sling advice needed...

I'm really interested in "wearing" my second baby. I love the idea of a sling when she's smaller so that I can breastfeed easier and so that she'll feel all cozy and swaddled. Any suggestions on the perfect sling that worked for you?

Also, I think as she gets older, I'll want to switch to something like a Beco. Any suggestions there?

I plan on stopping by Peppermint in the next few weeks to get my measurements and try a few out before I get much bigger. Does anyone know if my being pregnant will interfere with the measurements that I'll need for it to fit correctly after birth?

TIA

They will have good advice on measuring you while pregnant, I'm sure they do it all the time. ;) I personally preferred a ring sling with a newborn, this last go 'round I really liked having a wrap, though. It was nice to be able to wear him in on snuggly. :love

I personally prefer the Ergo to the Beco. I think the Beco is prettier, but I really like the structure of the Ergo and feel it is put together really well and will last longer/sturdier than the Beco...but that is totally personal preferance and I know A LOT of people love their Becos...just not my fav. ;)

Lily was and still is a pouch sling baby. Anything else just pisses her off :lol
She LOVES to be on my hip.

I hope to get an Ergo shortly (and cross my fingers that she'll like it :lol) for JR to wear her in.

stretchy wrap and/or fleece pouch (since you're due in winter) for the first weeks/months.
woven wrap and mei tai or soft structured carrier (like a beco or ergo etc) for the older months/toddler years...

and probably a ring sling just thrown in the mix because they're easy, compact, etc...

you need more than one, because baby's spit and have blow outs. so when one is in the wash, and baby NEEDS in-arms attention, you'll want a back up. hehe

I used a Moby wrap with Reid when he was little and switched to the Beco when he was about 6 months old. I like both the Ergo and the Beco but I like the built in infant insert that the Beco had since I'll be using it for a toddler and a newborn. My DH doesn't find it as comfortable to wear as the Ergo though so we may end up getting another carrier for him to use since we'll have two little ones. Happy shopping :)

Loved a pouch and beco here. :)

My fave when he was tiny was a 5 1/2 yard piece of fabric (some sort of lightly strtchy and breathable suede cloth I bought at Golden D'or Fabirc for $1/yard). I had others...but this was the most comfortable and definitely the most affordable and Indi loved it!
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n126/hollygollygee/scrapbook%20pages/sleepinonthejobcopy.jpg

this thing above:)

I loved my moby when Lily was smaller too. I actually have it for sale right now.

I loved my pouch sling for the early months, especially that it packed up so small. Next go-round I'll look into wraps though.

I just wanted to make it a little harder for you, and suggest looking into a Calyx, for "down the road". ;)

www.mamabydesign.com (http://www.mamabydesign.com)

It's designed to 9+ months, and I love :love it! People say they are as good (or better really) than an Ergo, but these are super cute! Just a plug for a wonderful SSC.

Have you been to www.thebabywearer.com (http://www.thebabywearer.com) to look at reviews?

And yea for you being pro-active with the babywearing lifestyle. :banana

FYI, you can't wear a newborn except in a wrap, because other carriers don't give them the proper support and can too easily curl them up into a position that could be suffocating. But after the first month, almost any carrier should be fine.

Also, very young ones can't really nurse well while being worn. You can use a sling to support half their weight, but you'll still need to use one arm to keep their head positioned correctly. But still, one arm free is better than none! :-)

For me, baby number two gets worn a LOT, just because child number one still needs me so much. So I have lots and lots of different carriers for meeting different needs. If nothing else, it keeps my back from aching in just one place, since they all sit a little different. But 99% of the time I used: $40 Moby wrap, $40 hotsling, $90 ergo, and $10 diy wrap. That's almost $200, but remember that you will wear your baby for hours every single day until baby is crawling. (And I still wear my baby every day, just not for as long.)

:-)

that's actually not true. You can wear a newborn in a pouch. I wore Lily in a pouch from the time she was 5 days old. If you do it right, it's completely safe.
For information on how to correctly wear a newborn in a hotsling:
Cradle Carry Wearing Instructions (http://www.hotslings.com/s.nl/c.646607/it.I/id.7/.f)
(birth - 4 months)


Also, darn you. You guys are making me want to buy a new sling :lol

darn happy fingers. double post :bag

FYI, you can't wear a newborn except in a wrap, because other carriers don't give them the proper support and can too easily curl them up into a position that could be suffocating. But after the first month, almost any carrier should be fine.

