During the heatwave we’ve been having in the UK, you may well be wondering how anyone could possibly babywear. And I can completely understand this feeling. When all you want to do is strip off and sit naked in front of a fan with an ice cold drink in your hand, the last thing you want to be thinking about is having a hot little baby held against your chest. Especially if they’re getting grouchy because of the heat. Well, a Calin Bleu Lite Wrap is the answer!
Calin Bleu are a UK company, based in Devon and run by the very lovely Karen and her brother Scott. Karen’s daughter Anya is also part of the Calin Bleu team. Calin Bleu offer a number of different babywearing options, including their Lite Wraps, made from cotton gauze. An ideal material for summer babywearing, cotton gauze is thin, airy, strong and available in a range of colours.
Calin Bleu Lite wraps come in four sizes; Short (3.2m), Medium (4.6m), Long (5.2m) and Extra Long (5.6m). These equate to size 3, 6, 7 and 8 respectively. It’s worth noting at this point that Calin Bleu wraps tie short, so you may want to size up – more on this below.
If you’ve ready my Baby Monkey Symphony Review post, you’ll know that I favour a size 4 wrap for ease of tying when sitting down. While I can now stand up safely most of the time, there are still instances when it’s not safe for me to do so. Having to wear heels because my wheelchair’s footrest is too low (check out this instagram post for more about this) makes standing when out and about difficult. In addition, the heat negatively affects my PoTS, which makes standing potentially dangerous in the summer.
As Calin Bleu don’t make size 4 wraps as standard, I though I would miss out on the opportunity to benefit from their lovely wraps. This would have been a real shame. With their non-patterned colours, a Calin Bleu Lite Wrap is the perfect option with my photosensitivity. There are so many wraps that I can’t even look at because they’re very patterned, which causes problems with my basilar type and hemiplegic migraine. And then there are the summer benefits of having the light, breathable cotton gauze fabric. Particularly with the heat affecting my PoTS, the last thing I want to be doing in summer is adding a noticeable extra layer with a woven wrap!
A chance encounter on Facebook lead to me emailing Karen to explain my circumstances and ask if it would be possible to have a custom length Calin Bleu Lite Wrap made. Karen only went and said yes!
In our email exchange, Karen advised me that a Calin Bleu Lite Wrap ties short. So, rather than opting for a standard size 4 length (3.6m), we added on a little extra material. So my two custom wraps measure 3.9m – in between a size 4 and a size 5 (4.2m). I chose the shades Rose Pink and Black.
My two custom length wraps have proved invaluable! Just after they arrived, I subluxate my shoulder. I couldn’t manage a two shouldered carry and the only short carries have two passes of material over baby. At the time, we were in the middle of a heat wave and there was no way Elise or I would’ve managed with two layers of a standard woven wrap over her! But, two passes weren’t a problem with the cotton gauze!
If it weren’t for Karen being so accommodating and making us our own custom length wraps, we likely wouldn’t have managed to get out of the house during the heat wave.
I’m so glad I got two custom length wraps. My Rose Pink Calin Bleu Lite Wrap had to be washed three times before we finally got to use it! The first was a ‘pre-use wash’, which I do with all my wraps, whether new or second hand. The other two were the result of Elise vomiting a significant amount when I tried to wrap her. It’s definitely a good idea to have more than one of a favourite type of wrap, because of the various explosions that babies create.
I didn’t expect to buy a longer Calin Bleu Lite Wrap. After all, the UK summers are very hit and miss. I’d hoped that on the days I needed a really thin wrap, I’d be able to manage with a short carry. Unfortunately, my recent injury has proved me wrong.
My subluxate shoulder led to all sorts of problems, including neck and jaw pain and instability, back pain, hip pain and more. As a result, I found that I was wanting to use a long carry for the extra support it gives, but it was too hot for my light to mid weight wraps. Even in single pass carries.
