Baby Box Sling (Scotland) vs other carrier

[singme]

Calling all sling experts! Would appreciate your opinions.

DD (4 weeks) does not like to be put down during the day at all. I have the free sling with the Baby Box but she isn’t that keen on it and it takes me a little while to tie. If it’s not tight enough I don’t feel her head is supported but if it’s tight it’s difficult to get her into.

I was wondering about getting a soft structured carrier like an Ergobaby Embrace or 360. But have read on other threads that a wrap is better for a young baby. Would a different wrap be any better than the one I already have?

Wish the Sling Librarys were still going!

I think the material wraps are all the same. My son hated them but if he didnt Id have gotten a pull on material one. The wrap was a pain to put on.

I had the sling from the baby box which I wore DD in around the house but I never thought she felt secure enough for me to venture on a walk with her. We got the Stokke baby carrier for outside walks but I’ve heard ergobaby and others are good too. Tried a Tula at a sling library once which was easy to use too.

Thanks! Seems consensus from here and other mums I’ve asked is the baby box wrap is adequate to start with and just as good as other wraps. Might invest in a carrier when she is a bit bigger!

I use the baby box one for my 4 week old. Have only just started though as felt he was too small before. He was only 4lb 1oz at birth though and is now 6lb 3.

We've got a 5 month old and are up in Scotland.
Those boxes are brilliant, sling didn't get a huge amount of use to be fair.

We got a 2nd hand ergobaby 360 which has been awesome.

We used our baby box wrap so much, it 2as an absolute godsend for out sleep hating baby!!

Both DH and I found it much more comfortable to wear as baby got older as you can spread the weight more over your shoulders and across your back rather than just on 2 straps on your shoulders. We did use it loads though so both got really good at tying and adjusting it. DS was a big baby, 10lb 11 at birth and we used it until he got too wriggly for it, about 10 months or so.

I haven't any experience of the Scottish baby wrap, but I've used a few different stretchy wraps and they do differ slightly depending on the stretchiness of the material (addition of e.g. lycra rather than just cotton) and the thickness of it as well - a thinner one is stretchier and less supportive. I prefer a thick one personally, I really like the Boba one, and one I made myself which was double thickness. I didn't get on so well with Kari-me which is a thinner one that's got some lycra in it so is very stretchy.

I also think the baby makes a difference. DS1 seemed to just work immediately in the sling whereas I could never get it right with DS2 and it didn't get much use at all.

But that said - how tight are you doing it? With a stretchy wrap, the key is to tie it onto you empty, and about as tight as a snug t-shirt. You don't need to "leave space" for the baby as the stretch in the material provides the stretch. If you try to do it up around them or leave space for them, IME it ends up much too loose. I also find it's best if the two crossed bits are inside the horizontal band, so that that's the outer layer. If that doesn't make sense let me know and I'll try to find a picture/video guide.

At 4 weeks it's unlikely your baby will have the head control to cope well with a more structured carrier, and trying to use the newborn inserts in them is a huge pain. I'd try and persevere with the sling you've got for another few weeks, but maybe try some different carries? Just google stretchy wrap carries to get some ideas - I don't know how many suggestions you get with the baby box one.

The ergo embrace or mamaruga zensling are lovely soft stretchy buckle carriers suitable from birth. Like anything, tying a stretchy wrap gets easier with practice - just like folding and unfolding your pram! The baby box stretchy is a 1 way stretchy so you might prefer a 2 way stretchy. Laurna at coorie in with love has some videos of how to use the baby box stretchy to its best advantage.

Yes thetes some great videos on YouTube showing how to use the baby box wrap, Laurna's are what we used, it has to be so much tighter than you think, but remember, it's not the tightness keeping the baby in, but the criss cross of the wrap underneath baby's bottom. Getting the baby into a good healthy hip position also makes them really secure too.

I used to do an exercise class with DS in the wrap!

Fab, will keep practising. Just been trying the one hold which is the criss cross. Will try the website mentioned above. Thanks!

This is my favourite carry for a stretchy wrap. Some of them have the crossed parts on the outside, but this IME is easier to use.