Curious - why don't more people use baby carriers?

[togarama]

I'm increasingly curious about this and just wondered if others on MN could shed some light on their choice of buggy Vs carrier (or both).

I don't know many other parents IRL and those I do come into contact with are often so obviously negative about baby carriers that I don't think I would gain anything other than a sore ear from asking them....

We've always used slings, wraps and other carriers with 20 month old DD because they're comfortable (for us and baby), convenient (especially since they leave your hands free) and fit our lifestyle. We walk a lot, like to be spontaneous and don't want to have to think about buggy access / stair problems every time we leave the house. I also travel a lot by train and tube and can't even begin to imagine the hassle of trying to cart a pram or buggy around the public transport system.

However, I'm always very conscious when with other parents (e.g. dropping DD at nursery and being stared at...) that we're very much in a minority and I don't really understand why. Carriers just seem to have so many advantages and appear much more logical for commuting and city living. But buggies are somehow still the choice of the majority.

Why is this?

I am small and my DSs were big and i nearly died having DS1 and for four months couldn't even lift him up the stairs to bed - DH had to do it as i was so ill.

Why are you so bothered and so eager to press what you think is the best option on others?

scottishmummy I'm guessing it's a place where you can try a range of carriers and get advice on how to wear from experienced (ahem) 'babywearers'.

Proper slings aren't sold in shops generally and are quite expensive -- my ergo and boba cost 100 quid or thereabouts, my german woven wrap cost 120 quid. They are often sold or made or converted and sold online so it can be hard to find the right one. Also it can seem quite daunting doing a back carry for the first time. You need help and confidence and lots of practice.

But I had a friend who went and told me it was a bit unsavoury and VERY hippyish and a bit unfriendly.

I spent hours online and buying and trying out so if that cuts some of that, could be good. It's quite baffling. And people take their stashes very seriously. There are some sick people on babywearer.com. Right sling huns.

I still would prefer to spend the time drinking wine and doing my nails!

"Why are you so bothered and so eager to press what you think is the best option on others?"

Is anyone actually doing this?

see that hemp cloth babywearer club ethos is boaktastic

the need to be with other babywearers who wear a sling that is exactly the lentiltastic thing id run a mile from

I had the babybjorn one and then a soft one
Hated them both, as did DS
So thats why

A friend terribly patrionisingly explained to me how wonderful they were then nearly fell over picking up my DS who weighed almost double what her teeny DD did at 13 months. She didnt mention how easy carrying was again funnily enough ....

Nothing against those that do tho, it seems great in theory

I've been to one "slingmeet" meeting to get advice on my rucksack carry technique. It was actually extremely helpful to be guided through by someone who has been doing it for years.

I'd only go again if I wanted to learn something else or someone wanted to try out one of my carriers. (I'm not generally interested in mum and baby groups with or without added slings...)

scottishmummy- do we have the same friends? I know a cloth nappy using, babywearing girl who confessed to spending over £1000 on slings and wraps. She also spends a lot of time on sling forums online, as well as going to meet ups.

I was quite dependant on my pram because I was on painkillers to enable me to walk comfortably after DS was born, the BFding went by the wayside after 2 months and I had to carry formula, and prams are handy for carrying other things apart from the baby. I don't have a car to take shopping home!

However I was given a Babasling, Babybjorn and Mothercare sling when DS was born. I used to put him in Babasling when I was pottering about at home, and when I went out (taking pram as well). Babybjorn was used for forest walks and hillwalking until DS was 6 months old and was too big for it. Mothercare sling was too faffy and got given away.

A A Chicco back carrier replaced Babybjorn for hillwalks, but then babywearing friend introduced me to the Connecta. They cost £50 and you can get them online, choose your own fabric. Can carry your child against your chest when he's wee. DS is 2 and can still be carried on my back.

No scottishmummy. It's not the need to be with them, it's to try on hard-to-come-by expensive products that may or may not be right for you so you don't have to spend $$$ on three different types and never know how to tie the buggers up.

For most people. I guess with all groups there are the boaktastic (great word, my granny was always using it)

i got given a fancy leather and sheepskin job with straps.mediaeval looking

aye same lassie,if uses terms lie clothbummed and babywearer

Oh, the Bill Amberg? Yes. I got given one too but never used it as was in Singapore.

I would never use terms like clothbummed -- I can't see where the occasion would arise to use it (and I'm a disposable user) or babywearer. I also slightly cringe at co-sleeper (although that's what I did for 21 months) and natural term breastfeeding, although that's what I am doing.

oh, and the bill amberg is crap, worse than a bjorn.

bill gates babysling something like that.fucking horrid

I have one. Its a sort of weird anomaly. Its a sling BUT its made by Myleene Klass. Makes me laugh everytime I use it.
I bought it cos it was being flogged really cheap in the sale. Its the sort I like, a bit bit of cloth with a ring at the shoulder.

I DO like it and so does DS but he is only 6mths and already weighs over 20lb so I really cant carry him for long. I dont know how you do it with toddlers.

