Hug-a-Bub Review (stretchy wrap around baby carrier)

The Hug-a-Bub stretchy wrap around carrier is 100% cotton and Australian made. It comes in a handful of different sizes, however their "hugable" (or regular) size will fit almost anyone (including my partner and I who have used the hug-a-bub at 170cms height and weighing both above and below 100kgs). The hugable size is 5 meters long which gives parents plenty of wrap to work with. The length left over after finding just the right position and tightness can be wrapped around the parent's body as many times as necessary and tied in a knot.

Hug-a-Bubs come with a pocket at the centre of one side of the fabric in a contrasting colour to the rest of the wrap. This makes it incredibly easy to find the centre, which is the first step of putting the wrap on. It is also convenient for storing a spare nappy, or other small items.

Hug-a-Bub send an instructional DVD with their wrap which makes learning how to use a wrap around carrier easy! It was thanks to the Hug-a-Bub DVD that my partner and I were able to figure out how to use our ellaroo woven wrap too! The Hug-a-Bub company is one well worth supporting. It is run by two mothers who practice attachment parenting and see the production and sale of their babywearing product as one small part of gentle parenting more generally. For these mothers the hug-a-bub is not about making money, it's about fostering close bonds between parents and children and therefore enabling healthy childhood development. Hug-a-Bub invited Indigenous Australian artist Tex Skuthorpe to create a pattern for one of the carrier's colour schemes and donated a percentage of the sale of these wraps to a cause of his choice. Tex chose The National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.

Furthermore when our Hug-a-Bub developed a stress tear on account of our poor care for the wrap (not washing it often enough) the women and Hug-a-Bub were more than happy to replace the wrap for us. That is how we came to own two Hug-a-Bubs - our red wrap with a small hole which has not effected it's useability and a pocketless sage wrap in perfect condition. When we received our second wrap we were also given a second instructional DVD and a card with a kind hand written message. While the sage wrap is without a pocket, the Hug-a-Bub logo is still conveniently located in the centre of the fabric so it is still easy to find the centre.

The stretchy fabric makes getting your baby in and out, readjusting and repositioning the wrap easy. While it is entirely possible to feed your baby while wearing him or her in the Hug-a-Bub I took my baby out of the wrap to feed her. I could still keep the wrap on though, and just lift it and my shirt up over a breast to feed. When finished I would readjust the wrap and pop her back in with ease.

In the early months of mothering this stretchy wrap was the only carrier I felt completely comfortable using in public. This is because I found it easy to adjust without having to take it off and start from the start again - which I struggled with using the woven wrap.

I was reluctant to buy a Hug-a-Bub at first because I had heard many parents say that once their child hit 6 months of age they were too heavy for the stretchy wrap. The stretch in the wrap gave-way too easily and the heavier baby would sink down too low making it uncomfortable for the parents. However, after struggling to use my woven wrap in the first couple of weeks of motherhood I bought a Hug-a-Bub. The Hug-a-Bub got my family off to a successful babywearing beginning, and I was able to learn how to use the woven wrap from there. At seven months I began to find it difficult to wear my baby in the Hug-a-Bub. I found that because my child was heavier I had to be very precise about how tight I had the wrap and where exactly it was positioned on my body, because if it was slightly wrong I would really feel it, particularly on my hips. At this point I stopped using my Hug-a-Bub as much.

Having said that my partner loved the Hug-a-Bub and continued to have no problems wearing our older baby in it, and a friend of ours wore her son in the stretchy wrap for over a year. Even though I didn't use our Hug-a-Bub as much after seven months I would still highly recommend it to other parents with young babies. For the first seven months of our child's life we used the Hug-a-Bub every single day for extensive periods of time, so we still beleive it was money well spent.

The Sling Station says this about Stretchy Wraps:

The most comfortable; The most versatile; the best support for baby; Ergonomic support for both baby and the caregiver Studies show that wraps support the spine and hips better than any other carrier – especially for newborns. Many people who have back trouble report that the wrap is the only carrier they can comfortably use for long periods. Cons:Lots of fabric. Can get hot. Somewhat steep learning curve (most people can learn at least one tying method in 15-20 minutes of practice)...stretchy wraps are easy for beginners – only one tying method. Nice and cuddly for newborns. Ideal for newborns - our favorite baby shower gift. Easy in/out. Cons: Better for smaller babies and front carries. Back carries are not usually recommended with stretchy wraps. Newborns can be held reclining, upright, facing in, facing out, or side sitting.

