So much to catch up on!
hunny research (mostly anthropological on isolated societies but some on babies brought up in industrialised countries) shows that overall the carried baby is more content, cries less and is more confident as they get older. However, as with all research that like, it doesn't mean that will apply to every single individual! My DD was carried a lot (we didn't even get the 2nd hand prams we were given out of storage for the first month) and for the first 3 months she only ever slept on me during the day and evening, and she is one of the most independent and confident toddlers you could meet. As soon as she could crawl, I'd barely see her for two hours at baby groups, she'd just be off playing, and would only 'check in' with me to recharge her Mummy battery and breastfeed. But it's almost impossible to prove a cause/effect relationship with her behaviour/personality and being carried. My gut feeling is that meeting her need to be held in the first few months of life (and beyond when she asked) really has contributed to her independence and confidence, certainly her sociability (she's used to adults making lots of friendly eye-contact and conversation because she was usually at their height). But as you can't bring up the same kid twice, I'll never really know. I did it as much for me as for her at the time, as apart from being the best way to settle her, I felt very 'free' to carry on doing whatever I wanted to. But, it's horses for courses - it doesn't suit every parent or every baby. Also bear in mind you don't have to make a 'to sling or not to sling' decision - you can carry when it suits you both, and buggy-it the rest of the time. Oh, and some internet sling suppliers also do hire, so you can try before you buy.
Now I've totally outed myself as a fully paid-up lentil weaver, haven't I!
For those who don't want to splash out on a new sling, there's a yahoogroup called something like UKslingswap (I'll check that when I've got a moment) where good deals are to be had. thebabywearer.com is also good but you've got to have 30 posts in 30 days to qualify to use the for sale or trade board, and now the exchange rate with the dollar isn't so good, it's pricier. Ebay can also yield the occasional good deal. And if you're handy, you could also make your own! There are loads of patterns on the internet
christiana, PrincessB, Soozze and patchybob well, all slings that hold the baby directly against your chest will be hotter than those that don't, but I've found a couple of ways around that. Firstly, if you're in a particularly hot climate there are gauze wraps - very light, dry quickly if you need to wash them a lot. The Calin Bleu is a good example. DD was born in the heat wave in 2006, and yes, I'll fess up I was frequently pretty sweaty but the kari-me is made out of cotton t-shirt-type material, and I wore just a very thin vest under it and it wasn't too bad. Also, because the material spreads out so much, it was possible to go out in a bra and just the sling. Not for the novice perhaps, but did the job! To my knowledge DD didn't get too hot regardless of how sweaty I was! She was often just in a nappy and a hat - she loved all that lovely sweaty skin-to-skin action in fact even when she appeared bright red in the face she would burrow further in to my armpit (strange child). I believe that another Mummy superpower is that your body temperture adjusts to help regulate that of your newborn, but that might just apply to bfing and co-sleeping...
PrincessB the closer does a very similar thing to the kari-me but is probably easier to learn to adjust to start with. The only thing I'm not sure about is the lack of a chest/waist strap - a third bit that goes around you and the baby as a safety measure, but I've never heard of anyone having any trouble. It's relatively new on the market so I haven't heard much feedback at all, actually.
queenfee congrats on your new wrap - you're right it will take you right into toddlerhood if you choose. I still use my didy for DD from time to time, plus it doubles as a great picnic blanket/den.
Belgrano do you have the infant insert for your Ergo? I've only ever helped someone else use one, but it looked pretty snuggly. You could also go for a woven wrap (for longevity) or a wilkinet like Chrisiana, which has the advantage of working well with newborns up to bigger babes, right against your chest like a wrap, but looks more like a baby bjorn so parents who wouldn't be comfortable with the hippier end of the sling market tend to be happier with it! They come up second hand quite a lot.
PrincessB we have a co-sleeper crib, but decided against the arms reach because it had that kind of ridge between the babe's mattress and the parents'. In the end, however, it just got used as an expensive shelf cos DD only wanted to sleep with her nose jammed in my armpit and then we got a travel bed guard. And yes yes yes I know they're officially not recommended for babies but we also bought an enormous bed so there was very little chance of any squishing going on. I'm wracking my brains to remember the make of our crib - we got it on ebay and it had just gone out of stock everywhere, so perhaps it's discontinued. I'll go and do some googling...
evie - got a similar fanjo/pants relationship just now! Keep worrying I'm leaking amniotic fluid, but the scan showed all volumes normal so it's obviously just me.
Did a pilates class today for the first time in 3 years. My head knows what muscles to use; my muscles, however, appear to have cut off diplomatic relations...