Getting in touch with my Latin roots

Several years ago my husband Dave and I took a local Latin ballroom dancing class through Mount Royal College. Really all we learned was that our Scottish, English, and Austrian heritages have not given us the hips that we needed to make a career out of Latin dancing. Since we learned early on in the 10 week course that we were hopeless, we spent the remainder of our classes bumbling through the moves and adding our own special touches along the way (such as an enthusiastic high-five in the middle of a salsa :o))

At a baby fair last fall, I came across a booth that was advertising Salsa Baby classes. I was at a point where I wanted to get back into shape, but it needed to be something fun to keep me motivated. I decided a new, cuter (sorry Dave) partner might be just the trick for mastering a few of those Latin moves that failed me so many years ago and so I signed myself up for a course.

I'm not sure if I'm much better than I was previously (my hips are still more Celtic dancer than sexy mamacita) but I'm onto my third class already in as many months so I would definitely categorize this endeavour as a success. The other moms in the class are fabulous and we have a ton of fun trying to work out the moves. The dancing is easy to follow (for those of you who are thinking about trying it out and have no dance experience), Isla thinks being in the carrier is a blast, and my waistline has definitely seen some positive effects. I would definitely recommend it to other moms out there.

The only thing that you do need for the class is a carrier. Anything will do and we started off with a Baby Hawk carrier in our first class. I liked it when Isla was younger but the carrier doesn't allow the baby to face forward and I've noticed as she gets older, that is definitely what she would prefer. I've seen a few of the wrap style carriers in class and decided that's what I wanted as well but I wasn't impressed with the $100-200 price tags (especially since I already had a perfectly good carrier). Instead I went out and bought 6 yards of jersey fabric for $12 and sewed myself a wrap (I even had enough fabric for a sling carrier as well). I used 4 yards of fabric for the wrap, folded it in half lengthwise and then sewed the edges. You could easily get away with just cutting the fabric in half lengthwise but I wanted something a little thicker since Isla is a heavy baby. I used the Moby Wrap instructions to learn how to tie it.

Class: Salsa Babies www.babybusy.ca/
Location: VRRI, Calgary
Cost: The class varies in price depending on how long of a session you are taking but there are also promos that are offered for referring other moms or if you are a repeat customer. The instructor also offers discounts and deals for various baby oriented stores and organizations in Calgary while you are taking a class.
Gear that we used for Isla: Baby Hawk Carrier ($85), Homemade wrap ($12)