Helpful Links:

Colour Schemes Available

Sizing Explained

Positions

How to Tie Instructions from the Hug-a-Bub Website

This youtube video is also helpful:

Purchase From:

Mothers Direct

Mothers Direct (pocketless - cheaper)

Instictive Parenting

Other Stretchy Wraps Available at:

Karri Tree Lane (Moby)

Karri Tree Lane (Gypsy Mama)

Sling Station (Moby)

The Birth of The Milky Way

27 August 2008
From Fresh Milk by Fiona Giles:

"The story of the Milky Way, as it appears in Greco-Rman mythology, concerns the feeding of baby Hercules, son of Jupiter. Because Hercules' mother was mortal, Zeus put Hercules to the breast of the Goddess Juno, his wife and sister, knowing that Hercules would acquire immortality through her milk. As Hercules suckled from the sleeping Juno's breast, she woke up and pushed him away. As she did so her milk sprayed across the heavens, crystallizing into a promontory of stars. Her milk that fell on the ground produced lililies." (pages 1-2)

Whenever my milk drips onto the floor beneath me from now on I will think of the creation of galaxies.

Check out this rather appropriate image from sunreligion.net which is of "The unfolded contours of the Milky Way from Stars Atlas". I found it by googling "origins of milky way" and browsing the images that showed up in the search.

Ellaroo Woven Wrap Review

This baby carrier is hand-woven and made from 100% cotton fabric. It is lightweight and very breatheable, an ideal wrap for the warmer months of the year. Wrap around carriers are one of the most versitile babywearing products. They can be tied to carry children on the front facing outwards and inwards, on both hips and on the back facing forwards.

When it's not wrapped around adult and child, this wrap is one long piece of fabric. It is 68.58 centimeters (27 inches) wide and comes in a range of lengths; 2.7 m, 3.6 m, 4.2 m, 4.6 m and 5 m.

Unlike some wraps (for example the hug-a-bub) there is no pocket or contrasting colour to mark the centre of the wrap on the ellaroo woven wraps. Given that locating the centre of the wrap is the first step to tying any position, this is a minor downside to the ellaroo woven wraps. My partner and I quickly overcame this by making a small mark on the edge of the fabric at the centre in black texta - small enough to only be found when looking for it.

Woven wraps have their advantages over stretchy wraps. First, stretchy wraps are sometimes not able to take the weight of babies after about six months of age, instead the wrap allows the baby to stretch further down the parents' body, making it uncomfortable for the parent. Woven wraps, on the other hand, do not have nearly as much give as stretchy wraps, so are better able to uphold and support bigger babies and children.

Personally I felt that the woven wrap was sturdier than the stretchy wrap. This is because as soon as you put your baby into a wrap their weight will cause the wrap to give a little, so you must tie wraps around yourself tighter than you expect to ensure that the child doesn't sink down too much. I found that woven wraps don't need to be tied as tight before placing my child in them because they do not give as much as stretchy wraps.

I have found that the woven wrap has been far easier to care for than the stretchy wraps. I am able to get away with washing the woven wrap less often than the stretchy wraps because the stretchy wraps are suseptible to stress tears if not washed regularly (losing their stretch capacity over time between washes). I also find that after wearing the woven wraps they are easier to fold and put away because the sides do not roll up and under as much as with stretchy wraps - they're easier to smooth out.

Having said that I found it easier to adjust the stretchy wrap while wearing it than the woven wrap because the stretchy wrap fabric moves around on the body (neither could be adjusted while the baby was in them, for that a ring sling is ideal). To adjust the woven wrap I usually take it off and start from the start again.

I have not been able to breastfeed my baby while wearing her in the woven wrap - but this is something I have struggled to do in all carriers, so that is more a reflection on me than the wrap. I prefered the stretchy wrap for breastfeeding because I would take baby out of the carrier, pop a breast out between the fabric and feed, then adjust the wrap after feeding before putting baby back in. With the woven wrap I took it completely off to feed.

When wearing my baby in the woven wrap I don't feel her weight, the wrap takes it for me, she feels very secure and supported. It is very comfortable because it covers both shoulders rather than favouring one. Because wraps do not have straps and the fabric can be spread out across the shoulders I have found it to be more comfortable than soft structured carriers.

I have never felt the need for another woven wrap, the ellaroo meets my woven needs. I adore the colour schemes ellaroo have to offer (that's the only thing that tempts me to get more woven wraps). If I was stranded on a dessert island and could only take one baby carrier I would choose this one because of its versitility, support and funky colours.

