Carriers/slings

[MochiPie]

Not applicable to me as my children are older but do people still use carriers or slings for their babies? Was wondering the other day as I never really see anyone using these anymore, mainly just big prams. I remember when my dd was little people recommended them a lot. Have they gone out of fashion now? I live in a city where you’d think they would be more popular especially on public transport

I do! I carried my older one and am
now carrying my younger baby. I prefer keeping them close and being hands free compared to using a pram pushchair.

I don’t see carriers out and about very often - in my little village there was only one other mum who uses them but plenty of prams and push chairs. But there’s a thriving baby wearing community so they must be around!

I suspect many mums have carriers to use at home but when they’re out they prefer all the space a pram comes with and being baby and backpack free.

I do

I'm not uk, but all my midwives were very firm about not carrying the baby too much at first to protect your pelvis. Now he's 4 months, he's heavy and I haven't built up the muscle! I live in a city and actually assume all the people with carriers have come by car because they're not great for more than a mile walking. I do use it if we're going somewhere inconvenient with the pram, but I can feel it for days if I've carried him for a couple of hours.

I like to if it's not too hot! I'm always hot and have a sweaty baby 🤣 but I now have a tight tube type thing (imagine a boob tube!) and it's do good! No faff comfy like a stretchy wrap and stays tight

My youngest is 7, and we used cloth carriers/wraps/ring slings with all of them from birth. Don't see many using any other than buckled, Bjorn or at a push Beco types. But they're a lot more common than they were.

I see more babies in carriers but almost never a wrap. I was shocked to see a baby in a ring along over the weekend - haven’t seen that for years. There was a time when sling libraries were recommended a lot and I don’t know if that still happens? I also wonder whether they’re more common in certain (slightly more alternative) areas?

Nostalgic for my Wilkinet carrier. It was excellent. I’ve kept it just in case I ever get grandchildren!

I couldn't imagine my baby years without carriers. I was really anxious about taking a buggy somewhere it might not fit like a bus or crowded town centre and it didn't fit in the car. The carrier with a nappy and wipes in a little bag felt like an easier option.

I think the baby wearing mum's can flock together but I agree, I don't see them so much at the moment.

In my area (SW London), almost everyone i know has a woven / wrap sling for at home but switches to a more structured carrier for when out and about. I have a boba wrap and an ergobaby omni 360. But I only use mine for short outings close to home, I prefer to use the buggy if we are likely to be out for a while because we don't have a car, so the buggy basket becomes very useful for carrying anything we might want to buy, filling up with items that DD1 might gather on route, DD1 can jump on the buggy board if she gets tired etc.

Edit to add, i also find them much less practical once you are passed your first child, because i used to worry that if DD1 bolted, I wouldn't be able to run after her with DD2 in the carrier.

Tbh, that was a bonus of carriers, bolting was harder to deal with with a pushchair!

I'm in quite a sling heavy area, lots of people seem to have one in a sling, on in the pram or scooter.

I used my wrap sling until about 5m, never got on with the structured ones. I thought I'd be scared to use it, but after a couple of useless attempts we took him up to see my parents with no more than a sling and a rucksack each and just cracked it.