Recommend me a baby carrier/sling please.

[Craftycakey15]

My baby is two weeks old and I'm realising I need to buy a sling to wear her, especially as my hand is in a splint with tendinitis.
Please can I have recommendations and do you find them very useful? Can you put newborns in (sorry if stupid question) ?

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Hello!

We've noticed that this thread is quite old now, and some of the product recommendations are a little out of date. We've spent weeks speaking to parents and testing baby carriers and wraps suitable for newborns and beyond. Here are our baby carrier reviews.

Hope this helps!

I absolutely love my Manduca. It's suitable from birth and I used it from the first week. Dd loved it from the fist and slept really well in it. Today I went for a hike with my now nearly 3 yr old in it!

If your baby is a few weeks old, how about a stretchy? Something like a Moby or kari-me.

Find your local sling library & try some out. Most people recommend 'soft' slings, my DD hated them. At a sling library you'll be able to see the different sorts, find what works best for you & get some advice on how best to use it.

You need one that is easy to tie if your hand's not very mobile. Maybe get yourself to a slingmeet to try some out (google 'slingmeet' to find your nearest one). They are trained to give advice and you can usually hire them to try them out for a small fee. They will also advise you on the ones best suited to newborns.

Congrats on the new baby! Hope you're getting a bit of sleep when you can!

I'd really recommend looking to see if there is a sling library near you, the nct often run them. Trying them for size and having help getting your baby in is invaluable. Plus they run you through safety stuff. If you can't get to one look up the TICKS advice before going out.

Personally, I love Ergo. We have an original though if I was buying now I'd get an Adapt or 360.

Stretchy wraps are also great for the first few months. Moby are a good brand.

Thank you, never heard of any of this!

Most people recommend the close Caboo. I used one with all 3 of mine. There are Facebook groups selling second hand ones at fair prices.

Just to parrot pps, I'd recommend the close caboo stretchy wrap for the early months. And then the manduca after that.

I started with a fabric sling which I loved then used baby bjorn. Really hurt my back once he got past about 5 kg (he was in it a LOT) so invested in an Ergo 360. Not cheap but I love it. Does inward facing, outward facing, on the hip and on the back when they're bigger. Doesn't even feel like you're carrying any weight as it's all around your waist/hips. There's a newborn insert you use with it but I've seen people back carrying with 3+ year olds so it'll last the duration. Only complaint is the slightly awkward back clip to do up...

I love my ergo. My 8 moth old is on it every day (unfortunately it's either the ergo or the boob for naps) and has been since he was 2 months old. Before that we used a kari me which is good for newborns, but in my opinion, less comfortable for the carrier. Both are always for sale on eBay.

If you can find a sling meet do try to attend. You'll be amazed at the various slings on offer. Have a look online at the connecta range - gorgeous!!

Stretchy wraps are great when they are tiny - They are also comfortable to wear, I often used to spend a lot of the day wearing mine and just pop baby in and out as needed without untying it (you can pull the fabric to the side for feeding).

Three we have a Manduca which is great for older baby up to toddler, though you can use it from birth too.

There are so many different styles to try, a sling library or meet is great if you can find one.

I really hate Babybjorn carriers, babies look wrong in them to me with their legs dangling down. Supposedly bad for their hips too.

Try www.itsaslingthing.co.uk/ if you don't have a local sling library. I tried a couple of styles before I found one that both baby and I liked.

Echoing PPs, wrap/stretchy slings are great for early months.
If your budget stretches to it, I would definitely recommend the Mountainbuggy Juno carrier. It has forward and out facing, back and hip carry settings and a cushioned newborn insert to ensure babies up to 6months/5kg are carried correctly. Plus it's super comfy and has a rain/sun cover for baby.

I sound like a sales person but I just think it's a great carrier!

Agree with Bubbins - I'd avoid the BabyBjorns that have them hanging. They're not endorsed by lots of places as they can damage the hip joints. There is a newish one called the Babybjorn one that has the legs in a 'frog' position so they've obviously updated.

One more word of warning is watch out for fake Ergos etc on eBay. If they claim to be brand new and half the price they should be, it probably is too good to be true and they may not be well made and safe.

Another in the chorus of 'find your local sling library'. It's like buying shoes, what fits one person doesn't fit another. For example, I hated the Ergo because it didn't do crossed straps for front carrying, and ended up much happier with a Connecta (which does, and is less padded). It's about your body shape, and what works for you.

For a tiny baby I found a stretchy wrap brilliant, and it certainly helped my tendinitis - though I found I had to take the wrist splint off to be able to tie the knot in the morning, but then could have the splint and sling on all day without having to faff about.

I loved the caboo with a newborn which we tried at a sling library. We got in on eBay second hand and in great condition

I love my Lillebaby- easy to use right from virth and can still comfortably carry my three year old. Has lumbar support. Easy to adjust. You can hire from babame/ sling heaven and they have great customer service ime.

alltheshoes which stretchy one did you use with your newborn?

Hana wrap (I think they may have been taken over and have a different name). It's a bamboo one, as I'm allergic to various things and it seemed the most hypoallergenic. But any stretchy works the same - tie it on (bit complicated and wrist needs to bend) and then pop baby in and out as necessary. No further faffing needed, it's like putting a ballon under your t-shirt and taking it out again

I liked the stretchy especially because the cross pass held the baby's head so securely I could bend down, move around etc and not need to use a hand to steady them. The Connecta hood didn't work so well for wobbly newborn head, though it was fine when she got a bit bigger.

They are still made, I just found one and with a nice pic of what I meant about supporting the head:
www.lovetobenatural.co.uk/hana-baby-wrap-sky-blue.html?utm_source=google_shopping&gclid=CIKEiIv0tdACFdAy0wodTSIJdw

Beco Gemini is fab - works from birth and still comfy with my 91st centile 21 month old.

I had a close caboo but found it was only good till about 8 weeks, plus I'm small so there was loads of annoying excess fabric.

Love the gemini and it can do forward facing (in a much better position than the bjorn) which many can't.

Some of them don't do outward facing because of 'over stimulation' which is a load of rubbish. My baby loves loves loves looking out, gets so excited. He was definitely over looking at my chest by about 4 months!

We had a hana wrap stretchy as well which I really liked. It's quite a light fabric which was great for a summer baby but as you'll be carrying over winter that's not such a big deal.

I'd honestly just buy a stretchy wrap for now - as another poster who had tendonitus said it's helpful being able to take them in and out without having to re-tie or unclip, and they are very supportive for a newborn if you're wearing them whilst you're getting on with some household tasks.

Also nothing looks more gorgeous than a newborn snuggled against mum (or dad!) in a stretchy wrap - they just look so close and cosy and well supported (as indeed they are!)

It's a little bit of a learning curve getting to know how to tie them which I think can put people off but it's really not difficult and in many ways much easier than fiddling with buckles and clips.

I never really planned to use a stretchy wrap but was given one when struggling with a Velcro-baby and it was a revelation.

I used a hana wrap to begin with. It's a bit of a faff to tie but she was very comfy once in it. When she was a bit bigger we moved to an ergo 360, which I loved and my husband used a lot too.

We've got a mei tai one, we got it when DS was 4 weeks and we still use it a lot now (at 9 months). There's a newborn position; baby's arms and legs both in the carrier and fully supported by the sling. Then when they reach 3-4 months you wrap baby's legs around your waist and wrap the ties underneath their knees. They're pretty cheap from Amazon and are ergonomical for baby's hips.