Help me! I have a Kari-me and a newborn. Now what?

[ReshapeWhileDamp]

I bought the Kari-me at an NCT sale (brand spanking new, £18 ). Now I have the baby to go inside it.

DS2 is a week old. His big brother has got rather attached to the new Baby Jogger we treated ourselves to a few weeks ago , and while it does lie flat and is meant to be able to accommodate a newborn, DS2 is going to rattle around in it for a while yet. And that's if I can dislodge his brother without incurring serious Sibling Wars.

I always intended to sling the baby while using the buggy for DS1 for the first several weeks. But we never really used soft slings with DS1, only a Baby Bjorn, which I hated. I never got the hang of using the second-hand ringsling I had, and decided to get a wrap this time round. So I'm completely new to this.

The problem is that while I managed to get the tie more or less right and put the baby in, in tummy/upright position, I cannot for the life of me work out how I'm meant to support his head and at the same time, make sure his chin is off his chest. And being new to baby-wearing, I'm paranoid about him not breathing well, or overheating.

I just missed our local Slingmeet (it was 4 days after I gave birth!) and have never been before. The next one is a month away and I need to sort this out before then, or I don't see us leaving the house! We don't even have a car seat that is compatible with the Baby Jogger. Help!

[OnEdge]

Have you got the instructions ? I can talk you through wrapping it, but it seems that you have that sussed. is it just that it feels wrong ?

[OnEdge]

Regarding the overheating, I tend to only have one layer on them and also on me. If i need to, I put a cardi on over the top of the sling, but not over the baby IYSWIM.

[peppapighastakenovermylife]

I used the upright position as couldnt fathom cuddly one. I had him in a cwtched in angle so his head / cheek rested on my boob. I was so aware / close to him then that I could hear / feel his breathing.

I put the outer fold over the back of his head which supported it.

Took me a while to get this right though

[ReshapeWhileDamp]

onedge, thanks for advice re. dressing him for the sling!

Peppapig, thanks, will try putting him in at an angle. I think maybe he could be higher up as well.

Have mislaid the instructions in recent house move, but the kari-me website has them.

[stickersarecurrency]

At that age I would use one of the crossed pieces as a sort of hood and tuck his head in a bit. A lot also depends on how tight it is - it needs to be much tighter than you think, IME, or it's not comfortable for either of you and baby sags after a bit of walking.

[MoonUnitAlpha]

I have a Close carrier which is kind of similar - like stickers I found it needed to be tighter than you'd think and the baby needs to be high up. I found ds needed to sit above my belly button basically!

I would then turn his head to one side, and kind of secure/support it with one of the bits of fabric that go over your shoulder.

[BertieBottlesOfMulledWine]

Yes use one of the crosses as a hood and tuck his head in.

It needs to be tighter than you imagine. Do it up without him in about as tight as a fitted t-shirt type top, and don't leave any space for the baby - the stretch in the material provides the space.

Also I'm not overkeen on the kari-me instructions, I preferred this carry (similar but slightly different)

(You can do it much tighter than this)
Pictures (Click on "newborn hug hold" for 2nd stage)

I agree with MUA - baby's bum should be higher than your tummy button. Also you should be able to kiss the top of his head just by looking down.

[BertieBottlesOfMulledWine]

Oh and I would post a message on your sling meet local board - someone might be happy to meet up before the next meet. Also try going to breastfeeding groups, LLL etc as the sling wearers all tend to hang out there and I'm sure they'd be happy to help :)

[ReshapeWhileDamp]

Thanks for the responses and sorry for not getting back again! I have tried again and have it tighter (like a t shirt) but still not happy with the head. I do put his head under one of the side strappy bits, but am having difficulties getting his chin up. This was one of my issues with DS1 and we didn't use soft slings much as a result.

HOwever, my lovely MW has put me in touch with someone who is a local Slingmeet stalwart and we're going over there next week for some hands-on advice! Thanks again for the support here!

[MoonUnitAlpha]

What do you mean by getting his chin up? If his chest is against you and his head is to the side, surely his chin can't be buried in his chest so much as to cause a breathing problem.

[ReshapeWhileDamp]

Head to the side worked to a certain extent, but I think that's a tightness thing - I couldn't keep the head in place before.

[MoonUnitAlpha]

Make sure his head is quite high up on your chest too - so his ear is resting against your heart. I think I had ds hanging too low at first.