Double Rebozo vrs the Pirate Carry
*read to the end of this post if you want to see videos of the two carries*
I have always loved the Reinforced Rear Rebozo Rucksack Carry (also known as RRRR or the Pirate Carry because it looks like it sounds like AAARRRGGHHH!).
I think it is a fantastically supportive and comfortable back carry for all ages of baby/child, that can be done with a very short wrap. It’s really nice to learn some good short-wrap-carries so that you have some cooler wrapping options for Summer, and you only have to tote a short wrap with you (fits better in the diaper bag or tied around your waist).
The only problem with my beloved RRRR is that it wasn’t really an RRRR. I have been calling it that for years, but I finally noticed that the rest of the wrapping world called it the Double Rebozo. So I’ve got to rearrange my mind to wrap around this new truth: I have always loved the Double Rebozo.
So what is the RRRR? It’s a reinforced rucksack tied at shoulder. You bring both wrap ends over your shoulder as with the traditional rucksack carry, but one end is very short, and the other longer. You hold the short end under your chin, and you bring the long end under one arm, straight across baby’s back (that’s the reinforced part) and under your opposite arm where you now tie the two ends together.
And it’s just not as wonderful as the Double Rebozo. I regret all the times I talked up the RRRR and inadvertently recommended this carry that’s just not as sturdy and supportive as the Double Rebozo.
I actually avoided addressing the mislabeled RRRR issue for months because I didn’t want to admit that it was wrong. And I have a very popular Youtube video that is clearly labeled as RRRR. I’m not taking that down! I imagine that hoards of mamas have followed the mislabeled directions and happily believe that they love the RRRR. Well, more power to them, I say!
But I had to remedy this, because if our babywearing language is not consistent, how will we be able to communicate our beautiful folding, passing, bunching, smoothing, crossing and tucking activities to each other? How will I know that the mamas I send to do the RRRR will do the one that I really, in my heart, intend to recommend?
So I apologize for any confusion. Here is the video of the carry that I love, the one I think you should learn this Summer, newly tagged with its correct name–Double Rebozo:
And here, I’ve made a new video to demonstrate the real RRRR:
If you’ve done these carries, which is your favorite?
Anouka January 24, 2014 at 7:54 am
So funny to read this bit! I don’t like being wrong, let along admitting to it 😀 Good that you finally did faced the truth.
I watched several of your movies when I started carrying; it’s warming to read that also my ‘instructors’ don’t always get it right 😉
I’ve used both carries, though I don’t like the knot at my shoulder, so I tie a shoulder-2-shoulder finish. I haven’t specifically compared the 2R and the RRRR, but I can imaginge the double reboze feels more solid, since the diagonal last turn over baby’s back seems more securing than the horizontal last one from the RRRR. I tie a double reboze more often than the RRRR, so I guess I prefere the first one for some reason or other. Maybe this is why.
Reading the above made me realise how much alike some carries are. Dit you realise that a RRRR is actually the same thing as a regular Ruck tied under bum, but with the knot in a different place? (And the bum-fabric spread out.)
Diana January 24, 2014 at 12:27 pm
Yes, I love how different carries are related to each other! I had not thought exactly about RRRR and Ruck TUB, though. I have noticed that Double Hammock Carry is the same as Front Cross Carry (depending on whether you put baby’s legs through both crosses or not) and now I think people are calling a FCC with baby under both crosses (rebozo passes) a front DH, but I always thought of it as a Front Cross Carry with rebozo passes. It is both!
Anouka January 25, 2014 at 7:56 am
I’ve realised before, that one is indeed exactly the same as a double hammock, but the baby sits in front in stead. Only, what you call Front Cross Carry is what I call Front WRAP Cross Carry 🙂 I guess it will be quit a mission to come to a consistent babywearing language!
Ally March 7, 2014 at 9:47 pm
But RRRR isn’t the same as RUB tied at the shoulder – we call that RTAS (or, more often, done with a knotless chestbelt and called knotless ruck). RRRR has the second pass spread, it’s a two-layer carry with a spread horizontal pass on top of the ruck.
I’ve thought about how similar some carries are too – FCC is FWCC backward, with the baby sitting in the back straps. Yup, BCC and DH are same except one uses cross and one uses rebozo passes. Double hammock is a torso carry finished like a ruck.
Ally March 7, 2014 at 9:50 pm
I should add what those four Rs stand for – rear ruck, rebozo-reinforced. Of course, there’s no rebozo pass, but at the time I don’t think anyone was calling that a horizontal pass; it went behind both knees, so they called it rebozo.
Alexandra Killian September 7, 2014 at 8:47 pm
Today I was doing RRRR and instead of doing it the way I always have, long tail starting under my arm, I tried it with the long tail over my arm. I loved it! But then I was wondering what I’d done. So I found this page. I’ve been DRing instead of RRRRing for over a year, but actually greatly prefer the RRRR. The funny thing is that your video looks familiar and is probably the one I watched to learn “RRRR” Go figure!