Sling help

[Sittingintheshade]

Just wondering if other new mums would recommend a fabric sling
We bought a more structured baby carrier but baby is not a fan, pondering whether a fabric one would be better......I'd love to be able to hold him close but still use my hands!
Any recommendations would be appreciated

Are there any sling meets near you? You'd ge to look at a range and tak hone to try before you buy. We use a baby bjorn structured sling, I'm not a fan of the fabric ones too complicated for me! But they are really popular

I've not heard of that but will have a Google to see if there's one nearby, thank you
We bought a Chicco one but he is definitely not keen on it

I've just got a Connecta, on the recommendation of a sling consultant, and baby and I are both loving it.

It's shaped like a structured sling, but there's very little padding, so it's very 'fabric-y', if that makes sense.

I had tried a very structured sling - the Manduca - but I felt like it was wearing us, rather than the other way around.

The Connecta's loads better. It's still very comfortable, even with less padding. I've just had it a week. DD (a large 9 months!) fell asleep in it yesterday when we were out and about. It really was blissful.
Would definitely be worth your while going to a library, or seeing a consultant if you can. Mine was the best £45 I've ever spent.

How old is the baby? I've used a stretchy wrap for both of mine when very small (first 3 months), and would highly recommend them. They aren't too difficult to use with a bit of practice.
An older/bigger baby would need a woven wrap and although I haven't used one, my understanding is it's best to go along to your local sling library to learn how to tie them in all the various different carries. Personally I use a ring sling now for my 9mo as it's comfy for me and I like that it packs up very small in my bag.

Definitely go to a sling meet. I have a,stretchy wrap and have tried and tried it with two babies but can't get on with it at all.

I'm going to get a connects I think. I have a baby bjorn but it makes my back ache - was fine with ds1 but not now with Ds2 fir sone reason.

He's 4 weeks old

Thanks for all the replies, I'll have a google 😊

I use a combination of a stretchy wrap and a connecta. Stretchy wrap for when I'm walking a long way and want bub to sleep properly (it's very comfy for both of us) and the connecta for when I'm in a hurry or when I know I'll want it on and off a few times in the day.

The stretchy wrap was a £20 one from Amazon, the connecta I bought second hand on eBay.

As pp said, see if there's a sling library near you.

I also think a sling library is fabulous. I went to one and hired a close caboo organic. Loved it so much that I have bought my own one. I know many people who also agree that the caboo is brilliant for when they are little.

When my DS was very small I loved the Closer Caboose carrier - it's a stretchy wrap type, but sewn into shape so much less faff. You put it on like a t-shirt. Really comfy and great for younger babies. I got one in E-bay for a tenner

Ooh cross post - great minds!!

Definitely try some out. I thought I would want a connecta but we prefer the Manduca.

I'd recommend a caboo while their small but you would need to move on to something more structured or a woven wrap in a couple of months

The Close Caboo is great. It's soft and stretchy but pre-tied so very easy to put on and put baby into

We tried the Chico one too first- baby just fell out of the side!

Hi op, seconding all the advice on finding a sling meet. If there aren't any you can to then there are some good online 'meets' that will do email consultation and rentals by post.

What position are your baby's legs in? Best and comfiest is a frog like one (using a sling with a wide seat) so the legs are supported and held until the knee....as opposed to ones where the legs dangle and is it just covers their crotch area. There's a fair amount to say that those ones aren't great. If that's yours it might be worth investing in another. I used a Moby wrap when my daughter was very small, hired a Close Caboo and bought a second hand Ergo original that got a lot of use.

Best advice is get trained advice and try plenty on for size. Always worth looking at fb selling sites for second hand ones too as they're expensive new.

Also, really importantly, know how to use a sling safely - no crunched up neck and head, having the sling loose and low. Here's the NCT checklist.

Thank you everyone, loads of helpful responses

The Chicco one we got initially does have a wide position ('M' position) for legs but he just doesn't seem to be able to sit in it? He kept pulling his legs up and as pp said, falling out of the side. Maybe it will be better when he's bigger

But I'll do some research and hopefully get something that will work better now