help! sling allegic baby!!

[Clarella]

I was desperate to baby wear before birth and bought a moby and boba 3g for dh.

unfortunately I had a section and though lo only 5lb found either put too much pressure on the scar. I wish now I'd gone to a meet and got a ring sling asap but it was xmas and I found walking v hard til around 5 weeks. my very windy baby got used to hanging on my shoulder in the meantime!

I did hire a ring sling at 5 weeks and tried the moby again but he had a huge thing about stretching his legs in the moby in newborn hold as well as pushing away if legs out. I've hired a caboo dx and got a baby hawk which now at 10 wks he'll go in if asleep but it's armegeddon if even a little awake!

he's always gone in the boba but in his snow suit which puts him to sleep instantly, though he does do this thing now of a big cry and fight first.

the sling meet people tend to say all babies like being carried in a sling or its not tight enough. I definitely get them tight enough!

shall I persist? only try ewhen asleep? will he be more amenable when better head control?

my back is killing me carrying him on my shoulder!!

[Clarella]

is it too late?! :( success stories please I feel mean mummy when I try to put him in. it's like cio in a sling!!!

[RainbowsFriend]

Firstly I would have the sling meet check out whether you have it high and tight enough. Is his head high on your chest and his knees up and pulled into his stomach or at least higher than his bum with the material up into the back of knee?

Next - do you head straight outside for a forced march/walk as soon as he is in? DD would only accept slings at first if I went for a quick walk around the block. After about a week she was then Ok in a sling in the house.

BUT some babies just dont like slings. They are rare though and it tends to be because you haven't got them in a position they like.

If he likes it up on your shoulder you could tie the stretchy wrap assymetrical so he is held up there?

[RainbowsFriend]

On re-reading your post it does sound like he'd prefer a ring sling. Upright position, nice and high again, and a muslin rolled in the top edge for neck support if needed.
Sling should cup your shoulder away from your neck...

[RainbowsFriend]

Try on of these facebook groups for help - post a piccy and get some feedback :)

www.facebook.com/groups/209783279077720/

www.facebook.com/groups/Naturalmamasslingclinic/

[ilovemountains]

Have you tried a pram? If your baby likes a pram then I would get one. Sounds much better than forcing him into a sling which he doesn't like. Although that probably isn't what you want to hear. Sorry.

[NeedsABigCar]

Sling meet people would say that though, wouldn't they? People who don't get on with slings don't go to sling meets!

FWIW I had one that loved being in the sling and one that didn't really like it. With hindsight, the one that didn't like it was a very sicky baby and I suspect never found a position that was comfortable for their tummy.

You could keep persevering and try and find one that you both like but in the meantime he will be perfectly fine in a buggy.

[seeker]

I carried dd everywhere- didn't even own a pram. She was in a ring sling until she grew out of it at something ridiculous like 3!

Ds hated being in a sling from about 2 months. I persevered, then eventually, on my mother's insistence( and to prover her wrong!) put him in a friend's pram. He sighed, stretched out reallylong with his ams above his head and went to sleep!

[RainbowsFriend]

Seeker - exactly - your DS wanted to be stretched out, so a sling wasn't a position he liked. And I'm not sure that there is a sling that carries them stretched out!

With DD she hated the pram, hated the sling, hated everybloodything, but tolerated the sling the best. I couldn't push a pram with my lingering SPD so it was just as well

[Clarella]

wow fast replies! thanks!

not sure about pram - he only goes in it when I go out and been wrestled into the snowsuit and fast asleep first! he's tended to nap in more upright positions such as in swing.

it's more for in the house tbh - I do slowly shush him and calmly walk about cuddling etc. I'm wondering if he's fighting sleep too as he has then slept for an hour in the baby hawk and it was me who woke him so I'll maybe trial that again.

I have him very high but he does like to look about while hanging over shoulder so wondered if it's too 'in his face' I make sure knees up in m position won't tolerate a newborn hold.

yes maybe I need to try wraps. could be a phase ( wonder week 12 wks, 10 wks old)

has ANYONE had a baby who grew ti like slings as they got older?

[Clarella]

just tried pram - no good :/

i really want to baby wear for a number of reasons though not just when out - and he usually goes to sleep then.

[RainbowsFriend]

As I said earlier DD hated slings (just hated prams worse) and honestly getting outside for a walk as soon as I'd put her in settled her. She quickly came to love her slings though, especially once I had her in a back carry and she could nose about more.

[JimbosJetSet]

DS hated the sling at first - which was a shock to me as my older DD had loved it from birth until 2 years - but at 4 months he became big enough to see out of the top of it and he is perfectly happy in it, as long as he is on the move. It's not great if he is in it around the house unfortunately (again, DD was happy to be in it indoors and/or stationary).

