Penny Pincher

Justin and have been super frugal for first time parents. This is mostly due to the fact that Justin is the cheapest miser I have ever met and I live to make him happy. I don't think we bought a single thing for Penelope full price. All of her diapers even came from ebay (brand new of course). Justin shudders at the thought of paying 12 cents or more per diaper. I decide I wanted a Moby wrap but I knew there was no way in hades I could convince Justin I needed a piece of $45 fabric. I did a lot of research and ended up with 2 handmade mobys for $5.25. Justin was impressed and I felt victorious that I could be the bargain hunting wife. Here is how it went down.

I started out with this book

Justin got this for  50 cents. It's by Andrea Sarvady 

It has a ton of great info on swaddling, slings, and moby-like wraps. I tried the sling first, which worked great when she was asleep but not so great when my curious child was awake.

She has to see everything

All you need for this sling is a 2-3 yards of fabric standard 45"in width. Cotton works well, you don't want anything stretchy. Mine is a silky fabric I found at Goodwill for $1.00. You can hem the ends if you want or need to. Fold it in half lengthwise. Take the ends around your body and tie a double knot at your shoulder. The fabric should rest just above your hip. Slide a newborn inside the pocket or set an older child's bottom in the pocket with their legs on either side of you hip. I wore her to the Mindy Gledhill concert this way. It was great because, to baby Penny, it felt like I was holding her without all the pressure on my arms. She slept through the whole thing.

We got better with practice and a swaddle me to restrain her arms

The sling is nice but I needed something more hands free and the moby wrap was calling my name. I did a lot of research on the internet and the book had some good advice too. The most important thing is the fabric. Something with give but that is not super stretchy. A jersey knit works well. I just went to the discounted fabric section in Wal Mart and started pulling on the fabric until I found one that would work. You want something soft and breathable. The fabric I chose was a cotton, spandex, silk blend in a pale grey blue. It was a $1.50 a yard. The Moby wrap is 5.5 meters long (or a little over 18 feet for you american, non-science folk). The book suggested 3-4 yards of fabric. I did not want to have to wrap it around me a million times so I went with 4 yards to take out the bulk. I asked for 3 1/2 yards but they lady just gave me the rest and good thing she did because 4 yards was just perfect. Depending on your size you will need more or less.

When I got home I realized it was bigger than standard width. Meaning I was going to get 2 for $5.25! My fabric also ended up being prone to unraveling. If you get standard width fabric that will not unravel you are pretty much done. I took mine to my Mom's house and she ended up just doing this next part for me. I was really grateful because I had a very needy baby at the time.

Done! She loves it

She cut the fabric down the middle and then surged all the way around. You can just hem the ends if your fabric is standard width for a cleaner look. The Moby wrap has tapered ends to take even more of the bulk out. We opted to just leave ends with a straight edge because it ended up not making that much of a difference. I am also going to put a tag in the middle of mine like the Moby. It is difficult to line everything up evenly when you wrap without it, especially if you want the knot to end up on your hip instead of at your back.

That is pretty much it. I have a renewed determination to never pay full price for anything! Justin has been so good at teaching me the difference between want and need. Although, I try not to tell him my wants because they become his needs. I have always been a good bargain hunter but now I am learning what is important. I had the mentality that as long as I had enough money it was alright to get whatever I wanted. Now, I am learning to save in the times of plenty so my family never has to want for the important things during times of famine. I love the feeling of taking care of my family. I love it more than anything I may want in the moment. I guess you could say I love pinching pennies, especially this little Penny's cheeks!

So happy!