Thursday, August 28, 2014

Tekhni Limoncello Meandros - Guest review by Tamara

Tamara was kind enough to help me out with a guest review. I often find myself browsing the internet for wrap reviews, but never seem to be able to find a solid database of reviews. I hope that I - with the help of lovely guest reviewers like Tamara - am able to build such a database. Ambitious much? ;)

Well, Tamara, here you go! Your baby is adorable!

Tekhni Meandros Limoncello with Repreve

Release Date: 08/07/2014

Size of Reviewed Wrap: 6 (4.6m)

Age/Size of wrappee: 14 weeks, 16.4lbs.

Blend: 55% Cotton, 45% Repreve
Weight: 280gsm

I can imagine wearing this wrap right now, in the hot summer months, standing at a county fair in the southern United States.  I’m eating cold strawberry ice-cream out of a still-warm waffle cone.  My baby boy is gurgling happily, wrapped in this shimmery, sunny fabric.  The moment is fresh, happy, joyous.


Meandros Limoncello is sunshine.  It’s shimmery.  It’s the perfect, buttery, lush shade of yellow.  It has a wonderfully soft feel in hand.  I am happy when I wrap my baby in this lovely, functional piece of art.

I feel like the wrap was pretty well broken in after the first wash. I ran it through a gentle cycle, then tumble dried on low with two damp towels and several tennis-balls tied up in tube socks for about an hour.  It came out and got a low iron, and then we tried it on.  



It has enough diagonal stretch after the first wash to be easily tightened.  It’s lovely and pliable.  The weave is airy.  I live in the heart of Texas and now, in late August, the summer is really kicking into gear.  We are always warmer when we wrap, but Limoncello was comfortable and breathable enough that my son enjoyed a walk outside in the almost noon-day sun. The classic Meandros pattern gives it grip, but it still glides easily.  It feels lovely on my shoulders.  It doesn’t seem high maintenance - it wasn’t wrinkled when we took it off.  It’s light color doesn’t attract grime like you’d think, with grubby little boy hands. 


I feel that this wrap would shine for both new wrappers and very experienced ones, and also for mamas with tiny babies as well as those with toddlers. 
Tamara Tomko


Bad Parenting 101: the one where you introduce electronics into your baby's world


Letting your 5 months old play with your old work phone. Uh huh.



Sunday, August 24, 2014

Tekhni Ceres Coastal with Repreve - review



Wrap brand: Tekhni Wovens
Type: Ceres
Colorway: Coastal
Material: 55% cotton, 45% repreve
Size: 6 - 4.6 meters / 15,1 ft
Width: 73 cm / 29 inches
Thickness: Medium - thick

Well, hello Repreve

Yes, I know, I know. The Repreve hype is controversial. 


Well, bring out the pitch forks. I love Repreve. I already loved it in my Patagonia running gear, but I absolutely adore it in baby wraps. And I honestly don't care what the Repreve hating half of the babywearing community thinks about it. Ha! ;)

I bought the Ceres Coastal wrap by Tekhni Wovens through the Talk about Tekhni Facebook group. Bought it from a very friendly momma in Germany and was pleasantly surprised the moment I had this wrap in my hands. It feels like wool. But it doesn't have the itchiness wool gives me. I have very sensitive skin, so wool doesn't work. But thanks to the repreve in this wrap I can now enjoy all the advantages of wool, without the irritation on my skin. It truly keeps you cooler when it's hot - less sweating: Yay! - and warm when it's colder outside. Whether you like repreve or not - it's really up to personal opinion. I'm a fan an can only recommend trying a wrap with repreve, and decide for yourself whether or not repreve is for you. 


Wrapping qualities

As for the wrap. It's grippy, textured and stretchy. Very easy to wrap with and slide the passes into place. It's not a thin wrap. I'd say it's medium to thick. Which I like. If you're into thin wraps, this wraps is not for you. It is airy and light, though. It does not feel like wrapping a blanket, like some thicker wraps do. 



Once it's wrapped and in place, it does have some (just a bit, nothing major) bounce. In my opinion. It's not rock solid like my Cari Slings Eq Burchelli, but because the wrap is so soft and cushy the bit of bounce does not bother me. My shoulders are happy. :) As is Baby Q. This wrap comes with sleepy dust. And he like grabbing it. Probably because it's textured.

And the print: I love this print. It's clean, geometric and goes with everything. It looks like pixels up close, but gives a leafy print from a few meters away. Fun print. Well done, Tekhni!

Newborn or Toddler

I'd say both. Baby Q is 5 months and 17 lbs and I can rock a FWCC and FCC comfortably. And at the moment I wear Baby Q for approximately 8 hours a day. My Diamond weave Girasol's no longer give me the support I'd like in a wrap, but this wrap does. So, I'd say Newborn to Toddler. If you want me to grab the 7 year old next door, wrap him and report on how happy my shoulders are carrying him around - let me know. I'd probably get him to do it. ;)


So, keep or sell/trade

Keep, I'd say keep. :) If you get the chance to try one of the Tekhni wraps with Repreve, do. Just try them out and see if it's for you. 


Friday, August 15, 2014

How to get back to running after pregnancy


Reading about everyone else's accomplishments might make you feel bad. Even though you know you just gave birth, this won't stop that little voice in the back of your head, that is telling you that you are slacking. 

4. Cross train

It might be easier to do core work outs/strength training/a stationary bike session with the baby sleeping next to you. It will give you that 'I worked out' rush and it helps your running. 

5. Watch that pelvic floor

My PT pointed out that this is a big one. Most new moms seem to forget about this, and end up in pain years after giving birth. By paying attention now, doing your exercises, and not rushing back into running/exercising, you can do everything to prevent this. 

6. Set a reasonable goal

Don't make yourself run a marathon PR months after giving birth. Pick a race that has a high fun factor for you (for me this was running one of the Swiss Alpine Marathon distances - the half marathon with quite some altitude gain- 4 months after having my son), and set yourself a goal of not finishing last. In my case I did not finish last, but was much slower than pre pregnancy, and in pretty much yucky pelvic pain from the half way point on, but I did have a lot of fun and a great experience. 

Do you have any other tips that might be helpful for new moms?

Review time

I am working on a bunch of reviews on baby wraps. If you have any wraps or blends you'd like me to look into and review, please comment to this post or shoot me an email at sillygirlrunning[at]hotmail.com. Would love to hear from you!