About us

To read what other moms have to say about Baby aWEARness, click here!

Nicky and I purchased Baby aWEARness in June of 2009 because we are both deeply committed to providing an educational and empowering place for Hawaii’s moms and keiki. The purpose and mission of the store is three-fold: One, we sell eco-friendly products that are almost impossible to find elsewhere on the island. We are Oahu’s only cloth diapering retail store and we have the widest variety of baby carriers on the island. Two: we are a resource center offering classes and workshops for families who want to learn to live greener, healthier, happier lives. The classes range from a healthy cooking class, to an organic gardening class, to Mom & Baby yoga, Keiki sign language, and Keiki Hula. Three: we offer a full-time in store lactation consultant to help moms continue breastfeeding. We are so happy to be a part of this wonderful community of families. The Baby A ohana is dynamic, intelligent, and growing! Learn more about us below!

Ashley Lukens

Naoko "Nicky" Lawnsby

Holli Shiro

Lani Lee

Mele Aina Dancil

Check out this Amazing Segment on Baby Awearness!

Ashley Lukens

First and foremost, I am proud mother of Audrey Jay Shannon, born 12.15.2008. Originally from Houston, I moved to New York to attend Vassar College where I graduated with a BA in Women Studies and Economics. I am now a PhD student in the Department of Political Science at UH Manoa. My research focuses on the politics of food, grassroots social movements, and radical/insurrectional political theory. I am currently writing my dissertation on Urban Food Movements. I decided to co-purchase Baby aWEARness because I feel passionately about informing and empowering mothers to make choices that are good for their children, their communities, and the earth. When I'm not being a mom, running the store, or writing my dissertation, I love to cook, walk my dogs, exercise, take photos and play outdoors.

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Naoko "Nicky" Lawnsby

I have been an independent Midwife for over 18 years and have assisted over 500 births, many of them being home births. I have helped over 1000 moms with their breastfeeding problems/care in the UK , The Netherlands, and Singapore . Beside clinical work, I give lectures, workshops, seminars, and sometimes speak as a panel member for European and Japanese international conferences.

I am very honored and excited to share my unique services and hopefully better our community with my passion here in Hawaii through the Co-purchase of Baby aWEARness If mums only knew what they CAN do, then surely it would be easier for them to do so. Natural birth, breast feeding, and parenting, are ALL natural god given rights. Women need to know how to successfully accomplish these goals and that is my mission. Only then can woman be empowered to be happy, confident and proud.

Contact Naoko "Nicky" Lawnsby at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

I am a bilingual (English and Japanese) British certified Nurse Midwife, who really understands and connects with the needs of mums and babies providing the highest level of care through a process of holistic care and informed choices. I am one of the few International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC) on Oahu , and I specialize in breastfeeding issues and complications, breast massage, and mums and baby nutrition. I also offer Pre and Post natal consultation and education. My midwifery work and experience stems from over three generations and a long lineage of medical family members. For instance my grandmother was an amazing midwife who not only delivered me, but delivered/attended over 5000 natural births in her small birthing home in Japan . My mother has practiced midwifery for over 30 years with my father an obstetrician and gynecologist, and my grandfather was a pediatrician. So needless to say, right from the start, I was surrounded by birthing, nurturing, and natural parenting.

Contact Naoko "Nicky" Lawnsby at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Julliet Lowe

Aloha, My name is Julliet Lowe, proud mother of 2, and Manager here at Baby aWEARness. Born and raised right here in Honolulu, I volunteered at the Honolulu Waldorf School where I was given the opportunity to manage The Enchanted Forest Store for six years. In the past, I have headed their Aftercare and Summer Fun Program and was able to experience working as an Assistant Teacher for the Early Childhood Department. Additionally, I attended Kula Makua, Honolulu Waldorf’s Teacher Training Program to further expand my knowledge and skills with working with toddlers.

Through my life’s journey, I have learned that what’s most important and fulfilling to me is to connect with people. Everyone comes with their own stories and lives to share. I have learned and come to believe that through kindness and love, (and yes, a good nights sleepJ) we all have the potential to make a difference in the world.

Baby aWEARness has been a great community resource center for me. I’ve met the most wonderful people; parents like you and I, some who are just starting a new family, to family members and friends shopping for their loved ones. I believe in the products that I advise to our customers are good for baby, great for the environment and cost effective.

I just so happened to take a trip down memory lane and opened my High School yearbook. There written under my name was a quote I wrote some 20 years ago, “ I was born to save the planet” Smiling, I feel like in a lot of ways I’ve accomplished just that. One diaper package at a time. I’m super blessed to work here and equally blessed to meet all of you.

Lani Lee

I am a semi-stay-at-home mother and imperfect wife. When time allows, I am also a knitter. yoga geek. amateur crafter. writer. reader. blogger. occasional cynic. aimless dreamer. wannabe activist. and closet comic.

I consider the home birth of my firstborn to be one of my best moments in life. To have achieved this by pulling a sleepless all-nighter, with very little preparation, and no prior experience makes this event one of my greatest accomplishments thus far.

To my surprise, being a mother is a lot of fun, despite its struggles. I cloth diaper, breastfeed, and make my own baby food. I'm not really looking forward to potty-training but I've handled a lot more crap in the past so I'm hoping it won't be too bad.

I am thankful to be part of the Baby aWEARness team and 'ohana. Being around other amazing moms and women has lightened my load and lessened the learning curves of parenting. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Holli Shiro

I am mother to Henry, a very energetic and affectionate two year old. My roots are in Oregon, but I left to attend college at Northwestern University in Chicago, spent some time in St. Louis, then made my way to Hawaii with my husband. My grandparents were born and raised in Hawaii, so in a way it feels like home here too. Becoming a parent has made me even more aware of my impact on the environment and of what we are putting into and on our bodies. Babywearing, cloth diapering and EC'ing have been indispensable parenting tools for us. I struggled for many months to breastfeed my son, but I'm proud to say that we figured it out eventually and we are still a breastfeeding couple. And now, I volunteer my time with La Leche League, a breastfeeding information and support group. I also love to cook and I'm very much into providing my family with whole, locally grown and organic foods. I'm in love with the Haleiwa Farmers Market and try to get up there as often as I can.

The staff at Baby aWEARness was a huge help to me when I was pregnant and after I had my son. I love working at Baby aWEARness because I've learned so much about babywearing, diapering, breastfeeding and local resources that I want to pass that knowledge on to other new moms and dads and learn from their experiences too. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mele-Aina Dancil

Well, lets see. I am first and foremost a proud, happy and tired mommy. I was born and raised on the island of Maui, however, got stuck here raising my children. I have never let go of my simple country living, while raising my kids in what I call a BIG city. I stayed on Oahu to pursue a master’s degree in Hawaiian language. So, now I am here setting new goals for my family.

Growing up we grew everything we wanted to eat, so my first 2 children were blessed with my intuition of making my own baby food and supporting local farmers. After 3, 4, and then 5 came…well, things changed a bit. I still made their food and supported local farmers, but not exactly how ‘the book’ said to do it. To me, it was healthy, it went down ok, and it came out ok…that’s what worked for 5 children.

I looked into cloth diapering after I had my daughter, my 4th child, she was allergic to everything. I did a lot of my own research, but then was blessed with bumping into the previous owner of Baby aWEARness. Then all my diapering questions were well answered and diapering became successful.

I am faced with a lot of the same struggles and probably many of the same joys mothers have. The best thing for me, is I have 5 healthy children who bring all different types of mischief to my day….it’s an incredible story, a story I can embrace to call, MY OWN.