Spring Time Babywearing with Layer Your Love

I received this item in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own.

I don’t know what the weather has been like in your neck of the woods, this spring, but here in Calgary it seems Mother Nature can’t decide what she wants to do. One day it’s snowing, the next it’s sunny and warm, and some days it’s doing both! Finding just the right thing to layer over my babywearing self for jaunts to the playground can be tricky at best. I don’t want to end up overheating, but I also don’t want to find myself caught in a sudden snowfall without a layer of warmth. This is where Layer Your Love‘s Sweater Wrap comes to the rescue. Layer Your Love is run by the always lovely Melanie Gallant. Based out of the Niagara region of Ontario, Melanie makes custom babywearing and maternity outerwear to get moms (and moms to be) through all the seasons comfortably. When she asked if I’d be interested in checking out her babywearing Sweater Wrap, I was elated! This is the time of year when what I really need is a way to add a bit of warmth while babywearing, but still have the option to cool off quickly and easily. The Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap does that and it’s stylish to boot!

Everything about the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap is entirely customizable. From the sizing (you send your measurements to Melanie to get started) to the fabric choice, the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap is made just for you. I opted for a black and cream plaid knit fabric because I was after something that would provide some warmth without being too hot. The Sweater Wrap can be made with a polartec fleece, a lambskin fleece, or a knit depending on your preference and choice of fabric. You can even customize the sleeve length! I opted for a full length sleeve because I don’t mind pushing them up if needed, but wanted the option to have full arm coverage on cooler days.

The Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap has a shawl like collar that can be folded outwards or inwards, and this collar descends down the front of the Sweater Wrap. This draping extends down to form the two tapered ends of the wrap that you use to tie the sweater around you and your little one in a baby carrier. At the left hip of the sweater wrap, there’s an opening to pass the right side of the wrap through as it wraps around. Then you can tie the ends together behind your back to secure the Sweater Wrap. The great thing about the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap is that you can use it for both front and back carries! There’s enough stretch to it to easily accommodate a toddler in a back carry, and the wide collar means the sweater wrap can keep your little one cozy under the sweater without it being pulled out of shape in the front. When wearing Petit Prince on my back with the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap over us, I like to pass the ends of the wrap under Petit Prince’s legs. If I had a smaller baby to wear, I could easily wrap the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap over baby’s feet in both a front and back carry adding a bit of extra warmth to those tiny baby toes.

What I really love about the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap is how versatile it is. I love that I can use it for front carries and back carries, but I also appreciate that it can be left open when I’m wearing Petit Prince in the front. If you’ve spent any time babywearing, you’ll know that sometimes it can feel like you’re walking around with a furnace attached to your torso. Those little humans can be an excellent source of heat! Sometimes it can all be a little too much heat, and the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap is prepared for just that situation. Simply untie the sweater wrap and open it up in the front and you can cool off a little without having to struggle to get a more traditional pull-over style babywearing sweater off. You can even wear the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap open when you’re wearing your little one in a back carry. I don’t know if you’ve had the chance to try any pull-over style babywearing sweaters/jackets, but they can be quite difficult to pull on and off. You can forget maintaining any tidiness to your mom bun, and don’t even get me started on how pulling something snug over your baby’s head can affect his mood! The Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap is so much easier to put on and take off. It just goes on like a regular cardigan, wrap it around, give it a quick tie, and you’re good to go.

As far as the warmth factor goes, my knit Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap is perfect for spring and will be just the right amount of warmth for cool summer evenings. When we’re taking a brisk walk to the park or strolling through the zoo with Petit Prince in the carrier, I tend to get pretty warm even on cooler days. The Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap gives me the ability to unwrap it to cool off as needed. If Petit Prince seems chilly and I’m getting too warm, I can push up the sleeves. If that’s not enough to cool me off, I can move Petit Prince to a back carry, and wear the sweater wrap open in the front. That way Petit Prince stays covered and I’m well ventilated up front.

What about wearing the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap when you’re not babywearing? You can do that too! Sometimes when you’re on the go, your little one might decide they want to run around. I can still wear my Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap when I’m not babywearing. It fits great even without a baby and a baby carrier underneath, and no one would even know it was a babywearing sweater. There’s no sagging in the front and the wrap ends don’t end up way too long. I really enjoy wearing it even when I know I won’t be wearing Petit Prince. It’s comfortable, cozy, and stylish!

What about the quality? Melanie takes great care with every custom piece she makes. A self-proclaimed perfectionist, her workmanship is top notch. There’s not a single flaw in my Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap!

What I love about the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap:

• Made in Canada by a WAHM
• Custom made to your measurements
• Wide selection of fabric options to suit your needs and wants
• Choose the style you want: sleeveless, short sleeves, half sleeves, 3/4 sleeves, or full sleeves, it’s up to you!
• Versatile: can be worn for front or back carries, and can be worn when you’re not babywearing
• Just the right warmth: wear it wrapped and tied or let the wrap ends hang down when you need to cool off
• High quality workmanship
• Got a woven wrap scrap? You can send it in and have your wrap scrap pieces added to the details of the Sweater Wrap!

What I’d change about the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap:

• The bottom serged edge of my Sweater Wrap flips up a bit when I wrap it and tie it. This doesn’t bother me in the least, and it’s likely just the nature of the woven material that I chose.

Final Thoughts:

There’s so much to love about the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap! This is the ideal accessory for spring, summer, and fall babywearing. It’s great that it can be used for both front and back carries, so I know it will continue to be a staple in my babywearing gear repertoire until Petit Prince decides he doesn’t want to be worn anymore. Next fall when the temperatures start to cool off, I can see myself wearing my Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap under a babywearing jacket to add an extra layer of warmth. This is something that I can wear when we go out as a family, and have it on and ready should Petit Prince decide he wants to go up in the carrier. It looks great as a regular wrap around sweater, so I can absolutely get away with wearing it when I’m not wearing my son! The Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap starts at $96 CAD. Remember that you’re getting a custom made babywearing sweater wrap made just for you! Compared to the cost of other pull-over style babywearing sweaters that are significantly less versatile, the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap is a worthwhile investment!

To find out more about the Layer Your Love Sweater Wrap and to start your custom order, visit Layer Your Love on Facebook! You can also check out all the great babywearing and maternity outerwear available from Layer Your Love on their Facebook page.