundreds of parent reviews while also using their own parenting experience to make this year’s choices. Here’s what they had to say about the Boba 3G:

Top carrier: Boba 3G

Versatility makes this soft-structured carrier a winner. In contrast with other popular carriers, the Boba can be worn in front or on your back, allowing kids from 7 to 45 pounds to inhabit it snugly and safely. The Boba distributes your baby’s weight evenly on your hips and allows him to nestle in a froggy position — similar to the position he enjoyed in the womb. And unlike the Ergo, it doesn’t require a bulky infant insert to prop up the youngest babies.

The Boba’s stirrups also set it apart from every other carrier on the market. When your child grows beyond the baby stage, she can rest her feet in the stirrups and adjust and support her weight as needed.

Thank you to Baby Center, Jamie Grayson and all of your for continuing to make Boba 3G a top pick by parents of babies and toddlers!

Ocean is the newest edition to our Boba Wrap collection and the first in a new line of print styles. It features a blue and gray nautical color palette and like other Boba Wraps, is made of 95% cotton, 5% spandex for the perfect amount of support and stretch. Get the Ocean Wrap.

Introducing our newest look! Boba Carrier 3G, Stuff Sack and Boba Mini are now all available in Safari, our great shade of light, cool khaki. Perfect for long hikes, short treks or just running in and out of the grocery store, Safari gives you the same 3G you love with a sandy kick.

Win the whole Safari line and more with our Boba Safari Giveaway!

To celebrate the launch of this outdoorsy trio of new products, we’re giving away a fantastic Safari prize package! Enter now through Sunday, November 11 to win all three Safari products, one of those great Melissa & Doug giant stuffed giraffes, and the children’s book Starry Safari. Enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For those of us who love babywearing, love that freewheeling closeness, that do-it-all on-the-go snuggling, every week is babywearing week, every day a celebration of being together in this big colorful world. But this week, we take special pride in holding our little ones close and celebrate around the globe together. This week is International Babywearing Week!

To help spread the love and celebrate the week, we’re giving away a Boba Carrier prize pack with Boba Carrier 3G of your choice, matching Stuff Sack and Organic Teething Pads! Here’s how you can enter:

1. Follow Boba on Pinterest

2. Create an International Babywearing Week board on Pinterest and pin the following items to your board:

• This blog post explaining our International Babywearing Week Giveaway.
• Our safety guidelines from www.bobafamily.com/support/safety.
• Our benefits of babywearing blog post: Babywearing: A Better Way To Move Through Life.
• Our Babywearing All Star Feature on Babywearing International, creators of International Babywearing Week.
• BWI’s International Babywearing Week Video on Youtube.

3. Post your International Babywearing Week board in the comments on this blog post.

Entries will be accepted until 12 noon EST on Friday, October 12 and one randomly drawn winner will be announced later that afternoon via Facebook and the comments of this blog post.

Good luck, good pinning and happy International Babywearing Week!

Edited to add: This giveaway is now closed, the winner has been notified and her prizes have been shipped.

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!

Today, we announce something we’ve been bursting at the seams over for a few months now (and developing for much longer): BobaAir!

BobaAir is the lightest, sportiest baby carrier out there and we hope that this first-of-its-kind addition to your baby carrier collection will make that freedom together you have with your family even more effortless (and help spread the benefits of babywearing, too). This innovative new baby carrier is a real game-changer for active families because it is:

• Lightweight – only .7 pounds (11oz)
• Folds into itself to fit into a purse
• Water resistant
• Unparalleled portability
• Easy, quick on/off functionality
• Made of high-tech nylon fabric

BobaAir is perfect to keep stashed in your purse or glove box, and will be a perfect travel companion. In fact, to highlight BobaAir’s convenience, we’re running a special $1000 vacation package giveaway to help you experience a great, surely much-deserved family getaway with the ease of BobaAir. Check out the BobaAir $1000 Dream Vacation Pin-It-To-Win-It Giveaway for more info.

Visit BobaAir in our online shop for more details.

Read the BobaAir Press Release.

First prize: Molly’s Dude

Molly’s man will receive a Diaper Dude Boba 3G Carrier of his choice and matching Diaper Dude Bag.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Second prize: Christy’s Dude

Christy’s man will receive $120 in gift certificates to Boba and Diaper Dude.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Third prize: Shannon’s Dude

Shannon’s man will also receive $120 in gift certificates to Boba and Diaper Dude.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Thanks again to all the moms who nominated and all the best dads out there! Thank you also to Diaper Dude for the awesome bag and GC inclusions – we love working with you guys! You can check out all the other great dads that were nominated in the comments of the Father’s Day Giveaway blog post.