*this was written when my child was 7 months of age.

The Sling Stations Says This About Woven Wraps:

The most comfortable; The most versatile; the best support for baby; Ergonomic support for both baby and the caregiver Studies show that wraps support the spine and hips better than any other carrier – especially for newborns. Many people who have back trouble report that the wrap is the only carrier they can comfortably use for long periods. Cons:Lots of fabric. Can get hot. Somewhat steep learning curve (most people can learn at least one tying method in 15-20 minutes of practice)...They do everything the stretchy wraps do and more! This is our favorite overall carrier . More supportive & versatile than the stretchy wrap. Carry your newborn to 3 year old on your front, back, or hip The higher end woven wraps such as The Storchenwiege are almost as cuddly as our stretchy wrap and highly recommend for newborns as well as toddlers. Breathable fabrics will keep you cooler and there are many more ways to tie your woven wrap.

Related Links

The Making of the Wrap

Colour Options
(The ellaroo featured in the photos above is called the "LaRae" colour scheme)

Figuring Out The Size For You
(The ellaroo featured in the photos above is 4.6m, and used by someone who is 100kg x 170cm. Having the extra length of a 5m wrap would have been more convenient)

For Wrap Instructions
This site has excellent instructions on all the different positions you can carry your baby in, in a wrap. It is clear and concise and has pictures to help you as you go.

Wrap Your Baby
A site all about using wraps.

You can also use these videos from youtube to help you:

Front Carry:


Back Carry:


Changing From a Front Carry To a Back Carry

Nursing in a Wrap:

Hip Carry in a Wrap:

Where To Purchase:


Tinkoki Slings

Karri Tree Lane

Babes in Arms

Carrying Away

Sling Station

Breastfeeding Two Years And Beyond

All the benefits of human milk—including nutritional and health—continue for as long as your baby receives your milk...Many of the health benefits of human milk are dose related, that is, the longer the baby receives human milk, the greater are the benefits. (From How Long Should a Mother Breastfeed?)

Breastfeeding for two years and beyond is sometimes referred to as "extended breastfeeding". I do not like the term "extended breastfeeding" because it implies that it is normal to stop breastfeeding before two years. Breastfeeding remains very important to the child's health and development at two years of age. The World Health Organisation recommends breastfeeding for a minimum of two years. A more appropriate term for breastfeeding beyond two years is "full-term breastfeeding". This term implies that to stop breastfeeding before two years is to cut the normal breastfeeding relationship short. Until the introduction of artificial feeding products, children were commonly breastfed at the ages of two and three (From Sustained Breastfeeding). A study of human ancestry indicates that it is normal for children to continue breastfeeding at the ages of five, six and seven (Breastfeeding Beyond a Year: exploring benefits, cultural influences and more).

I was surprised to discover that The Le Leche League uses the term "extended breastfeeding" to refer to breastfeeding beyond one year! Scientific evidence attests to the importance of breast milk to a child's immunity. Human immune systems are not fully developed at the age of two, let alone at one year! However, The Le Leche League have published an article which states:

Even after 12 months, babies continue to benefit from human milk. At one year of age, a baby's immune system is functioning at only 60 percent of adult level and because formula has no live antibodies, it is strongly associated with high rates of infection (Huggins 2007). A child's immune system isn't functioning at adult level until age six (Dettwyler 1994). (From Breastfeeding Beyond a Year: exploring benefits, cultural influences and more)

Did you know that:

• The immunological benefits of breast milk continue well into the second year of breastfeeding, and that breastfed toddlers have been shown to experience less illness than their formula fed friends?

• A relationship between children's IQ and the duration for which they were breastfed has been discovered?

• The longer a child is breastfed, the better quality her bones will be long-term?

• Toddlers who are breastfed experience more secure attachment to their mothers and as a result were better able to become independent than bottle-fed toddlers?

• Sustained breastfeeding reduces a mother's risk of osteoporosis, anemia, ovarian and breast cancers?
  

(From Sustained Breastfeeding & 101 Reasons to Breastfeed Your Child).

