I know a lot of you use slings &c to carry babies.

[ghoti_mhic_uait]

Last time, I bought the cheapest one and it didn't work very well; he swiftly became too heavy for me to carry him in it without my shoulders/back hurting.

What's a good sling/carrier for use for newborns? I think we're too nervous to use a plain wrap. I'm not entirely sure of my knots.

Comments

[rmc28]

I love my Tricotti slings, which worked from newborn to now, though these days I use them more for comforting than serious carrying - we got a toddler Papatum for that recently.

The Tricotti is soft, no adjusting or knotting required, and machine-washable. I found it doubled as a blanket too. I have 3, and I think we're sufficiently similar in size that you could have one on long-term loan if it suits you. Colin, like Tony, is rather slimmer so would need a smaller size.

When we are no longer a House of Plague, I could come and let you play with the slings I have- we have a teddy about the right size for showing newborn carries. I was going to demo to an antenatal class on Monday but then Charles got ill so I had to cancel.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

Thankyou, that would be very useful. I have a baby doll of newborn size (or at least, the same as me at 3-4 weeks),which I had already decided could be useful for practice :)

My gut reaction is that we want something that both of us can use, so that if we're out and want to swap, we can, but I'm not ruling anything out (except the cheap one I bought last time, and Baby Bjorn, which not only gets terrible reviews, but I tried to try one on when we were looking at prams, and couldn't work it out).

[rmc28]

I have just remembered a very useful group that might be able to help you: Cambridge Slingmeet. They meet monthly, for parents to help each other with slings. I only managed to make it there once, and it was really good - I learned some stuff and I managed to teach some to others. It's very friendly, and it's on this coming Saturday at the Meadows Centre from 10:30-12:30.

There is a slingmeet website: http://www.slingmeet.co.uk/
And a yahoo groups mailing list for the Cambridge people: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cambridgeslingers/

The slings I have are only the ones that worked for me and for Tony (I recently cleared out all the stuff I'd bought and didn't work for us), but I know people through slingmeet who use lots of other things too, e.g. wraps and ring slings and pouches and so on.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

Aha! It might be cunning to go to that just before the NCT sale, in case there's something to buy there. I'm sort of in panic 'everything has to be ready NOW' mode, but of course it really doesn't.

[jane-somebody.livejournal.com]

If you want something you can both use, a wrap probably is your best bet really as it is completely adjustable. I'm looking for something better for myself this time than last time too, so I can't give you a first hand recommendation (though hopefully can in a month or so!), but my friend has got on very well with the hug-a-bub. It's a stretchy wrap, which I think are more forgiving to newbie wrap-users than non-stretchy woven wraps are. You really don't have to worry about knots at all, just an ordinary double-knot secures it fine. You-tube has lots of videos showing you how to tie wraps, which I've been finding useful. Wraps are particularly good at distributing weight very evenly across your back and shoulders, once you've got the hang of them. So I'm told - as I say I'll have to let you know later how it works out for me!

[albanach.livejournal.com]

We used both a moby wrap and a hug-a-bub but I definitely preferred the hug-a-bub. It is really stretchy and not asheavy as the moby.

As jane_somebody says, a double knot is fine, and with all the fabric you'll soon notice if it's coming loose long before a baby is gong to fall out!

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

aegidian and I both loved the Wilkinet. We used them with all our babies. Like a wrap, it's totally adjustable, but it doesn't require any knots - just two bows, one at the baby's waist and then one at the adult's. I think aegidian used to use double bows, but I just used single ones. It never came undone, but on two or three occasions, I just forgot to do up the first bow, and the baby still stayed in place each time. It's not really possible to forget to do up the second bow, because you'd have long strips of cord or cotton trailing around your feet, and to get the baby into position you have to take its weight in your hands through the straps, so there's just no way it would occur to you to let go until the straps are done up and the carrier has taken the weight. It's kind of difficult to describe, but I promise it works.

The baby can face forwards or backwards. The carrier can also go in the washing machine and tumble dryer, which is useful - but even so, with the baby facing forward, you may find that over time it gets stained with milk and drool. We dealt with this by strategically tucking a muslin over the edge of the carrier when using it in that position.

