Shoulder Flips for Back Carries

In this week's live tutorial on Facebook, we talked about shoulder flips in back carries. The word "flip" has a different meaning in back carries than it does in front carries. Front carry "flips" were our focus of last week's live tutorial; we're really just twisting the wrap at the shoulder to bring it away from the neck in front carries. In back carries, we're taking the wrap from under arm and wrapping it up over shoulder to make a ruck strap, or backpack-style shoulder strap. It can take a little getting used to, and certainly isn't a requirement, but hopefully these tips will help you make it a little easier! 

Our tutorials are live on Facebook so you have a chance to ask questions and get feedback in real time! Make sure you're following the Amy Wraps Babies Facebook Page to get our live notifications every Tuesday at 9 AM Pacific time. Our events section is where you can find info on what we have coming up next!

Here's what we're talking about this week for back carry shoulder flips:

1. Will you twist at the shoulder as you flip or not?
2. Place, don't flip!
3. When all else fails, avoid! 

In the week's video we're using a Cassiope wrap - this is Number 4 Magpie in a base-2 for me, or size 4. Last week we talked a little about Cassiope and the overall contribution that they've given us the babywearing community to make babywearing just that much more beautiful. And I know that is super cheesy but it's true! It's true that Cassiope makes these lovely carriers for us, like wearing a baby in a piece of art. It's also true that wearing these lovely carriers makes me feel good about myself. Of course you could say that about any carrier, so long as it makes you feel safe and loved and connected to your baby, any baby carrier has the power to make you feel good. Yet I do still suggest, when shopping for a carrier, that you find one that you love the look of as much as the feel, if you can, because that aesthetic boost can really help give you the confidence and sometimes give you the motivation to keep building your skills. And for me, I've been sick for after almost a week so I haven't wrapped at all, but this Number 4 is definitely helping to motivate me! So let's start to flip, yes?

I'll let you know in the text below at what parts in the video I do the move I'm describing in the text. That way you can jump right to the best parts! Here's our original LIVE video, and sorry about it being sideways for the first couple minutes!:

1. Twist and Flip?
Up first is a question for you - do you want to twist the wrap at shoulder as you flip or no? Try it both ways and feel the difference. Some people dislike the twist because it can create a pressure point under the arm, but with a twist you can show off contrasting sides of a wrap. So there's pros and cons. 

Let's demo the difference with a Double Sling Carry. It starts off center so the middle marker ends up around my shoulder. To twist, take the old top rail and keep it as the new top rail - I show this in the video at 10:00 in. This makes a subtle twist that shows off the wrap's contrasting side really well. It can be a nice detail to add to a simple carry like this. However, this top rail is right up under arm and if you have a baby leaning and pulling on this top rail, having it up in your arm can be somewhat uncomfortable.

Now contrasting this is to not twist - I demo this version at just after 12:00 in the video. This time we'll keep the wrap nice and flat around the shoulder. The old bottom rail becomes the new top rail in this case, so the same side of the wrap shows, but most people find this method a little more comfortable. Without the twist, it's also a little easier to do my next tip - place the new top rail right where you want it to be.

2. Place the top rail
Rather than trying to straight up flip the whole wrap dramatically over shoulder - while that can look really cool - save that move for a photo shoot. For everyday flips, just place that top rail where you want it - in this case I'll skip the flip and make the old bottom rail my new top rail. In the video this is done at 14:00 in. After I finish placing the bottom rail in position as the new top rail, I reach behind me to "towel" the new top rail up baby's back, make a second seat, and tie off. And that's a Double Sling Carry.

3. Avoid!
So our last tip for today - when in doubt of the flip, avoid it! For a carry like this Double Sling one, avoid the flip altogether with a flipless version. My demo of this version starts at 18:15 in the video. by starting in a ruck pass, off-center just like before, make a sling or cross pass, then just switch the tails at the end. Boom, no flip required and I get the same structure in the back. Woohoo! Like I said before, mastering shoulder flips is not a requirement.

Next week we will be working on two ways to start back carrying with a woven wrap. That's because then the following week we're going to be rerunning the "Wrapped in Love and Luck" challenge. If you've been following the page for awhile, or if you've been in the Babywearing Challenge group for awhile, you might remember this challenge that we did last year. I'll share more details on that next week. Happy Wrapping!

​Our LIVE videos for late January and early February 2017 are sponsored by Cassiope Woven.