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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to think it's impossible to do most things with a baby in a sling?!

95 replies

Aberforthsgoat · 09/05/2020 11:23

Everyone I know with babies says they just pop baby in a sling and crack on as normal
Am I the only one who doesn't seem to be able to manage this?
I can't easily bend down with him attached to me, can't move normally due to having to protect his little head from getting whacked or bumped, can't really spray cleaning products around as they'll be all around his head...the only.thing I manage to do is a quick tidy and hoover...
Also now he's a bit bigger at nearly five months my back is killing me. How people do it when they're even older I have no idea!
He's in a jersey stretch sling at the moment, we have an ergo which is better for my back and protecting his head but he hates it because he can't see out easily.

I'm having one of those days where I'm finding it hard to have a baby attached to me 24-7 can you tell?

OP posts:

AcrobaticCardigan · 09/05/2020 11:52

My baby was quite big at birth and I had c-section so tried from post 12-weeks. I could only use for v short pops to shops etc, but def couldn’t have used all day like others I know seem to have done.

majesticallyawkward · 09/05/2020 11:55

Ds is in his loads, he won't be put down and with older dd I need hands free. I hated the stretchy wrap you just tie, but love my ring sling, caboo and mei tai! All offer good support for baby. Recently I got a structured one as he's coming up 6 months and wants to look out more, I got one with a hip seat which is amazing and a dream on my back.

It really comes down to which carrier you have and how it works with you. I'm tall and on the chunky side with massive babies but what I have works well.

SinkGirl · 09/05/2020 11:56

Are you short like me? I am 5’2” and even with my twins being very small, I really struggled. Tried several types of carriers (one twin at a time only!) and I couldn’t do anything useful.

BessMarvin · 09/05/2020 11:59

I had to smile at

Not sure why you'd need to carry him/her 24/7, if they're sleeping leave them in their cot, if they're awake on their play mat. Problem solved.

My 7mo has never been able to nap in her cot and I'd put on a play mat would last 30 seconds to 5 minutes (once a day).

For above reasons I also thought a sling would be the answer, especially as I have an older one. But yes found the same. Couldn't hang out the washing or anything.

But reading all this maybe I should try her on my back as I only did front. Though she just seems to want to get into everything at the moment so no idea if she'll tolerate it.

LaurieMarlow · 09/05/2020 12:00

Didn’t work for me either OP. Certainly never figured out how to cook, hoover, do anything more than a basic wipe around with baby in the sling.

But then I didn’t invest in sling consultations or any of that stuff. I had a wrap one and a more structured one and couldn’t really get along with either.

Mine slept well in the buggy. That as my saving grace.

CaryStoppins · 09/05/2020 12:01

I'm short too 5'1" and had not problem with mine in back carries. I also used a Rose and Rebellion. DC 2 & 3 went on my back as soon as they were pretty good at holding their own heads up about 4 months.

It's especially useful if you have older children and that time in the afternoons when you're getting them from school, making tea etc and the baby is fussy - just shove the baby on your back and you can cook, clean, pick up a toddler.

mindutopia · 09/05/2020 12:01

It's not easy to do things that involve bending down, no. But everything else. Go for a poo, chop food/cook (most things anyway, not if there is hot splattering oil), sit and have a meal, sit at my desk and return emails, etc. I've never avoided cleaning, just use a natural cleaner so you aren't causing bleach fumes everywhere. You just need a sling that fits you both properly so it isn't digging in when you sit down and it needs to be supportive. At 5 months, a stretchy sling made of jersey material is probably not supportive enough. I didn't use them past 3-4 months. A woven wrap is most comfortable, but you need to have a knack for it. You may just need to try some different ones. Or get your baby used to being in a bouncy chair, which was also very handy for getting things done.

AlexTheLittleCat · 09/05/2020 12:02

I can't either, mine is 20lbs now and feeling very heavy to carry. Doing the washing up with them in it during the witching hours when they can't be put down nearly floors me. I'm front carrying too.

Have also heard that back carrying is easier., maybe it's time to figure that out?

Original poster

Aberforthsgoat · 09/05/2020 13:59

Okay, 24-7 might be a slight exaggeration He does take an afternoon nap in his cot but often gets bored because he's at the stage where he wants to move but isn't quite there yet, and the sling lets him look around etc, be on the move...

I'll look at Rose & Rebellion, I've noticed this one isn't supporting him as well now.
Crawling at 5 months? Is that early? Ds has barely flipped from front to back at the moment (did it twice, look astonished, then outraged, then cried!) although he seems to be making on the crawling motions when on his tummy.