[Clarella]

ah well that's good to know jimbo and rainbow, I sort of suspect he might be better when more able to sit up and look about. has been better in baby hawk but tbh he's having a bad time sleeping at night at mo sorather grumpy and not really best time to try.

I teach in an sen school so pretty good at getting there in the end!

[Clarella]

we have a second hand bednest hammock which we've just got a mattress for so might try that.

[StuntNun]

I wear DS3 in a woven wrap and he isn't keen on it unless I also hold him with my hands. But I manage okay because I can let go for a few seconds with both hands to do something or hold him with one hand to e.g. push the Hoover around. He's three months old now so a bit older than your LO but I have high hopes that he'll like it a bit more when he can hold his head up unaided as he doesn't like the material touching the back of his head.

My DH uses a Tomy carrier which isn't ideal for the hip position as DS3's dangle a bit in it but he loves being in that! Silly baby, doesn't know that slings are in and baby carriers are out.

[StuntNun]

• legs dangle obviously

[RainbowsFriend]

StuntNun - have you tried rolling a muslin in the top edge and positioning it at the back of the neck to give head support, so the material doesn't go over his head? A lot of babies prefer it.

[TepidCoffee]

Hello, DS1 was a right grumpy so-and-so when he was tiny, used to hate being put into the sling and always cried at first. However, he also cried and screamed at most things pretty much all the time for the first four months so we persevered.

Like PP we found that strapping him in and marching straight out the door for a walk was usually very effective. He also liked being very tight to our chests, which I think was why he didn't like going in in the first place as getting him in and sorted was unpleasant.

I had most luck with a Wilkinet, straps a bit faffy but we could get the really snug feeling he liked and great support for his head. He soon grew to love it and refused the pram/buggy until just over a year old, so we were glad we persisted as he was in the ergo until then. He still loves going in the structured hiking backpack now at 2.4.

DS2's arrival is imminent, I am currently digging out the five million slings for washing in the hope he'll like at least one! They definitely have preferences and it does take a bit of time to find the right one.

[Indith]

Dd HATED being in the sling awake for the first 2 or 3 months or more. She also hated being in a pushchair awake so pretty much any outing involved screaming. Sleep then a mad dash to get home as she started waking up before too much screaming started again. Once she got bigger and happier to be looking around at the world from the comfort of a sling then it was fine. I have plenty of pictures of her around 6 months old at a farm cooing and grabbing at all the animals on a farm while on my front in a wrap so it must have got better at some point!

[Rockchick1984]

Is he too warm being in the snowsuit in the sling? My DS was happiest in vest, sleep suit and hat in the sling as he just got so warm in there - if we were just staying in the house he would go in the sling in just a vest! At first he would only be in the sling if we immediately went out for a walk, but gradually he stopped needing that (although I'd still have to walk around the house for a bit). He now asks to go on my back in the sling, age 2!

[StuntNun]

Thanks Rainbow! I'll try that tomorrow.

[Clarella]

thanks for your replies

I'm going to persevere for short trips out - he hates being put in anything really though I wonder if snow suit too hot generally, likes his hands free too. he's enjoyed the hammock this morning which entertains him for a bit and saves my back.

out of interest - what do sling experts think of the peanut sling? a friend mentioned her son hated anything in front of his face whichIm thinking might be an issue - I'm also wondering if his neck muscles are a bit tight as doesn't turn his head much when lying down.

[pootlebug]

The peanut shell is a pouch, and I don't think 10 weeks is the ideal age for one...hw'll be too big to cradle carry easily and not big and strong enough to hip carry - a bit of a tricky inbetween age.

The fabric shouldn't be in front of his face in a stretchy wrap though. If you u one side to support his head, fold back the other side over your shoulder on the side his face is turned towards to ensure he is not smothered in fabric - like [[http://www.babycalm.co.uk/product/Je-Porte-Mon-Bebe]]

[Clarella]

thanks pootle, it's not the fabric - I'm using a mei tai - he just doesn't like the fact he can't see over my shoulder and isn't too keen to turn head and rest on my chest. I do think as head control improves and he's taller he'll like slings better. I'll hire and play with a wrap and revisit ring sling too in a couple of weeks.

the hammock is a huge hit though for both play and sleep!

[Indith]

He might well prefer a wrap, snuggles them better than a MT when little and easier to look around even when little.

I have a peanut shell but my boys hated being in cradle so only dd used it when little. Still use it now though for hip carries on nursery run and so on.