Also, very young ones can't really nurse well while being worn. You can use a sling to support half their weight, but you'll still need to use one arm to keep their head positioned correctly. But still, one arm free is better than none! :-)

For me, baby number two gets worn a LOT, just because child number one still needs me so much. So I have lots and lots of different carriers for meeting different needs. If nothing else, it keeps my back from aching in just one place, since they all sit a little different. But 99% of the time I used: $40 Moby wrap, $40 hotsling, $90 ergo, and $10 diy wrap. That's almost $200, but remember that you will wear your baby for hours every single day until baby is crawling. (And I still wear my baby every day, just not for as long.)

:-)


what?
wow, that is such misleading advice.

i have taught babywearing for a number of years now.
and have worn all of my children and other people's children from birth, the very first DAYS of being born in multitude of carriers - wraps, pouches, ring slings, etc...
they've all been wonderful carrier nursers, and had plenty of support in them.
the manufacturers wouldn't include instructions on wearing a newborn in a pouch, ring sling, soft structured carrier, mei tai, podaegi, rebozo, etc etc etc if indeed it was a safety issue.

mind you - ANYTHING can be done unsafely. but as long as you pay attention to your baby's position, cues, etc, you can wear them from the moment they are born in ALMOST any carrier out there.

too bad you didn't get the hang of nursing in a carrier from birth (i think i started nursing in ring slings, pouches and wraps from day 3)! helped me immensly!

yeah, i also know several people who could nurse in a sling from the get go. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of them. Lily was a rabid nurser (it was like nursing a wild boar) and I was a clumsy nurser (took a while to get the hang of it) and those two things were a bad combination when in a sling. lol.

I carried Walker in a ring sling for the first 6 months - a Maya. We could never get the hang of nursing while being worn. Then I picked up a Moby, which I LOVE and then at 7 months we popped him in the butterfly Beco, which I also love. So does my husband. And Walker was peachy, happy in all three.

pouches are super easy to cradle a baby with and there is very little learning curve. They also can be used for a hip carry as they get bigger.
I have an older beco which i loved as he got bigger. I did see a beco butterfly the other day and was amazed that with that one you can put an tiny baby on your back. Very cool!
Loved my ring sling but there is a defiant learning curve to it.
Wraps are great, exspecially a moby when you baby is born in colder months. I remeber seeing moms with there babys in the moby during the winter and they always looked so cozy and content. Defiantly getting a moby for the next baby.

sorry to hijack, but those of you with Mobys... what age did you retire it? I have one that Lily doesn't love right now, but I'm thinking it would be great in the winter for her. But she'll be almost 1 by then... would that be impossible?

nah. it's just about comfort.
most people say between 15-20lbs they retire the moby.
but it CAN be used safely through to like 35lbs i think they say.

i have a gypsymama (wrapsody baby now) stretchy that only stretches in one direction rather than the moby that stretches in both, and it is comfy through toddlerhood.

Sam is only 5 months (20-22ish lbs), but he still loves his moby. I can see us using it for a long while yet- but I don't wear it outside right now because it's just too darn much fabric.

And to the OP, listen to Amba. She is the goddess of all babywearing :lol, and her advice is exactly what my babywearing experience ahs been!

Sam is only 5 months (20-22ish lbs), but he still loves his moby. I can see us using it for a long while yet- but I don't wear it outside right now because it's just too darn much fabric.

And to the OP, listen to Amba. She is the goddess of all babywearing :lol, and her advice is exactly what my babywearing experience ahs been!

Sounds that way! That's great that everyone had such positive experiences with baby wearing.

Amba, I'll shoot you a PM if I have any detailed questions after visiting Peppermint. Thanks for your help!

Well, I went through a lot of slings and so forth. I had a hard time finding one to use while nursing when she was a newborn.
I ran into a couple of moms (once she was older) nursing their newborns in the Native Sling. That seemed to work better because it was very high up on their chest. The slings I had were adjustable, but would only adjust up to a point. Probably just plain fabric would have been better. I wish I had known about that Native sling when she was a newborn. Breastfeeding was new to me because she was my first, so I was pretty clumsy with it as well. I would check into the Native Sling....but it sounds like others have some pretty good advice.

I retired the moby (well my piece of fabric that I tied like a moby) when it got too hot last summer to use it. It wasn't about the baby noy being comfortable in it, it was just too hot to carry him so closely to my body. He was like 4 months at that time.

Well, I went through a lot of slings and so forth. I had a hard time finding one to use while nursing when she was a newborn.
I ran into a couple of moms (once she was older) nursing their newborns in the Native Sling. That seemed to work better because it was very high up on their chest. The slings I had were adjustable, but would only adjust up to a point. Probably just plain fabric would have been better. I wish I had known about that Native sling when she was a newborn. Breastfeeding was new to me because she was my first, so I was pretty clumsy with it as well. I would check into the Native Sling....but it sounds like others have some pretty good advice.


