Any tips on getting my baby out her sling

[PixiePuffBall]

I spend my life with my 9 week old baby girl in a stretchy sling wrap. She loves it and I also enjoy having her close, generally.

That said, she is a big baby and getting heavy and my back is starting to suffer. We can't go on this way forever so need to start putting her down to sleep more.

Any tips on how to get her to sleep in something else, or at least how to put her down once she has fallen asleep in the sling?

Buy a structured carrier with clips under the arms so you can just roll them out into bed. I thought wraps were the way forward and all the knowledgeable parents seemed to use them, but honestly a structured carrier is so much better. More comfortable for your back, for your baby, no howling when you get them in and out. I switched at 4 months and never looked back. Yes, mums have been using them for centuries, but there a reason people will pay 200 for an ergobaby!

Stretchy wraps have their place but aren’t great when they’re bigger. I loved my Integra carrier, so comfy. Wore both kids regularly until about 9 months.
On sleeping elsewhere, I’d either feed to sleep lying down and then leave them
where they were, or walk them in the pram. Never cracked just laying either down in the cot to go to sleep, though I know some babies will do this!

Honestly I'd just get a better sling. It shouldn't be too heavy or uncomfortable. We are designed to carry infants and its actually good for us, as women, to carry weight (which is why we should strength train in our 40s). 9 weeks is still very little and she won't want to be in a sling forever. Sling libraries are good.

My Tula explore was a godsend for my back never got in with stretches as ours was soooooo tiny I never felt safe! Bu the Tula meant I didn’t have to lug her pram down the stairs and I could just unclip and pop her into her cot!

But we did a lot and I mean miles and miles of pram walking (and still doing she’s fighting a nap at 2)!

I can recommend morherrucker for carrier consultations she was amazing when I finally went to see someone for some proper advice….. she does on line and sling hire now or home visits if your West Sussex way- honestly she was a godsend!

I would get a better sling / carrier.

I am not very strong but carried my 90th percentile babies until they were 18 months without any issues - just had a really ergonomic carrier

Sorry to inquire, but do a lot of parents wear slings now. My 4 were born late 90s. I never had one at all.

I’d move to a woven wrap first. I wore mine in woven wraps til certainly 2.5, maybe even 3.5 for the last one.

@Iloveeverycat Yes slings and baby carriers are much more common. My parents though it was a fad (they had 90’s children as well) but even my dad has tried one and he said he can see why they caught on especially in city’s where having a pram can be a faff or at home so you can have a baby in the carrier and do things around the house.

I like them for the super market as makes pushing a trolley easy and don’t have to worry about finding the one with a baby seat.

@Iloveeverycat Similar here! Mine just went to sleep in a rocker when little or in a carry cot. They needed to have some independence from me and me from them. I was put outside in my pram when I was a baby! In all weathers. A quiet place an a carry cot suited me. Neither dh or me wanted to lug dc around.

Really the fad is not carrying babies as it has been the norm to strap babies to you for the majority of human history!

A lot depends on your lifestyle

I live in London and slings/carriers are just a lot more practical for walking around London and using the tube etc.

I also had one baby who just really did not like be put down - it was inconvenient but at the end of the day, I was happier with him napping in the sling than screaming

At about 4 months I moved onto a half buckle. This is a sling with a waistband buckle, but large pieces of fabric you tie up for the shoulder part. It spreads the weight like a stretchy wrap over your shoulders, rather than sitting like rucksack straps right on top, which always gave me neck pain with a previously tried structured carrier.
Mine is a LennyHybrid. I've come across Stokke Limas too. I front carried my baby in it until 8 months ish then back carried. She loves it!
Might be worth seeing if there is a local sling library to try out. Alternatively the website Sheen Slings I found super helpful for info, buying and hiring.

Yes I get the public transport thing but that’s not all day and every day. I just liked that my dc had their own sleeping space. Op didn’t mention transport.

get a Manduca carrier. I wore mine for 10 hours a day with a severely reflux my baby who was a big boy and even when he was 20kg and the size of a 4 year old at 18 months he slept in there. I had a c section, spinal injuries and have broken my spine in 8 places over the years so it’s knackered. This carrier was a godsend as they are designed for women with knackered backs to wear their babies all day and night if needed

@Nearly50omg Just why? Babies get through these things?

Woven wrap or another comfortable for sitting down (they aren’t all comfortable) soft structured carrier. The stretchy wraps aren’t supportive enough when you get to the 3 month mark.

I wore mine in a woven wrap regularly until close to 3 and I have a bad lower back, so it’s very comfortable if it’s the right wrap that is supportive enough.

Presumably because it meant her baby was happy and comfortable rather than crying and in pain with reflux.

OP definitely look at a better sling. I used mine until about 16/17 months and he was a big lad, I would have gone longer but he was very long and I am very short and it just didn’t really work for us at that point,

I can highly recommend the Tula carriers or if you can get hold of one from eBay or similar the iangel ones are amazing but sadly no longer available new. Everyone I've
recommended it to has loved it but I bought mine nearly 9 years ago. It will be much easier to get bubs out of one of those. It’s what we moved to after the stretchy one once kids had some head control.

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I actually have a hand-me-down ergobaby that I'll try using instead of the wrap. I'm also going to look into a sling consultation as had no idea this was a thing. I enjoy carrying her around but can already feel that the wrap sling has a shelf life! She's about 12 pounds already...

Unfortunately the reason why so many people spend 200 on an ergobaby is because it’s the company with the biggest marketing budget. I have met many babywearing families and volunteered at a sling library for a while. Sling librarians and babywearing consultants rarely recommend ergobaby. In fact, for an infant under 6 months, the first option they’ll suggest is the stretchy wrap that OP is using, which can offer great support when used correctly!

I second going to a sling library or getting a consultation with a sling consultant if you can afford it. Some come to your home. You can find one near you here:
https://www.carryingmatters.co.uk/sling-pages/

People are going to recommend what they liked, but slings are like jeans, there’s no one size fits all.

Don’t go near the Babywearing UK fb group, it’s one of the most judgemental places on the internet and often full misguided advice.

edited to add: I still carry my 3 year old comfortably for 30-minute walks and I don’t have the best back, so I feel confident that babywearing can work for you and your baby if it’s something you enjoy!

I was being lazy aand used it because it's the most recognised brand name so i used that to mean carrier. I have a je porte Mon bebe physio models 1 AND 2 (my favourite by a long way), a tula Explorer, an ergobaby classic, a stretchy, a woven and a ring sling. I bought one of everything from vinted! Woven sling users are pretty evangelical so I really tried (and I was pretty damn good at it! ) but after watching 5 babies in a row screaming at my breast feeding group as they were tied in, I've decided it's kool-aid after the new born stretchy wrap phase! We're all very middle class parents who have lactation and sling consultants so it's not like we were being cack handed about it.

I am a woven wrap user 😛 but I don’t actually recommend it unless someone really shows interest, because a lot of faff if you don’t enjoy it. That applies to stretchy wraps to an extent, they are not for everybody, and there are very good alternatives out there :)