City Dads Group outposts around the country did their best to “Embrace the World” in celebration of International Babywearing Week 2015 with hikes, museum visits and trips to the zoo — all made possible with the help of baby product giant BabyBjorn.

Our efforts even caught the eye of the national media with a feature article on NBC-TV’s Today show Parents website.

International Babywearing Week (Oct 4 – 10, 2015) promotes and advocates the many benefits of using a close-fitting baby carrier to bond with your infant and help him or her thrive through increased human contact and touch.

BabyBjorn, City Dads Group’s official event sponsor, provided all our participating fathers with a new baby carrier for the day’s activities.

Here’s a look at some of the cool things our dads did with their children:

*Disclosure: City Dads Group has been compensated for this sponsored event. City Dads Group only works with brands that create products or services that we believe in and use ourselves. The opinions expressed in this blog entry are authentic and our own.

City Dads Group members strapped their babies to their chests and visited the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, toured a professional football stadium in San Francisco, and climbed the famous “Rocky” steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art among the many activities our fathers participated in as part of last week’s celebration of International Babywearing Week.

All 13 City Dads Groups across the United States did something with babies on board their new baby carriers, courtesy of Britax — a longtime supporter of our organization. Our dads and their kids visited places as family-friendly as the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio, as unexpected as Fremont Street in the historic Las Vegas downtown, and as potentially exhausting as hiking through Mariposa Basin Park in Albuquerque – all to promote the many advantages and benefits of wearing your baby.

Our teams’ efforts received praise around the world with articles and photo spreads in sources usual (The Good Men Project, Indy Star) and unusual (China Daily’s website).

Here’s some highlights from last week:

The Hollywood sign can be spotted behind these members of our L.A. Dads Group standing just outside the Griffith Observatory.

Yo! Adrian! Our Philly Dads Group climbed to the Philadelphia Museum of Art just like a certain fictional boxer did.

The World of Coca-Cola received a tour from baby-wearing members of our babywearing Atlanta Dads Group.

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was toured by our babywearing Columbus Dads Group.

Our babywearing NYC Dads Group stands tall with their babies along the city’s High Line park, a converted elevated subway track.

*Disclosure: City Dads Group received free Brtiax baby carriers as well as compensation for this babywearing week sponsored event.  We only work with brands that create products or services that we believe in and use ourselves.  The opinions expressed in this blog entry are authentic and our own.

Editor’s Note: October 5 to 13 is International Babywearing Week and the NYC Dads Group can’t get more international than our own Jason Greene talking about his experience wearing his child across Europe on a recent trip.

My family is a baby-wearing kind of family. So when we were packing for our recent trip to Europe, we brought along our new Baby Bjorn We Carrier instead of a stroller because we planning on wearing our child during this adventure.

When the We Carrier is folded up, it takes very little room, which was perfect since we had plenty of other suitcases, bags and car seats to juggle. We could even fit the We Carrier into our backpack when our 2-year-old wanted to walk around.

We mainly wore our toddler on our back, except for a few times when it was nap time and he wanted to rest on our chests. We carried him around Spain, Italy, and France’s most amazing locations and it was perfect for the frequent tight squeezes and cobblestoned streets one finds in Europe – places where a stroller won’t work. It was also perfect for visiting locations where our son was tempted to touch priceless artifacts, like the Royal Palace in Madrid. With him safe on our back, we could relax and enjoy history.

My son sat comfortably and we carried him around comfortably. The straps were easy to snap together and even if one of us was alone with our toddler, we could place him in the carrier quite easily.

It was nice having my 2-year-old close to me as I experienced our adventures. While he won’t remember hiking up Mount Vesuvius in Italy or visiting the beach in Barcelona, I will always remember wearing him on my back as we took in the amazing sites.

The Baby Bjorn We Carrier can hold children up to 33 pounds and my quite-large 2-year-old is proof that even older kids can enjoy the ride.

Disclosure: Baby Bjorn provided Jason with a We Carrier for his review, but he was not compensated and the opinions are his own.

My baby daughter Avery and I were making our usual grocery trip when the urge to use the restroom suddenly hit me while perusing the aisles. Damn multiple cups of green tea and coffee!

As I stood at the urinal, I looked down at Avery in her Onya Baby Outback carrier and tried to keep her from letting out any random cries as she generally does. Why she has to fuss as I stand at a urinal, no clue. But as I tried my best to offer soothing words, I paused and realized what I was saying might be taken the wrong way considering my location.