Okay, so now I am quoting myself. Lol! I just looked up the Native Sling and it really doesn't look like it's high up on the chest. I don't know. I'd say go with the other advice you've gotten,...those who were actually successful with carriers. :) My girl was also born a little early. She was little, so I'm sure that made a difference. I'd have pillows stacked up high under my elbows and all around me! :)

i really like a ringsling for newborns. it is easily adjustable so you can get them in the perfect position for nursing

anna - a "new native" sling is just a brand of pouch. like hotsling, peanut shell, mamma's milk, etc
depending on the size of pouch you get, they can be VERY high and snug, and generally, are supposed to be. baby shouldn't come down any lower than your belly button at their lowest point.
as a newborn you can stuff the bottom with a receiving blanket or towel if it's too gappy and it will make it more snug and have the baby higher up on your chest.

i like a stretchy pouch that is a size too small for my newborns.

anna - a "new native" sling is just a brand of pouch. like hotsling, peanut shell, mamma's milk, etc
depending on the size of pouch you get, they can be VERY high and snug, and generally, are supposed to be. baby shouldn't come down any lower than your belly button at their lowest point.
as a newborn you can stuff the bottom with a receiving blanket or towel if it's too gappy and it will make it more snug and have the baby higher up on your chest.

i like a stretchy pouch that is a size too small for my newborns.


Aaaah! That is really good to know. I'm going to have to come to you for my next one. I had such a hard time. I even went to the Mother's Gift store at Plano Presby for advice. I ended up buying this extremely expensive (and pretty, mind you) sling that just didn't work for us.

I have been wearing Lark in my new Sleepy Wrap (http://www.sleepywrap.com/index.php?page=home) all morning, and I am loving it so far. I breastfed her easily, and didn't have to support her with my arms at all. In fact, she nursed in the wrap while I did dishes. She is just over a week old now. The Sleepy Wrap is just like the Moby, but it is supposed to be less likely to lose its shape as you wear it. I have never tried a Moby so I can't personally compare them, but I do love this wrap. I especially love that it is so cheap.

I also have a ring sling from my cousin, and Melody showed me how to use it on Friday. I am going to get a lot of use out of that when I go grocery shopping or other places where I need something quick.

I am ordering my Beco Butterfly later today. I have heard great things about the Ergo, but I think some people are boycotting it because they have been less than nice to some WAHMs that make similar products. I don't know anything about it other than that so I want to do some more research before I give them my money.

I have a Didymos natural brown sitting in my closet, and it is supposed to be a great wrap for a newborn on up through the toddler ages. I'll be trying that out in the next couple of days.

what?
wow, that is such misleading advice.

i have taught babywearing for a number of years now.
and have worn all of my children and other people's children from birth, the very first DAYS of being born in multitude of carriers - wraps, pouches, ring slings, etc...
they've all been wonderful carrier nursers, and had plenty of support in them.
the manufacturers wouldn't include instructions on wearing a newborn in a pouch, ring sling, soft structured carrier, mei tai, podaegi, rebozo, etc etc etc if indeed it was a safety issue.

mind you - ANYTHING can be done unsafely. but as long as you pay attention to your baby's position, cues, etc, you can wear them from the moment they are born in ALMOST any carrier out there.

too bad you didn't get the hang of nursing in a carrier from birth (i think i started nursing in ring slings, pouches and wraps from day 3)! helped me immensly!


hmm, i'm just passing on what I was taught (by a different "expert"), so I was unaware that it was inaccurate. my apologies!

my understanding is that any pouch carrier (ring slings included) cause the baby's chin to press into their chest, which can too easily constrict their breathing. imho, that does make sense. i know you can put a little pillow/blanket under them, but that's not easy to do correctly, especially for a first-time babywearer.

most of the mei tais and SSCs are sized for larger children and require an "insert" for tiny babies. I know my DD (a tiny baby) wouldn't fit into one until she was at least 2 months old, even with an insert. Before that, she just kind of slumped into a little ball. But that could also be because I am pretty small myself, so couldn't tighten the carriers enough.

imho, wraps are best for the first month because they can be custom-fitted to both mommy and the baby. (feel free to convince me otherwise! :-)

as for nursing, i understand that ring slings are best, though i never had one of those. but the ladies at the babywearer.com forums pointed out to me that until a baby can support their own head, nursing won't be totally hands-free even in a sling

so that's just my two cents, which is all it's worth. but although i consider myself "experienced" in babywearing, i know there's still a lot more to learn! i always appreciate getting new information.

actually with a ring sling or wrap you can adjust it to fit your baby so you can nurse them hand's free easily. i have several pictures of myself doing it if you don't believe it can be done.