I am a shopper. I love shopping. I need a buggy for that, to put all my tat on. I have a big old fashioned silver cross with a big shopping tray.

Oh and you cant fit the dog in the sling with the baby, he can sit under the buggy

It's for wives of investment banker types

I use both for different occasions - slings useful if walking around somewhere, great for calming the baby, popping out to post a letter. Buggy is good for getting the baby to nap, going shopping, going to cafes etc where I want to be able to put him down.

I live in Bristol though and actually baby carriers of all kinds seem pretty common, certainly no one stares. At baby groups or the HV clinic it seems to be half and half prams and slings.

Much as I giggled at the idea of people meeting up to try slings, that's what I ended up doing at my babywearing friend's house. Which was handing for knowing how much I liked my £50 Connecta, which I can hitch on very quickly. But there were more expensive slings and wraps from online sources there that took three people including myself to put on properly! I didn't buy them.

I think that one of the reasons that the Slingmeet groups have taken off is that good quality carriers aren't available on the high street. Slingmeets revolve around a relatively expensive, but actually rather useful product, that people like to try before they buy.

While they're not for me (and nor are other mum/baby groups IRL) I don't feel the need to be aggressive or disrespectful towards the people who run or attend them. I don't do that to people who use buggies, disposable nappies, formula milk etc.. either.

Re do people attend meetings re Nokia phones - actually yes. There's all kinds of techware fan meetings, both virtual and IRL.

hmmm reads like elitist product driven chuff

if someone proposed pram-meets,to try and validate purchase of pricey prams that would be (rightly) derided

If I had another baby (miracle birth) and I wanted to try a less horrible sling/carrier than the Babybjorn, I wouldn't want to shell out £100 on something I found on Google and had no idea about. I'd want to try it out. I could try out all manner of 'pricey prams' in Peter Jones etc, but the dept stores aren't exactly full of baby slings/carriers, are they? So I would think a chance to buy from an independent seller, showing me a range of slings, and showing me how to use them, would be a good idea. If that's what a 'sling meet' (ghastly term) is, then I think they sound like a good idea. If it's just people talking about baby carriers while wearing them, then that sounds appalling!

I was recently shown how to wrap a wrap properly, and it converted me back to slings. I've just ordered a stretchy wrap as a cheapish option to try while DD's still small. If we get on with it I might upgrade to a more weighty one when she grows. I really really hope she likes it as she has reflux, will not sleep or be put down and it's driving me mental!

Have tried ring sling and Baby Bjorn so far. She hated the ring sling, as did I, and now hates the Baby Bjorn as well, as do I.

scottishmummy:'hmmm reads like elitist product driven chuff'

Are you referring to using carriers or going to slingmeets? And in what way exactly are the opinions expressed 'chuff'? The majority of posters have had useful or interesting things to say about their choice of buggy, carrier or both.

I like carriers because I find them quick, comfy and versatile. Some other posters say the same thing about their prams for similar reasons. Evidently our lifestyles and personalities are very different. But both choices are valid, rational and should not be dismissed out of hand.

I don't use carriers because of image or ideology. I use them because they work so well. I'm sure this is true of most other carrier users too.

I was thinking about this - part of the snobbery against slings may be that they are much more practical if you don't have space in a hall to keep a pram, or if you live in a flat without a lift, or if you don't have a car and rely on public transport.

So not just "can't afford a pram" but "can't afford a decent sized house" and "can't afford a car".

That's the thing isn't it, everyone is different with different needs/lifestyles.

I get where some mums say they have carried the baby for 9 months, why keep doing it? It isn't sad at all. Not everyone carried their baby comfortably. I had SPD, bad swollen feet and generally found my first PG hard going physically so when I came to put him in my sling it just niggled all the same problems again and was so uncomfortable.

I had a great PG with DD and I like the sling now even at 10 months but sometimes you need the buggy too. Shopping, cafes, being able to give DS a hug before nursery and being able to stand back up again after!

unwind I dont think that is the case actually - I dont have a problem with the buggy on public transport and I actually think the lack of a car means you need a buggy for storing stuff while out and about etc - the going to the toilet thing is a biggy for me - when they start crawling and are that big could you still practically go to the toilet ok? and if not where are putting the baby - at least with a bugy you can strap them in somewhere else - ie restrain them safetly.

Its a matter of time and place for me - on a day to day basis then we, as a family will use a buggy, but in situations like holidays etc then we will take a sling.

And I've lived in a one bed walk-up with a toddler on my own and have had space for a collapsed maclaren leaning up the stairs by the front door iyswim. If you dont have a buggy at all then as a single parent you are neevr going to get soemone to walk the baby to the shops or help you out.

Plus my 7 year old ds can push the buggy with me/instead of me.

we live on the third floor-no lift. buggy lives in the car. so it makes sense to me to use the sling to carry dd up and down the stairs and then to keep carrying her because I can't be bothered to get the buggy out as well.