Our Story
It was May 2019. As life goes sometimes, I find myself out of a job. But when one door closes, another one opens. I quickly embraced my new role of a full-time dad to my 9 months-old baby girl, and what a joyride that turned out to be!
Looking back, I would not change a thing. I was one of the few lucky dads out there that had the chance of spending such precious time with their young children. Seeing my little princess crawling through the grass, standing up for the first time and taking her first steps? Priceless!
These were pre-Covid times, we would leave the house in the morning and only come back in the evening. Beaches, parks, playgrounds, shopping malls, feeding the ducks and the geese on the river, picking wild berries, so many experiences for a young mind to absorb.
And then, it happened: the cold weather creeped in, and it became necessary to dress the baby warm. Have you ever tried putting on a fleece jacket over a long-sleeve shirt? The inner sleeves bunch up the arms, and you can just tell how uncomfortable that is for the baby. So you start digging with two fingers through the very tiny cuff end of the jacket, trying to pinch the inner sleeve to pull it down, and as soon as you thought you had a good grip on it, it just slips through your fingers and you have to go at it again.
As the weather turned colder and more layers of clothing were needed, this part of the day became a struggle for us. By the time we were ready to leave the house, the baby would be squirming and crying, I would be sweating and crying (inner crying, mostly). Suffice to say I started having mild panic attacks just thinking about it. And it was double the fun when leaving a store or the play group, having to go though the same grief in public.
It finally dawned on me: there must have been an easier way. I tried to teach the baby how to grasp the inner sleeve. That didn’t work. I tried rubber bands around the wrists to hold the sleeves in place. That didn’t work either. After going through several rudimentary setups, many failed prototypes and some serious soul searching, the solution to my problems was finally there: a strange-looking contraption that turned our 10-15 minutes wrestling matches into a short and peaceful experience and brought me back from the edge of despair.
Fast forward one year. Slick fabric, ergonomic design and several other improvements later, and the Presto Sleeve began to take shape. I made a few samples for other parents in our entourage, and they just loved it! Turns out I was not the only one struggling to get the baby dressed. With that in mind, I endeavored to make my creation available to all parents that could use a little helping hand with getting their children ready for the cold outdoors.
Practical, luxurious, Made in Canada, I trust you will find the Presto Sleeve as helpful and satisfying to use as we did.
