I was delighted to help co-ordinate this beautiful Madalo Handwoven Wrap on it's travels around Ireland!  

Who are they?
Madalo is run by Yuridia from Mexico & Christoph from Germany.  Together, they decided to offer handwoven wraps from Mexico to customers in Europe.  These wraps are fair-trade, ​OEKO-TEX® 100 certified and handwoven on traditional looms with passion and love!

The wrap:
The wrap I've had the pleasure of trying out is Madalo Grasias Blanco, woven in Two Eyes Diamond Twill.   With a weight of 300gsm, this wrap is most definitely toddler-worthy.

The wrap was well packaged, delivered in a large heavy duty Madalo box, presented in a cloth bag. First impressions of the wrap were that it was so soft and I loved the colours; various blues on white weft with a gradient to grey with purple tones.  I'm a sucker for blue so these colours really caught my eye.

At 300gsm or grams per square meter, this wrap is on the heavier side and would definitely stand up to the weight of a large toddler/preschooler.  I had my 3.5yr old, 14.5kg daughter in a ruck and she felt very comfortable.  With such a densely woven wrap there was no digging at the shoulders like I'd get with some lighter wraps when wearing a toddler.

The wrap is marshmallow soft and cushy, like a favourite blanket and as I understand, it's like this from new.  At 70cm wide and 470cm long or a Size 6, this size wrap is my perfect base size and would be perfect for trying out almost all carries.  

I had my trusty newborn demo doll in a Front Wrap Cross Carry (FWCC) and had a lovely chunky knot tied behind my back.  

​Due to the thickness of this wrap, a little extra attention to tightening strand by strand through the rails is needed but once tied, there's a lovely grip that will keep it all in place.
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I really enjoyed carrying my 3.5yr old daughter (14.5kg) on my back in a Rucksack Carry.  I'm 29wks pregnant in these photos and liked being able to finish tied tibetan so that I had no knots around my waist/stomach.  While a 14.5kg preschooler won't feel totally weightless, she was very comfortable on my back, there was a soft padded cushiness on my shoulders, thanks to the chunky wrap and her weight was distributed nicely across my shoulders and chest.  This wrap came loaded with sleepy dust as she was asleep before I had even finished wrapping!   She was up for about 30 minutes when I transferred her to the couch and she was kept cosy for a snooze with the Madalo draped over her!

We had lots of fun trying out a hip carry, which is a lovely way to carry when pregnant.  My busy 3.5yr old didn't want up for too long though so I had some fun myself after with some belly wrapping ☺

Look what's arrived at Leanbh Babywearing HQ.  The new Tula Free To Grow Soft Structured Carrier!

This carrier can be used from 7lb to 45lb and the body panel is adjustable in three width settings and two height settings allowing you to use this carrier from newborn without an infant insert.

The carrier comes with a removable hood and can be used for front (parent facing) and back carries.  Padded shoulder straps and waistband offer lots of comfort and support for the wearer and there's even a handy pocket at the front of the waistband that could hold a phone or purse.

So I tried out the Tula Free To Grow with my newborn doll, 4mth doll and toddler size doll.  It was easy to adjust both the width and the height of the body panel.   The hood is removable which is a very handy option to have.  You can easily attach it with the hook and loop snap fasteners inside the body panel.

The waistband extends to 140cm and the shoulder straps extend to 125cm  so it will suit a wide range of wearers.  The shoulder straps are worn in rucksack style and are nicely padded to take the weight of an older child.

As there is no option to cross the shoulder straps, this also means that you cannot use this carrier for hip carries, which won't bother everyone but is something to consider.

The waistband offers firm support and the handy pocket is placed on the front of the waistband for easy access. 

All in all, it's a great addition to the Tula family and is great to see another "from birth" SSC on the market that does not require an infant insert.

I look forward to road testing this with my own newborn come August and will update with a more detailed review of how it fares with a real newborn then!  Watch this space...

​To try this sling out, check out the sling hire page for full info, T&C.  Collection from Swords and nationwide postal hire also available.