Mei Tai

So its no secret my husband and I are working on an international adoption.  We're a little over half-way through the process, hoping to bring home our newest child early next fall, and I finally am starting to feel like this whole thing is real!  I hadn't yet made anything for baby.  I have plans and schemes, but Christmas crafting and special orders kept me supremely busy as of late.  Today I had the itch to craft, and specifically to make something for our little one.
From what I've learned, in Korea babies are worn (carried in a fabric carrier) a lot.  Even babies in the foster care system are carried by their foster mothers during the day.  The traditional item used for baby carrying is a podaegi.  Its kind of like a blanket with straps that is very versatile for carrying a young baby into toddler-hood.  I carried both my kids in a sling, but slings are quite different in feel from the baby's perspective.  I wanted to make a carrier that was similar to a podaegi, but not quite as bulky and something I was a little more familiar with how to use.  I wanted a carrier that would seem somewhat familiar to baby as we transition home.  I opted for a Mei Tai based loosely on this design.

The Mei Tai is reversible, one side having a pleated pocket that should be able to hold a diaper and pack of wipes or my keys, or any small thing I need to have on hand.  The back side is some gorgeous asian-inspired fabric I ordered from Joann.com earlier this year.

I love the looks of the finished product, and hope I'll find it useful!  Regardless, both baby and I will look stylin' as we travel home from Korea :)

Pardon the poor lighting in the photos - I was excited to have it done and wanted to show it off!  And yes that's a teddy bear in the carrier - we don't have any babies around to practice on.