There is an assumption in the Western world that mothers who continue breastfeeding beyond one or two years do so to meet their own egotistical desires. This is clearly a myth when one considers all the social pressure these mothers encounter in choosing to do what's best for their children. Furthermore consider certain behaviours common to Western toddlers such as thumb sucking, dummy/pacifier sucking, and attachment to certain toys and blankets. These behaviours may indicate that young children have emotional needs which could be met by the simple act of breastfeeding. When the need to breastfeed is not met, children seek substitutes to attach to. Dr William Sears, author of The Baby Book, writes:

We have studied the long-term effects on thousands of children who had timely weanings and have observed that these children are more independent, gravitate to people more than things, are easier to discipline, experience less anger, radiate trust...[after] studying the long-term effects of long-term breastfeeding, the most secure... and happy children we have seen are those who have not been weaned before their time. (Quoted in Breastfeeding Beyond a Year: exploring benefits, cultural influences and more)

According to Dr Sarah J. Buckley, a family physician and mother of four: "The benefits of breastfeeding increase with duration, and the disease-protective effects actually increase as weaning approaches" (Buckley, 2005, 246). Buckley sites the work of a number of medical professionals research about the benefits of extended breastfeeding including A.W. Onyango's study, which shows that breast milk can provide toddlers with: up to one-third of their daily energy needs, two-thirds of their fat requirements, 58% of their vitamin A requirements, and nearly a third of their calcium needs (Buckley, 2005, 246).


Our children grow so fast, and will leave breastfeeding behind quick enough in their own time. Discard arbitrary timelines for completing your breastfeeding relationship and follow your child's lead. Breastfeeding remains important to their health and development well beyond their baby years. So enjoy nursing your youngins while you can!

3 year old enjoying booba

(photos above include a 5 year old and two 2 year olds nursing - one who's very tired)

Further Reading:

Breastfeeding a Toddler Facts Sheet

Myths about Breastfeeding Toddlers

Breastfeeding Beyond a Year: exploring benefits, cultural influences and more

Sustained Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding a Toddler

How Long Should a Mother Breastfeed?

Why Mothers Nurse Their Children Into Toddlerhood

The Nursing Toddler: A Baby on Wheels

Why I Nurse My Toddler

The Advantages of Extended Nursing

Information on Breastfeeding an Older Baby/Child

Tricky Two Year Old

101 Reasons to Breastfeed Your Child

Buckley, Sarah, Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering, Brisbane, One Moon Press, 2005.

Breastfeeding Position Paper by The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) says:

Nursing Beyond Infancy Breastfeeding should ideally continue beyond infancy, but this is currently not the cultural norm and requires ongoing support and encouragement.⁸⁵ Breastfeeding during a subsequent pregnancy is not unusual. If the pregnancy is normal and the mother is healthy, breastfeeding during pregnancy is the woman's personal decision. If the child is younger than two years of age, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned. Breastfeeding the nursing child after delivery of the next child (tandem nursing) may help to provide a smooth transition psychologically for the older child.^{61 (emphasis added).}

Blessingways (Mother Showers)

A blessingway (also known as a "mother blessing" or "mother circle") is similar to a baby shower in the sense that it is a celebration held toward the end of a woman's pregnancy. However, the focus of a blessingway is the mother and her upcoming birth, rather than the baby and receiving commercial baby products. The blessingway is a ritual to honour pregnancy, birth, and the mother. In particular it is an occasion for people in a pregnant woman's life to bless the way forward for her as she enters (or re-enters) motherhood, via the great rite of passage that is giving birth.

Blessingways are a beautiful example of contemporary feminine bonding, as they usually involve pampering the pregnant mama with massage, a foot bath, and hair braiding. Usually the pregnant mama's belly is decorated in some form to reflect on the beauty of pregnancy as this sacred time moves towards completion. This may include making a cast of the belly with plaster, painting the belly, or tattooing the belly with henna.

Pregnant mama receiving a henna tattoo

Pregnant mama receiving hand and foot massages
Pregnant mama in a drying plaster belly cast

Mama sporting her freshly done henna tattoo

Mama soaking her feet in a herbal bath before a foot rub

Many blessingways also include making the pregnant mama a beaded necklace to wear during the birth. Each of her guests bring one bead (or a selection), and present it to the mama explaining what drew them to that particular bead, why they chose it specifically for her, and what they hope it brings to her birthing experience.

\
Blessingway guests making a birth necklace

A completed necklace.

Another tradition is the woven circle, where all the mother's guests stand in a circle and she walks around wrapping one long piece of wool (or any kind of yarn) around the guests wrists a couple of times. Once everyone is connected the mother goes around the circle a second time and cuts every free so they are left with a band around their wrist which they wear until the time of the baby's birth. This way all the women stay connected to one another and are left with a special something from the day which will cause them to remember their friend whenever they see it on their wrists.