I am 5 foot 2, yes to the poster who said they're the same! I just feel like he takes up the whole length of my body and some so I think I just havent found the right one yet.

OP posts:

Linguaphile · 09/05/2020 14:02

Mine all lived in slings. Have you tried a back carry instead??

BessMarvin · 09/05/2020 16:08

Crawling at 5 months is early

Original poster

Aberforthsgoat · 09/05/2020 19:10

Okay so we tried the ergo again this afternoon and I think because he's bigger now he likes it facing out. Felt so much more supportive on my back but I'm not sure I've got him in it 100% correctly as he felt.like he could lurch a bit side to side so going to watch some tutorials

OP posts:

Yurona · 10/05/2020 08:55

I’m just under 5ft and petite (size 8-10). I used an ergo performance when mine were small, now I use a kokadi flip, ringslings and a kokadi onbu.
If your child feels heavy, you either need another carrier, or yours needs to be adjusted properly. I can carry my 22 kg 7 year old and my 14 kg 3 year old for 1-2 hours without issues.

ooonicorn · 10/05/2020 08:58

I tried it with my second and kept bumping and hitting everything! I don't get how people do it either!

stargirl1701 · 10/05/2020 08:59

At 5 months I used the Ergo on my back rather than my front. Takes practice but so worth it.

LolaLollypop · 10/05/2020 09:03

I've never got on with slings. Didn't put DD1 in one at all really. The cloth ones for newborn just never felt very secure, my DD used to always try and lift her head rather than be snuggled in like in the pictures! Slings in general hurt my back so I've always put baby down.

I've got an 11 week old now so should really dig out my Babybjorn and have a go at carrying him in it - but I'm not optimistic!

CloudsCoveredTheSky · 10/05/2020 09:04

I'm with you OP. I can chop stuff up for dinner and I can sweep the floor, and obviously it's handy for going outside, but I can't do anything else.

Laundry - nope, too much kneeling and standing and bending.

Washing dishes - he's in the way

Putting stuff away - scared it will drop on his head

Cooking - too dangerous

Hoovering - he screams like the devil

Dusting - worried the dust will go up his nose

Cleaning the bathroom or kitchen - too chemically

I don't know what other parents are doing, but I just don't find it useful. I just put him in his chair or in his crib and keep an eye on him. Way easier and doesn't kill your back.

frillyfucks · 10/05/2020 09:06

I've got the ergobaby 360 omni and I do everything with her in there, same with my son. I tend to squat rather than bend to do laundry and if possible I put things on a surface so they're higher and I don't need to squat down.

SockQueen · 10/05/2020 09:14

I loved my sling for out and about, picking up big bro from nursery, going to the shops without faffing with buggy. It also worked really well for settling him to sleep in the house and I managed to do a bit of cooking, but couldn't manage any chores involving repeated bending down e.g. hanging/folding washing, dealing with dishwasher, tidying etc. And he was far too little for back carrying at that stage.

Sipperskipper · 10/05/2020 09:17

I never got it either. I loved the ergobaby for being out walking with DD, but neither she or I liked the sling just around the house. It just felt impractical and hot.

Phineyj · 10/05/2020 09:25

You do have to be careful not to tip them out with bending activities. I only found mine useful for walking to the shops and gave up at 8 months as the baby's weight plus mine was hurting my knees. I had a Bjorn which I know people despise on here but I really liked that no knotting or wrapping was required. It's either done up or it isn't.

CaryStoppins · 10/05/2020 09:40

If there's a possibility the baby will fall out, and using it hurts your knees and doesn't support the baby's weight, then sounds like it isn't a great carrier.

There are lots of very good buckled carriers available without those drawbacks.

PowerslidePanda · 10/05/2020 09:42

I have twins and was assured that a sling was the solution, but changing a baby whilst wearing another just isn't possible! (Admittedly, I never tried back carrying though)

Having said that, a sling was the only way I could get out the house by myself with baby twins and a toddler who's too much of a liability to walk near busy roads. Toddler and one baby in a pushchair, other baby in a sling.

nellodee · 10/05/2020 09:44

I had a beko butterfly. I was really easy to switch from a front hold to a back hold. When I had my second child, we initially used double buggies, but I found it was far easier to have one child in a pushchair and one in the back pack. I think the oldest I ever had one of my children in it was when they were five. It was quite expensive, but I got so much use out of it.

Chiyo666 · 10/05/2020 09:48

My babies all spent so much time on my back that sometimes I’d forget they were there till I sat down and squished them. Get a connecta.

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