Instructor: Kristi Hayes-Devlin



"Babywearing," says Kristi Hayes-Devlin, "is the keystone of my parenting. Baby carriers offered my children the tools to shape me into the mother I have become." Kristi's babywearing journey began in 1999 when she read an article discussing how babywearing can increase a child's IQ. She didn't know what a sling actually looked like, but she sought one. She finally found it on a mama in a bookstore -- who was breastfeeding a baby while she browsed the books. The woman gave her the information for Maya Wrap. Kristi went on to raise three children with no stroller, and she is looking forward to the same lifestyle when her fourth child is born. She has been blessed to have learned babywearing with help from so many women, but most notably Beatrice Jasper and Susan Gmeiner (who made the babywearing journey possible), Jeni Norton, Tracy Dower, and Melanie Mulrooney. Kristi started Gypsy Mama, LLC in 2004, and has grown her kitchen-table business into an international micro-business, selling her wraps across oceans and continents. She holds a BS in Education, which led her to homeschool her children. She works with mothers making the transition into new motherhood in her role as a La Leche League leader, and was a founding member of the Boston-Area Babywearers in 2005. She speaks about babywearing and mothering at La Leche League and Babywearing conferences as well as at local events. Currently, she is also working on voluntary safety standards for sling-style carriers with the ASTM committee. Kristi lives in Maine with her three children ages 10, 7, and 5, her husband, Jonas, and their two cats, and is expecting her fourth child in late June.