This started with one walk that got cut short.

My daughter was a few weeks old, the sun was out, and I'd finally gotten us both out the door — carrier on, coffee in hand, feeling like a functioning person again. Ten minutes in, she was fussy and overheated-looking under the blanket I'd draped over the carrier to keep the sun off her. I stopped every few steps to readjust it. It kept sliding. Eventually I gave up and turned around.

I'm Mikaela, and that walk — or really, the short version of it — is the reason Sunshell exists.

I went looking for something better. A cover built specifically for babywearing, designed for sun protection, that wouldn't need constant adjusting. I couldn't find one. There were blankets. There were nursing covers repurposed for the job. There was nothing built for this exact moment — a baby worn close, outside, in the sun — the way carriers themselves are built for carrying.

So I decided to make it.

What followed was over a year of sampling, testing, and rethinking — trying fabrics that looked breathable but didn't move right, straps that fit one carrier but not another, covers that looked beautiful and functioned terribly. Somewhere in that process, the actual answer turned out to be simple: a soft cotton muslin outer, a UPF 40+ rated lining, optional elastic loops on the inside to hold it in place, and straps that adjust to fit structured carriers generally — not just one brand.

Sunshell isn't trying to be everything. It's trying to be the one thing I couldn't find on that first walk: a real answer to sun coverage while babywearing, simple enough to put on without thinking about it, so you can just get outside.

If you're a parent who refuses to put your own life on pause but still wants your baby shaded and comfortable — this was built for you. From one family to yours, I hope it makes getting out the door a little easier.

— Mikaela, Founder, Sunshell