A Mama is dressed up as a plant with a felt leaf fascinator, green vines drawn on a greenish face, green shirt. She's wearing a toddler on her back who has on a red crocheted hat with black pipe cleaner antennae and red felt ladybug wings with black felt dots. the ladybug is worn in a green striped carrier on Mama's back. They're outside on a cloudy autumnal day.
Ladybug on a Leaf

OOooOOoOooOoo It’s October!!! The month of pumpkin patches and apple cider and gingersnaps! Some also find it a month to dress-up for various occasions. Let’s just get one thing straight first though. The history of Halloween. Are you familiar with it? Halloween is rooted in ancient Celtic traditions where costumes were worn to ward off ghosts. To learn more, check out this article: https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween .

Here in the United States, Halloween is often celebrated as a time where people (and pets!) dress up as whatever and there are fights over whether candy corn is the best thing on earth or the worst thing ever. There’s also lots of cultural appropriation with costumes and it’s important to understand what’s okay and not okay. Someone else’s culture is not your costume. Articles with examples are below in the “resources” section.

Image of a white woman in hat and winter coat wearing her blonde son forward facing with a red, yellow, white and black striped carrier cover over him. He is wearing a red and black winter hat with antennae (representing a caterpillar). Next to them is a young white girl in a black and and purple butterfly costume. The mom is smiling at the camera, the 2 children are both looking out of frame in surprise.
AH! Bugs!

So now what? Well, there are lots of ways to dress up for fun (and not necessarily just in October)! Here are some ideas to get you thinking!

A smiling tan skin bespectacled Asian woman wearing a colorful flowy top and jeans has a baby worn on her front in an ecru woven wrap carrier in a torso front carry to mimic an egg. The baby is dressed up as a caterpillar in a green outfit and Mama-crocheted red hat with felt eyes and nose sewn on with purple pipe cleaners for antennae. Next to the baby is a child with colorful wings worn on the back and a mama-knit two-toned green hat that resembles a caterpillar. In Mama's hands are two food props she painted on cardboard to mimic that from the Eric Carle story. One is a pie with pom poms for the cherries and the other is a swirly lollipop.
In the light
of the moon
a little egg
lay on a leaf.
(excerpt from “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle)
Picture of brown woman holding a to-go coffee cup with dark makeup under her eyes to make her look like she’s dead or a zombie “mombie”. She has a brown baby on her front facing in, in a brown bei dei and he’s wearing a yoga hat with a pacifier in his mouth. Hat credit to Angela Reinders.
Mombie+Yoda
Back view of a toddler worn on the back of a Mama in a lilac and ecru woven wrap carrier that's tied under the toddler's bum. Toddler has on large pink sparkly wings and has arms out over the top of the carrier. Mama's hands are playing with toddler's bare feet.
Wings go over the arms of a toddler who is worn in a rucksack back carry with arms out.
Image of a smiling, bespectacled white me in a dark grey long sleeved shirt in front of a wooden door and tan walls. He has a baby wrapped on his chest with a blue and white patterned wrap in a front wrap cross carry. Across his shoulders and resting on the middle of the baby’s back is a pair of costume blue butterfly wings.
Front Wrap Cross Carry and Butterfly Baby
Smiling tan skin bespectacled Asian woman wearing a smiling baby on her front in a black bei dai carrier that has a brown paper bag tied onto it with yarn and a dollar sign drawn on it with printed out fake money taped to the bag. Baby has on a Mama-crocheted black hat.
Bei Dai and Money Bag
[Image of a tall white Papa with a hammerhead shark hat thing on his head. He's wearing his sleeping infant son in a black and white damask pattern meh dai. He is standing in a Target store.]
Bei Dai and Baby Shark Doo Doo…

More Tips:

  • Want to level-up (or just send some love to someone else that levels up to a whole different level??)? Check-out Tandem Trouble’s Facebook page not only for educational information related to wearing babies/children, but also for some INCREDIBLE cosplay (photo album, you don’t want to miss!!): https://www.facebook.com/tandemtrouble/ .
  • Costumes made for pets can often loop over a carrier without putting strain/weight on the carrier straps (carrier straps aren’t tested for additional weight on random places!).
  • Make sure you can still see your wearee’s face and that they can breathe! Same safety rules apply for wearing without a costume.

Resources

Babywearing Twin Cities Pinterest Board “Babywearing Costumes”: https://www.pinterest.com/babywearingtwincities/seasonal-babywearing-costumes/

“I Am Not a Costume”: http://www.lspirg.org/costumes

“10 Culturally Appropriative Halloween Costumes You Should Never Wear”: https://www.bustle.com/p/10-culturally-appropriative-halloween-costumes-you-should-never-wear-11941912

“How to Avoid Cultural Appropriation This Halloween
REMEMBER: SOMEONE ELSE’S CULTURE IS NOT YOUR COSTUME.”: https://bestlifeonline.com/halloween-cultural-appropriation/

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If you have any questions about babywearing, we encourage you to contact us and/or come learn in person at one of our meetings! Check out our Instagram @Babywearing.Twin.Cities and our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BabywearingTwinCities/).

Images have image descriptions in the alternative text accessible to those who use screen readers.

Published by Babywearing Twin Cities

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