Adapting to Love

About me

Hello! I’m Zyanya, and I’m excited you want to learn more about babywearing!

Here’s a little about myself and my journey into babywearing and working with postpartum families…

I was introduced to babywearing by my cousin who is a babywearing consultant in Belgium and the Netherlands. She wore her young daughter with a beautiful woven wrap and made parenthood seem so easily integrated into her everyday life. She taught me a basic front carry with a wrap and I loved the concept. My introduction to babywearing was well before I had a child or even considered having children, yet it felt natural, having a family member show me how to carry her daughter with a soft, beautiful piece of fabric, like she was passing an important tradition on to me. In that moment it was already understood that I would pass on this knowledge to my friends that were expecting babies and one-day use it for my own baby. I did not understand at that time how subversive babywearing remains in our culture today or how far we are from returning to a common tradition of each generation teaching the next how to carry our babies on our bodies.

Once I did have my own child I began to appreciate babywearing at a whole new level and it quickly became part of my day-to-day life. With each new carrier I tried and each new carry I mastered I was more excited to share my new knowledge with my friends and family. I continued to learn much more from my cousin, the internet, and attending my local community meetups in Seattle. I began volunteering regularly with my local babywearing community group to help others find effective and comfortable ways to carry their children, and I soon decided I wanted as much training and education as possible so that I could be more effective as an educator. I attended the Center for Babywearing Studies' Foundations course in NYC to learn more about sharing babywearing and become certified. The depth and breadth of material we covered impressed and amazed me. I am continually working to build on my skills as a consultant with the objective of fully supporting each parent's goals on their own journey.

My prior education and experiences teaching and traveling shape how I appreciate and share my knowledge of babywearing. I hold a B.S. in Biology (with a focus on evolution and ecology) and a J.D., both from the University of Washington. I have years of experience teaching adults in various capacities and various subjects, including math, science, and dance. And I have had the privilege of traveling, working, and studying on 5 continents. Together these experiences, I believe, contribute to my passion for babywearing. Each time I take a moment to wrap my child to my back I feel a sense of connection to the generations before me and the families around the world that have found new, ingenuitive, and beautiful ways to comfortably bear the weight of their children for hours and miles, during giggles and tears, songs and stories, journeys and bedtimes. Thanks to both its practical and emotional benefits, babywearing has been a refuge for me. I hope to be able to share this beautiful tool and skill with you!

The more I have interacted with families during their early postpartum weeks and months the more I have grown passionate about supporting parents during their transition to parenthood. It is a beautiful and exciting time, but also one that comes with inevitable stresses and challenges. I am thrilled to now collaborate with two other postpartum professionals to offer a unique workshop to expecting families that addresses the realities and expectations for partners headed into parenthood - When 2 Become 3: Preparing your Partnership for Baby.

I am from Seattle and half-Dutch. My family and I moved to Amsterdam in 2018 to explore my Dutch-roots and heritage and this amazing city. I can frequently be seen on walks with my husky, my toddler, and my baby around Amsterdam's parks. I also enjoy dancing, cooking, exploring nature, and diving headfirst into my next passion and project, whatever that may be.

I am a graduate of CBWS. I speak English and can understand, but not [yet] speak fluent Dutch.

Zyanya* Kortooms Breuer (she/her)

*pronounced Zee-anya, but I also go by Z!