The Babywearer is the place to go for all things related to babywearing. They have forums on everything you can imagine, from choosing a carrier, to wearing twins, to breastfeeding in a carrier. Check it out!

My mom knows everything about everything, and she has a website where you can ask her quesions about anything from how to discipline your toddler to how to get your teenager to do the dishes. She also is a home-school consultant.

My friend Colleen Curry is a certified doula (DONA), a childbirth educator (the Bradley method) and a La Leche League Leader. She teaches an excellent childbirth class (we've taken it) and knows a ton of great stuff about birth and breastfeeding and lots of other stuff too. She teaches at her home in New Lenox, at a cloth diapering store in Orland Park, and two private classes for practitioners.

As a La Leche League myself, I would highly recommend checking out a meeting in your area if you are or are thinking about breastfeeding. You can find support from other moms for everything parenting related as well. Click on "find local support" just under the logo to find a meeting in your area. I help run the Joliet-Bolingbrook, IL meeting.

A brick and mortar
(and online) store located in Orland Park, IL, Cutie Poops and Bottoms is a cloth diapering and natural baby boutique dedicated to providing earth friendly and chemical free products for both mother and child. I teach babywearing and breastfeeding classes here about once a month. If you live in the area, come out and get a hands-on demonstration on all the different types of baby carriers.

Christina Oser is a Certified Nurse Midwife in a private practice offering home births in the Chicagoland area. In addition, Christina offers prenatal and postpartum care, well-woman and newborn care and the freedom to labor and/or give birth in the water.  I am one of her back-up nurses and can attest that she is an excellent midwife! She offers free consultations at her Warrenville, IL office on Wednesday mornings and Friday evenings where you can see if home birth is right for you.

Dr. Paul Schattauer, a family physician that I have worked with for over ten years at Homefirst, has now opened his own private practice in Oak Park, IL. His practice is focused on providing health care that is patient-centered and focused on prevention and wellness, using natural remedies, and also connecting to a global community and sustainability. He will support your vaccine choices for your children, whether it's to give all, some or none of the recommended vaccines. I can highly recommend his practice!

Looking for that perfect theme cake for your child's birthday or a custom cake for a bridal or baby shower? My friend Renee McIlheran is a master cake decorator and is incredibly talented. You can can click on the picture to contact her regarding pricing and styles. (Not really related to babywearing, but I wanted you to know about her amazing cakes!)

Want to make your own sling? Jan Andrea is well-known in the babywearing world for her knowledge of babywearing safety and for helping so many people make their own slings by providing free patterns. She has patterns for many different types of slings, mei tais, pouches and every type of mom/baby craft you can think of. I made several styles of slings and several people, including myself, found her style to be the most comfortable so she graciously granted me permission to use her pattern. Check out her website!

"The" place to buy rings for slings, SlingRings.com is considered to be the only safe manufacturer of aluminum and nylon rings made exclusively for baby slings. They use only the highest quality materials and put all their rings through extensive and rigorous testing. These are the only rings I use in my slings.

If you're looking for a graphic designer, Tracey French created our logo and was phenomenal to work with. Her motto is "unique, profesional and affordable" and she delivered on all three! She turned around our logo in less than two weeks and really listened to what I wanted and really worked hard to keep all the elements of what I wanted in the design even when it got tricky. She is quick to respond to emails and is very fun to work with. I highly recommend her!

This is a new studio in Downers Grove, IL offering a multitude of classes related to childbirth and parenting. I teach babywearing classes there as well. Check out their website to see all the classes they offer.