Then I thought back to the countless times before when I was wearing Avery and had to use a public restroom. “Crap” (not literally), I thought to myself, “anyone in the restroom at the same time must really be questioning what they heard from me!” I know if I were in a stall and heard some guy talking in a soothing, cooing voice, I wouldn’t come out until I knew he was gone.

So I came up with these top 10 things a dad should never say while wearing his baby and using a public restroom. And if you’re wondering, yes, I have said all of these to Avery. It’s a surprise I’m still allowed in these stores!

1. “Don’t worry, you’ll get bigger.” (I said this to Avery when her head couldn’t see over the carrier.)
2. “Well, hello there.”
3. “Uh oh, I need to get you a burp cloth.”
4. “Daddy won’t take long.”
5. “I’m so proud of you!”
6. “What do you see up there?” (This is when Avery is looking up at the ceiling.)
7. “Mommy is going to be so happy to see you!”
8. “Please stay still so I can finish.”
9. “Are you hungry?”
10. “If you’re good, we can play with that new toy at home.”

Needless to say, I’m going to be more conscientious about how I word things when talking to Avery in a restroom from now on.

A version of this first appeared on Going Dad.

International Babywearing Week is October 5 – 11.   NYC Dads Group had such a blast participating in this important baby bonding event the past few years – strolling through the Central Park Zoo, walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, and observing priceless art at the MET Museum –  that we’re planning something BIGGER to “Share the Adventure” and raise awareness this year.  NYC Dads Group will be celebrating International Babywearing Week on Thursday, October 9 at 11am with fifteen dads in our NYC Dudes Group traversing the unique, picturesque, and elevated High Line Park rocking our babies in our Britax Baby Carriers. Additionally, we’ve orchestrated a major, national multi-City Dads Group effort.  Over 100 City Dads Group members in thirteen metropolitan cities across the country will be gathering, meeting-up, and taking leisurely walks together at iconic and well-known locations.  Check out the diverse range of City Dads Group meetups planned across America:

• SF Dads Group: Taking a walking tour of the new Levis Football Stadium 

• Columbus Dads Group: Walking around the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium 

• Atlanta Dads Group: Taking a walking tour at World of Coca Cola

• NYC Dads Group: Strolling the High Line Park in Manhattan 

• LA Dads Group: Taking a walking tour of Griffith Park Observatory

• Philly Dads Group: Walking tour from Sister Cities Park to “Rocky Steps” of Art Museum  

• Chicago Dads Group: Walking tour from Michigan Avenue over to Millennium Park

• Denver Dads Group: Taking a walk into Riverfront Park 

• Boston Dads Group: Walking along Freedom Trail by Boston Commons

• Indy Dads Group: Taking a leisure walk along the Monon Trail

• ABQ Dads Group: Hiking in Mariposa Basin Park

• Vegas Dads Group: Taking a walk along historic Fremont Street

• Dallas Dads Group: Strolling through Klyde Warren Park

Want to join us? The ultimate goal of our babywearing events are getting dads together for an invigorating meet-up that involves a fall babywearing walk with some other cool, active, and nurturing dads.  Regardless of what baby carrier you may own, we hope more of you will grab your baby and carrier, and plan to join us for this wonderful event on Thursday, October 9.  Details here.

A special thanks to our sponsor, Britax, for supporting active fathers and supplying us with amazing gear for the events. 

International Babywearing Week (Oct 5 – 11, 2014) is a focused opportunity to celebrate, promote, and advocate the many benefits of Babywearing.  Infants thrive on touch so wearing your baby is an important way to meet this need. There are so many other advantages and benefits like bonding with your baby, less crying (carried babies cry less), building confident parents, comfort, and convenience so you have both hands free. Babywearing International Inc. is proud to lead babywearers around the globe who will be gathering during the week to educate about, practice, and celebrate the varied options available today for safe babywearing.  We’re excited about the opportunity to celebrate such an important facet of caregiving! Hopefully, you will cheer us on or join our parade on Thursday, October 9 on The High Line.  See you there!

*Disclosure: NYC Dads Group has been compensated for this sponsored meet-up.  We only work with brands that create products or services that we believe in and use ourselves.  The opinions expressed in this blog entry are authentic and our own

International Babywearing Week is October 5 – 11. The NYC Dads Group had such a blast participating in this important baby bonding event the past few years – strolling through the Central Park Zoo, walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, and observing priceless art at the MET Museum. Now that we are a national network of dad groups, we’re planning something BIGGER to “Share the Adventure” and raise awareness this year throughout the nation.