Candles are another common gift at blessingways. As with the beads, guests bring a candle for the pregnant mama which they can either take home with them and light when they hear their friend has gone into labour, or they can leave it with her to light in her birth space as a reminder of you and your good tidings for her birth experience.

Each blessingway can be made unique by adding personal touches. For example a card-making mama covered her kitchen table with stationary and art supplies for her guests to make cards with inspirational messages she could read during labour. Another mama with Japanese extended family made origami with her guests. And a knit-loving mama wove woolen bracelets for each of her friends to wear until the birth of her baby.

Pregnant mama & her doula making woolen birth bracelets

A thoughtful and practical gift guests can bring to a blessingway is a freezable meal for the pregnant mama's family to heat and eat during the early days of the newborn's life. And the blessingway provides a perfect opportunity to volunteer to come over and do some household chores for the family after the baby has been born.

yoni decorated cupcakes
a yummy birth related sweet served at a blessingway

All too often our society forgets about the mother's experience and thinks only of the new baby. A blessingway is a great ritualistic reminder of the mother's importance when it comes to pregnancy, birth and the baby. A blessingway is a wonderful celebration of this very special time in a mother's life.

To read about some of the blessingways I have been a part of see:
My Blissful BlessingwayA Blessingway Celebration On Imbloc
A Blessingway Full of Hand Made Gifts
April's Blessingway Weekend
Birth Art for a Blessingway
Blessing The Way For A Second Journey
Blessed and Birthy Weekend

Uncovering What Lies Behind Lactophobia

Lactophobia: fear of lactation, often expressed in the form of disgust and defensive attitudes and beahviour.

Today there is an entire market for commercial goods for hiding breasts and babies during feeding time, in case anyone should be offended by seeing breastfeeding in action (or the mother herself feel embarrassed by nursing her child in public). But why should anyone be offended or embarrassed by a child receiving the most important source of health and well-being? After all, the reason women have breasts is to nurse their young! One answer is that breasts ,in Western society, have been sexualised to the extreme and as a result some people are unable to separate sex from breasts. Subsequently these people perceive breastfeeding as perverse because it involves children in a sex act. Of course nursing mothers and young children know this is not the case! Breastfeeding is the normal and optimal method of nourishing and nurturing our young.

Different body parts have been fetishised at different times and in different places of the world, including feet, neck, and ankles. It is important to note that breasts have not been perceived as sex objects across all cultures or in all periods. One possible reason for breasts being so sexualised currently, in the West, is the fact that our rates of breastfeeding are low. Carolyn Latteier states that Westerners don't see a lot of breastfeeding in public, most of the time when we see breasts it is within a sexual context (From Breast Obsession).

According to the 007Breast website: refusing to breastfeed a child, as well as forced and early weaning, also contribute to the sexualisation of breasts. If the baby is refused what is her best source of comfort and security (as well as nutrition) she is left with an unfulfilled attachment to breasts. The baby still wants to be close to breasts, but is denied. As toddlers this normal and healthy desire to be close to breasts is misconstrued by some adults as unsavory and the youngins may be scolded or punished for expressing their need for mother's breasts. In addition children (and teenagers) may also not be allowed to see naked breasts within their family because this is ruled by adults to be taboo. Naturally, children develop "curiosity towards breasts" and the taboo makes breasts exciting. To top it all off this exciting taboo is represented as sexual within the media. And so the fetish is born and "the end result is a distorted view of female breasts" (Breast Obsession). This article notes that this leads to a vicious cycle:

The less women breastfeed, the less people get to see the real purpose of breasts. At the same time media everywhere touts the view of female breasts as sexual. That in turn makes it harder for women to breastfeed, since many of the reasons for not breastfeeding are linked to the sexualization of breasts.
So the less women breastfeed, the harder it becomes for women to breastfeed. We have a cycle that self-promotes the view that the main purpose of female breasts is for something else than feeding babies! (From Breast Obsession).

There is an easy way to break the cycle, though: breastfeed our children, let them wean themselves naturally, don't hide breastfeeding from older siblings and relatives, encourage our children to understand breastfeeding and see this as breasts' purpose!

Sheila Kitzinger notes that artificial feeding products help perpetuate this vicious cycle by eliminating display of breasts. She states that this in turn helps to perpetuate misogynist beliefs about a woman's body being the rightful, sexual property of man. She writes:

Today bottle-feeding, because it eliminates display of the breasts, helps protect women, and their male owners, against such attack. Women's breasts are considered their husbands' possessions. The man decides what is done with them and to whom they can be shown. Shame and disgust about breastfeeding are closely connected to the view of a woman's body as male property (The Politics of Birth, pg. 43).

