Trick or Treating with your kiddo in a sling, mei tai, wrap or carrier? Make your babywearing part of the costume. Here are a few suggestions from us here at Mamanista:
Kangaroo – Forward Facing
Okay, a marsupial may be an obvious choice…but still adorable! Dress in tan, get yourself a pair of brown floppy ears, and put your baby in this adorable Baby Kangaroo Costume. Wear baby facing out in the kangaroo carry, of course! If it is cold out, put on an extra-large hooded sweatshirt with room for you and your little passenger. You’re ready to wear your baby like they do on the Discovery Channel.
Butterfly Delight – Facing In
Use a black or brown soft structured carrier or wrap (or cover your carrier with black or brown fabric). Then, create crepe paper Butterfly wings.
Or, if you are less crafty, you can purchase inexpensive Monarch Butterfly Child Wings or Butterfly Wings for Children in Blue or Orange and just affix them to the carrier.
Mama can dress in brown and be a twig with leaves or green and be a flower–just add some pretty petals to a headband or around a collar or glue a large silk blossom to your hat and mama is a budding beauty.
Chick in an Egg – Facing Forward or Facing In
All you need is a white wrap or soft structured carrier. Cut out a “broken egg shell” shape from white felt and affix to the carrier. Dress your child in all yellow as a baby chick and add, for a finishing touch, add a white “egg shell” hat.
Check out the full version of this baby chick in a carrier, with the parents as farmers, from Coolest Homemade Costumes. Or, order one of these baby chick costumes: Hatching Chicken Baby Costume Hatching Chicken Baby Costume or Chick Baby Bunting Costume.
Jack in the Box – Forward Facing
This one will work best with a forward facing carry in a soft structured carrier or a wrap. Simply dress baby up as a jester. Then decorate a simple box (add a crank for extra fun). Finally, attach a decorated box to the carrier. Even if baby is too pooped to pop, like this one, you’ll still be the hit of the party.
(Photo: “Best Costume Ever” used with permission)
Ladybug – Any Carrier
Just blue or stitch black pom poms to your red pouch, sling, or wrap and dress baby in all black with antennae (attach springs with black pom poms to a black headband or hat). Ladybug Pram will keep your love bug cozy and the adorable bobbing antennae will stay put.
Along Came a Spider – Forward Facing or Facing In
Dress baby up as an arachnid or follow the instructions for this No-Sew Spider Costume from Martha Stewart. Wear a black, grey, or white wrap or a soft structured carrier and you can attach more webbing and plastic creepy crawlies.
To wear a younger baby facing-in with this costume, just add a black hat and paint or glue eight eyes to the back of the hat.
Somewhere over the Rainbow – Any Carrier
Dress your girl up as a Baby Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and then wear a rainbow of clothing. Bonus points if you can convince Dad and assorted friends, cousins or siblings to dress up as the cowardly lion, scarecrow or tin man…and bring the little dog, too!
Monkey (or any Critter) in a Tree – Any Carrier
Your child is a little monkey, always climbing and chattering and eating fruit. Mama wears neutral and her baby clings onto her, safely wrapped in a green sling for a leaf or a brown sling for a branch. If you’re really feeling the Halloween spirit, add a hat for mama and hot glue on palm leaves and bananas.
Costumes: Monkey Newborn Costume with banana from One Step Ahead, Charades New Microfiber Monkey Newborn Costume. Just change the foliage to use the same idea for your Baby Panda (faux bamboo), Brown Bear, Owl, or other tree-dwelling critter.
Like Bees to Honey – Any Carrier
For the cutest costume since the tap dancing bee girl, dress your honey as a busy little bee and mama can be the perfumed flower (see the Butterfly).
You can either use a green sling as a leaf or take a black carrier and tack on fuzzy yellow stripes to transform the carrier itself into a bee.
Check out these costumes for your kiddo: Buzzy Bumble Bee Infant/Toddler Jumper Costume, Toddler Girl Bumble Bee Costume, Bumble Bee Bunting Infant Costume.
Up in the Clouds – Cradle or Hip Carry
Your kiddo will look pretty fly with a pair of goggles and a tan hat (or check out this
Baby Pilot/Aviator Infant/Toddler Costume or Air Force costume). You can dress all in blue and add an airplane cut-out to your sling for the full effect.
Pirate on Board – Any Carrier
Any black or brown pouch or sling will work. Cut a ship’s wheel from felt or paper board and glue, staple or stitch onto your sling. Then pick out a fabulous Baby Pirate Bunting Costume or Toddler Pirate Girl Costume (my gal wore this last year) or Toddler Boy Pirate Costume. You have plenty of choices because ARRR…Pirates be trendy.
Want More Ideas?
Mamma’s Milk has a fun gallery with plenty more ideas, including a Speed Racer, Superman Infant Snap Costume (shown with a red sling), Spiderman, Watermelon Slice, Hula Girl, and more.
With a little bit of creativity, you can coordinate almost any infant or toddler costume with babywearing!
We’d love to hear your babywearing costume ideas, too. Leave us your suggestions in the comments and add your photos to our Halloween Babywearing Flikr Group.
