Having Enough Hands for Everyone and Baby Wearing

I have never been a "baby wearer."  Maybe in part because adding a baby and a tight fitting wrap to my already large frame isn't exactly flattering.  At one point in our life when we had our two older children and three foster children all under two and a half I thought I would give it a try.  I never had enough hands for everyone so this was my solution.  Strap the littlest one to me and have two hands free to wrangle the other two.  Sounded like a great idea.  I went out and spent $75 on a wrap at a local baby boutique.  I brought it home and tried it out.  It was extremely complicated to figure out and once I did,  my back was killing me after only 30 minutes.  Luckily I had enough sense to return it instead of throwing it in a pile with all of the other "necessary" unused baby equipment.
Fast forward to present day.  Mornings are full of homeschooling.  Some days Gracen just needs some love and so I carry him with me as I work with the older kids.  Vaeh is often happy to play or color close by.  Once again I am finding myself needing more hands.  I saw on a blogging sight how to make your own wrap and also found some you tube videos with instruction on wrapping it.  I decided to give it one more try.  I am glad that I did and  wish that I had worn Gracen since he was tiny.  Within minutes of wrapping him in it he fell fast asleep even with all the commotion of school going on around him.  He felt calm and cozy.  Now typically at his age he doesn't love it for long but I snuggle him in for a time while I help the older children with school and then he is ready to run and play again on his own.   This will also be nice for those nature walks where strollers aren't easy to maneuver.
This time I am happy to say that I spent around twelve dollars (instead of seventy five).  All it takes is seven yards of fabric (a cotton blend is recommended but I could only find locally was 100% cotton).  I did find a ribbed cotton and it seems to provide enough stretch to make it work.  A stretchy knit can be used for littler lighter babies.  You actually cut the fabric in half long ways so it makes two wraps.  Knit does not need the edges sewn but the cotton will need a hem.  I am still using mine with raw edges and it of course functions fine.  I just looked up wrapping babies online and lots of sights and videos popped up showing how to wrap a baby.  I experimented a bit and came up with a way to wrap that was very comfortable for both Gracen and I.
So there it is...my inexpensive baby wrap.  A wonderful home school tool.