We’ve organized a major, national multi-City Dads Group effort. More than 100 City Dads Group members in 13 metropolitan cities across the country will be gathering, meeting-up, and taking leisurely walks together at iconic and well-known locations. Check out the diverse range of meetups we have planned across America:

• SF Dads Group: Taking a walking tour of the new Levis Football Stadium
• Columbus Dads Group: Walking around the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
• Atlanta Dads Group: Taking a walking tour at World of Coca Cola
• NYC Dads Group: Strolling the High Line Park in Manhattan
• LA Dads Group: Taking a walking tour of Griffith Park Observatory
• Philly Dads Group: Walking tour – Sister Cities Park to “Rocky Steps” of Art Museum
• Chicago Dads Group: Walking tour from Michigan Avenue over to Millennium Park
• Denver Dads Group: Taking a walk into Riverfront Park
• Boston Dads Group: Walking along Freedom Trail by Boston Commons
• Indy Dads Group: Taking a leisure walk along the Monon Trail
• ABQ Dads Group: Hiking in Mariposa Basin Park
• Vegas Dads Group: Taking a walk along historic Fremont Street
• Dallas Dads Group: Strolling through Klyde Warren Park

Want to join us? The ultimate goal of our babywearing events are getting dads together for an invigorating meet-up that involves a fall babywearing walk with some other cool, active, and nurturing dads. Regardless of what baby carrier you may own, we hope more of you will grab your baby and carrier, and plan to join us in your city for these wonderful events on Thursday, October 9.

A special thanks to our sponsor, Britax, for supporting active fathers and supplying us with amazing gear for the events.

International Babywearing Week (Oct 5 – 11, 2014) is a focused opportunity to celebrate, promote, and advocate the many benefits of Babywearing. Infants thrive on touch so wearing your baby is an important way to meet this need. There are so many other advantages and benefits like bonding with your baby, less crying (carried babies cry less), building confident parents, comfort, and convenience so you have both hands free. Babywearing International Inc. is proud to lead babywearers around the globe who will be gathering during the week to educate about, practice, and celebrate the varied options available today for safe babywearing. We’re excited about the opportunity to celebrate such an important facet of caregiving! Hopefully, you will cheer us on or join our parade on Thursday, October 9 on The High Line. See you there!

*Disclosure: City Dads Group has been compensated for this sponsored meet-up. We only work with brands that create products or services that we believe in and use ourselves. The opinions expressed in this blog entry are authentic and our own

International Babywearing Week: Dads + kids completed our HighLine Walk

We couldn’t have asked for a better day.  Sunny skies and cool, comfortable Autumn weather made for an invigorating stroll through one of the City’s newest and most unique public parks.  And the Britax carriers kept all the little ones comfortable throughout, my own even taking his nap and waking up just before we wrapped the walk up over pizza.  (On a personal note, after having tried several other carriers, the Britax is my carrier of choice for its comfort, support and clean appearance)  All in all, it was a wonderful event with a great group of guys and their kids.

What happens when a DAD-PACK of eighteen active, nurturing, and confident fathers celebrated International Babywearing Week at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City? We caused quite a ruckus!

We are the new normal!  So don’t gawk at us like we’re an exhibit at the zoo. We’re just a pack of dads getting together regularly with our children all over New York City almost every day of the week. Last week, a pack of fifteen members from our NYC DADS “dudes” GROUP were at the Central Park Zoo on a Wednesday morning with our kids sporting our brand spanking new Britax B-Ready Strollers. Special thanks to Britax for sponsoring this amazing outing and providing the sleek, durable, and smooth rides for all of the fathers involved. If you’ve seen the film, What To Expect When You’re Expecting, we were told by several tourists & parents at the zoo that day, that we reminded them of the “dudes group” from the movie…only without the star power of Chris Rock.

The morning was filled with our crew of active dads strolling over to the Penguin feeding, observing the monkeys, parading through the rain forest, catching the Sea Lion show, and carving out quality time for snacks, good conversations, and chasing after our children.  Then, some of us got to kick back and relax for a while as many of our children napped in their new wheels.  For me, the dads’ group experience is always about the camaraderie, bonding, and sharing of stories with other dads.  It’s nice to hear advice, best practices, and constructive feedback from other fathers to assist in helping me be the best dad I can be. Additionally, it’s a wonderful opportunity for dads with small babies to speak with “veteran dads” to help navigate parenthood. 

Our dads that attended the event had a lot of feedback about spending time and meeting new dad friends as well as discussing their Britax B-Ready Strollers which can be reviewed here. But, to really get an idea of what our experience was like, we’ve got some pics to share. Let us know what you think.