Kitzinger also observes that lactating is sometimes viewed as an unattractive bodily function. Like menstruation it is perceived as "polluting" or disgusting (2005, 39). Breastfeeding is thereby made inconvenient for women and their children, because it is treated as something that should be hidden.

For all our "progress" The West has become terribly confused about the purpose of breasts. Breasts were made for meeting the needs of our young. This is evidenced by the fact that breasts of all shapes and sizes can equally nourish a child - not just the most aesthetically pleasing and amply-sized breasts.

Private spaces designated for breastfeeding outside the home, and products sold for the specific purpose of hiding breastfeeding from public view, do nothing to bring an end to lactophobia. By taking action to break the "vicious cycle" of low breastfeeding rates and a distorted view of breasts, we can simultaneously fight lactophobia and the sexual objectification of women! Which would lead to great improvements in the health and well-being of all women and children.

Ella & Oscar

Further Reading:
Breast Obsession

Kitzinger, Sheila, The Politics of Birth, Edinburgh, Elsevier, 2005, pages 33-43.

ETA:
For another article on this topic see Got Milk? Not in Public! by Jacqueline H Wolf. She writes:

"[Hurricane] Katrina exposed America's class and racial divisions. We heard stories about inefficient government agencies, abandoned pets, lethal mold.

But do you know what story I kept looking for and never found? What happens to formula fed babies during a disaster when mothers cannot buy infant formula and they do not even have access to water? And there was ample opportunity to have a sidebar that pondered those awful questions. Some of the most memorable film clips coming out of New Orleans in 2005 pictured frantic mothers clutching their barely conscious, dehydrated babies.

To those of us who work on breastfeeding, the "issue" of breastfeeding in public is a periodic amusing and frustrating annoyance. However, we have to start treating it as more than that. The negative attitude toward public breastfeeding is a cornerstone of low breastfeeding rates and a basis of our persistently formula feeding culture. Aside from all the mothers who quickly learn to use infant formula because they are embarrassed by their hungry babies when there is no private space to breastfeed, women in the U.S. often fail at breastfeeding because they do not have adequate opportunity to observe other women breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is not intuitive, it is a learned behavior. In other words: Breastfeeding in our culture is deemed a private bodily function when – for many reasons, all having to do with infant and maternal health – it should be a public one."

A Guide For Belly Casting

Belly casting is a fun and artistic way to celebrate pregnancy. And when you've finished making and decorating your belly cast you have a memento of your pregnancy that you and your child can admire together for the rest of your lives.

You will need

• Plaster
• Warm Water
• Moisturiser or Body Butter or Vaseline
• Scissors
• Tape Measure
• Newspaper, or plastic sheet, or drop sheet.

Step 1. Cover floor in newspaper or a plastic sheet or a drop sheet, place a chair in the centre of the newspaper for pregnant mama to sit on. Measure how long you will need the plaster strips to be (the width of the pregnant woman’s breasts and belly). Cut the plaster into a series of strips this long – or you can have lots of smaller sized strips and pile them up close and on top of each other.

Step 2. Lather the pregnant mama’s breasts, belly, sides, and under her belly with body butter or Vaseline so that the plaster will not dry and stick to her skin.

Step 3. Take your first strip of dry plaster and dip into the warm water, quickly and carefully place onto her skin and smooth out any kinks, creases or lumps. Repeat over and over again until all the areas you wish to cast are covered.

Step 4. Place extra strips underneath the belly and breasts because these areas are the weakest of the structure and are therefore more likely to crack when the cast is removed from the mama’s body when finished.

Step 5. When the cast is complete gently rub water all over to give the plaster a glossy finish.

Step 6. When the cast has dried it will separate from the pregnant mama’s skin. Carefully lift from her body from the sides.

Step 7. Fill the hollow side of the cast with scrunched up newspaper balls and lie belly side up in a safe place for forty-eight hours to set.

Step 8. Decorate as you see fit!

Tips

• Wear clothes you don’t mind getting covered in plaster!

• Try not to make the pregnant mama laugh.

• Use warm water.

• Work swiftly (but don’t rush) because the plaster begins setting very quickly.

• Once you start the pregnant mama cannot move.

• For the best (most pronounced) shape the pregnant mama should sit on the edge of a seat with her back straight so her breasts and belly fall forward, full and round.