Having got on with my custom lengths wraps so well, when an Amethyst size M came up for sale in a second hand wrap Facebook group for £20, I decided to snap up a bargain. With Calin Bleu Lite Wrap lengths coming up short, I wasn’t sure which size would suit me best for longer carries. Their website states that if you’re “up to UK dress size 16, choose size M” (measuring 4.6m, a standard size 6). I figured spending £20 on a second hand wrap to find out if the size would work for me was better than spending £42 for a new wrap!
I can currently tie a Front Wrap Cross Carry with my Lenny Lamb Jacquard Pearl size 5 wrap, though I probably won’t be able to do this when Elise gets a little bigger. With this in mind, I knew that the size M Calin Bleu Lite Wrap would get used. I assumed that it would feel like a long 5/short 6 and that I would have a little more length than I do with my Lenny Lamb size 5. However, this wasn’t the case. I have since measured this wrap, which comes in as 4.1m (soft tape in hand), which is a short size 5. This surprised me, as Calin Bleu don’t offer a size 5 option at the moment.
For a longer wrap, I use a size 6 or 7. Having found that the size M ties like a size 5 wrap, I thought that it would be better to invest in a Calin Bleu Lite Wrap in Extra Large. The Extra Large measures as a size 8, but I figured from my experience of the size M, that it would tie like a 7. I wish I’d measured the Amethyst wrap before buying additional wraps.
My go to long carry is a Front Reinforced Traditional Sling Carry with Pond Finish (FRTSC with Pond Finish – check out Wraplena’s video tutorial). While I can do this with a size 6 woven wrap, I’ve found that I can be tying quite close to the tails if my tightening isn’t brilliant. Which, let’s be honest, I can be tricky to achieve on the go or with a wiggly baby!
FRTSC with Pond Finish has been my go-to long carry, as it provided Elise with neck support when she was a newborn. It’s also a great one shoulder option for when I can’t manage a wrap on my ‘worse’ shoulder, as your ‘torso’ takes most of baby’s weight. I chose the Mountain Grey Extra Large with this carry and Elise growing in mind, as I wanted an long Calin Bleu Lite Wrap that would last throughout our baby wearing days and I wasn’t sure a Large would cut it.
However, when the wrap arrived it didn’t tie like a size shorter, as the M had. It tied at 5.46m (STIH), which is a long size 7, rather than the 5.6m that a size 8 should be. I feel that my Mountain Grey XL ties as it measures – like a long size 7.
Having a longer wrap isn’t too much of a problem, as long tails look pretty. Unfortunately, since ordering my Calin Bleu Lite Wrap in XL, Elise has decided that she isn’t a fan of having her arms out when she’s awake. She’s an inquisitive little pickle and likes to be able to look around. So, I’ve been tying my FRTC with Pond Finish at her armpit level, instead of up to her neck. This has made the tails longer and when sitting in my wheelchair, they fall onto the floor.
I would’ve been better getting a size Large, but I wasn’t to know this at the time. For my second long Calin Bleu Lite Wrap (because I need a second with the vomit comet!), I chose Poppin’ Purple in Large. This measures at 4.84m (STIH), a long size 6, rather than the 5.2m of a standard size 7.
It’s worth noting that the M size I bought second hand has a different, older style label. So it could be that the lengths have changed over the years. If you order a new M, it may tie longer than my older one does. Without trying a newer size M, I couldn’t say for certain.
Something worth noting, on the topic of measurements, is that the width of my Calin Bleu wraps are different in some cases. Even if we discount the Amethyst (size M) because it’s old, my black custom length is significantly wider than my other three wraps.
I’ve noticed a couple of other inconsistencies with my wraps. My Black, Rose Pink and Mountain Grey wraps all came in bags made from the same coloured cotton gauze and have two middle markers, one on the top rail, one on the bottom (both on the inside). However, my Poppin’ Purple came wrapped in plastic, without a cotton gauze bag and only had one middle marker (on the top rail).