We had fairly large babies (all over 9 lbs) and used the Wilkinet till they were about 9 months, at which point I found my back wasn't up to it (I have long-standing lower back issues) and aegidian found that the baby's feet were too close to his groin for comfort ;-)

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

That's very useful..the wilkinet was one I had thought looked about right, but didn't think I knew anyone who'd used one.

thankyou :)

[jane-somebody.livejournal.com]

Hmm, for what it's worth, as a counter point of view (sorry, I realise this isn't terribly helpful) the Wilkinet was the one we had last time that neither Skordh nor I got on with very well :-( My problem I think was that for me it didn't distribute the weight well enough on my back, so my back and shoulders hurt a lot. I am pretty weedy though, which might make a difference :-(

[rmc28]

Everybody's different, which is the important thing. I bought slings that my friends were wild about and couldn't use them. I eventually worked out that I couldn't get on for any length of time with any sling that only went over one shoulder: so no ring slings, or Babaslings, or the gorgeous Coorie fleece pouches.

I can't get a wrap carry on my back, though I can competently tie one on for a front or hip carry (but again, hip carry is on one shoulder and I start hating it quite quickly), so I reluctantly decided wraps weren't for me.

I loved the Tricotti, but Tony disliked how much cloth they had; he could use the mei tai but often didn't; the recently-purchased Toddler Papatum is the first sling he's really used with any enthusiasm.

ghoti: you might find http://www.littlepossums.co.uk/information/article1.htm a useful article for thinking about types of slings. I've bought a number of things from the site, and they've also been good about taking things back when I couldn't use them.

[jane-somebody.livejournal.com]

Yes, I completely agree about the 'everyone's different' thing, which was sort of the point I was incompetantly trying to make, that we didn't get on with something that someone else loved, so recommendations can only get you so far. I think the most useful thing is probably to try things out for yourself if possible. Perhaps try going along to something like a Sling Meet group, if there's one near you? Also, there's a yahoo group called (I think) UKbabywearingSwap, where people swap/sell slings they didn't get on with, which might be helpful. Failing all that, at least one of the baby carrier websellers have some to hire, which gives you the opportunity to 'try before you buy' although at a price - I'll see if I can find which one.

[jane-somebody.livejournal.com]

D'oh, sorry, I've just looked at other comments, and seen Rachel's already mentioned Slingmeet.

Thanks for the Little Possums link from me too, that looks useful!

I think the place I was thinking of that does weekly hire is: http://www.sasaslings.co.uk/

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

that's very interesting, thank you.

I'd wondered about a Pikkolo, which seems to be like a Mei-Tai, but with buckles.

I'm envisaging using this one more than the last one, because last time I didn't have a car. If we drive/bus anywhere for the first six months (after which I have an excellent three-wheeler pushchair) it has to be carried when we get there. This will probably (hopefully) result in me walking more and also carrying baby more.

[arosoff.livejournal.com]

Buckle carriers don't work so well with newborns. In fact I wouldn't touch one till they're 6 months. Most buckle carriers require an insert for newborns and it doesn't work well at all. They're also MUCH trickier to fit than a plain mei tai. The exception are the ones that really are "buckle tais", no padding, like the connecta.

Wraps really are not hard to tie. The only knot you need is the square (reef): right over left and left over right (double knot but the 2nd tied in reverse--really super easy if you see it done, and the regular double knot will work, just bulkier). The slip/sailors knot is handy but not essential. If you get a stretchy wrap you pretie and pop the baby in (you can do this with a woven as well, but it takes a little more practice because you need to learn how much slack to leave). I am no Scout, but I had no problem at all.

The amount of fabric is a PITA especially since you need the full length for small babies. But, nothing else holds a small baby that snugly or supports you so well. I could carry Aliza on my front till she was 12 months in a woven wrap.

Mei tais are brilliant for older babies but I found that the gaps at the sides were a problem for smaller ones, plus most have narrow straps--fine worn rucksack style for a back carry, less comfy crossed over your back. Also, most women find they don't offer much coverage for nursing, if that's an issue for you. (the best for nursing coverage is a ring sling because of the tail, second is a wrap because there's so much darned fabric!)

Unfortunately I can't get up to Cambridge to show you, or I would! Woven wraps can be quite pricey (but baby outgrows them less quickly) but you can pick them up used on TheBabyWearer or sometimes Rumplebums (FSOT there is a lot slower).

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

The Connecta looks good (and from the reviews on TBW), but I was just reading the instructions, and it says not to use on a moving vehicle. I assume they're thinking of cars, because I can't see why using it on a bus/train is less safe than not using it (and I would almost certainly use it on a bus anyway).