The lack of a bag for the Poppin’ Purple wrap doesn’t bother me. In some ways, I like it, as this shade of purple was a limited edition colour. By not making bags, it means that there is more purple cotton gauze available to make wraps, so more people can have this gorgeous colour! A second middle marker would be really helpful though. The first time I used my Poppin’ Purple wrap, I spent a few minutes trying to find the middle marker. I don’t mind wraps with a definite ‘right way up’ having only one middle marker, but for a wrap that could be tied either way up, two middle markers makes wrapping a whole lot easier.
If you have a strong preference for the width of your wrap, length of your wrap, the number of markers and/or a bag, I’d suggest emailing Karen to find out what is available within your chosen colour to avoid potential disappointment.
A standard order from Calin Bleu usually arrives within two days if you’re in the UK. Understandably, a custom length will take longer. I emailed Karen on 6th June and my two custom length wraps arrived on the 10th July. While a month is quite a while to wait for an order to arrive, Karen regularly updated me on the progress of my wraps, so I never felt like I’d been forgotten. And I did place my order at the busiest time of the year for Calin Bleu – the beginning of summer!
With the exception of Poppin’ Purple (and black), which was exactly the colour I thought it would be, I’ve found the wrap colours to be different to what I expected from the photos on Calin Bleu’s website. Not in a bad way, just not quite as I expected. The Rose Pink is brighter and more vibrant, Amethyst darker and Mountain Grey more blue toned. While I love the colours of my Calin Bleu wraps, I’d highly recommend getting some swatches if you’re thinking of getting a Calin Bleu Lite Wrap and aren’t in a rush for it. These are available free of charge – what great service!
If you do order some swatches, don’t be put off by their texture. As with most wraps, cotton gauze takes a little breaking in. After a wash and a few wears, your Calin Bleu Lite Wrap will be lovely and soft! Because of the small surface area that cotton gauze creates, it can dig into your shoulders a little. This is easily fixed by spreading the fabric. The digging is preventable if you remember to spread the fabric when you initially tie your wrap job.
Although perfect for the summer heat, I can see myself using my Calin Bleu Lite Wraps all year round. They’re the only wrap I’ve come across that is a single plain colour. Not patterns, no texture, just one colour – perfect for when you’re wearing patterned clothes and don’t want to distract from them or add something that might clash.
Colin Bleu wraps are also great for travel. They take up much less room folded than a standard woven wrap and are lighter, meaning you’ve got more space and weight availability in your suitcase for other things (because we all know travelling with a little one means you have to pack all but the kitchen sink!). For this reason, mine will be making their way into the changing bag as a spare wrap for longer trips out. I’ve had too many train journeys home where I’ve had to sit, covered in vomit, but no more!
A Calin Bleu Lite Wrap is suitable to carry babies from 7lb to 33lbs (3.5kg to 15kg). This means that your wrap will last from newborn to 2-3 years old.
You can buy a Calin Bleu Lite Wrap for £36 (Small), £42 (Medium), £45 (Large), £48 (Extra Large) from calinbleu.com. Medium and Large sizes are available in all colours (currently 15 different options). Small and Extra Large are available in most colours. With each of my orders, I’ve received a discount code for 20% off my next order, so you pay significantly less when you buy additional wraps.
If the length you want isn’t available as standard, it’s well worth sending Karen an email to see if it would be possible to have a custom length made. It may not be possible to have one made in all of the colours available on the website, but Karen will be able to check to see which options the sewing house have available. My custom length 3.9m wraps cost £39 each.
I’m absolutely thrilled with my Calin Bleu Lite Wraps and have already recommended them to a number of people in babywearing Facebook groups. I’ll probably be sending one of my longer wraps travelling to friends next spring, so they can experience the benefits of a Calin Bleu Lite Wrap too (Elle from eleanorjasmin.com currently has my Hana stretchy wrap on loan and then it’s going to a school friend and his wife).
Have you tried a Calin Bleu Lite Wrap? How did you find it? Do you have any tips for babywearing in the summer?
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