I've joined the secret slingers club

[AliceTheCamelHasGotTheHump]

When I was pregnant with dd I knew I would want to wear her and probably not even bother with a pushchair. Well. That didn't happen. She hated every sling and wrap I tried and I gave up and bought a pram.

When pregnant with ds I did a bit more research. I enlisted the help of my baby wearing friends. I accosted women with interesting slings and wraps and grilled them for advice. I spent another small fortune on various slings and wraps. He hated them all. I gave up and bought a double pushchair.

Ds is 9 months now. A few weeks ago I was trapped in the infernal hell of Ikea with a screaming, overtired ds, and a rancid tempered dd. In utter desparation I threw ds on my back and tied him on with a kanga I had in the pushchair and off we went. He LOVED it! I've done it a few times since and it's working brilliantly! A couple of days ago I was 3/4 of the way around a mamoth supermarket shop when both children went in to meltdown. I only had a single child space in my trolly so I chucked ds on my back and tied him on while standing in the middle of the supermarket ! Then I popped dd in the trolly and finished the shop in peace while ds dozed off on my back!!

This is how I'm doing it.

I can even cary my nearly 3-year-old quite comfortably.

Every time I do it it gets a bit better.

And I am suddenly a member of the Secret Slingers Club. I didn't know it existed! Everywhere I go I am approached by other baby wearing mums or wannabe baby wearers. It's like a secret handshake or something. It's great and I'm SO pleased I finally got there!

I've just joined too AliceTheCamel! My Ergo arrived last week and we've already been out in snow that would have stopped my pushchair in its tracks and all round the shops cuddled up to each other and chatting. Now wondering what sling to graduate to next. Only sad I've been missing this for the past year! Think I will definitely need another baby one day so I can carry on with this slinging business for longer

Good morning!

at foxy having been posting @ 3!!

Right, I am just back from school run (I have had a cup of tea on return) and DS3 in snowsuit was as snug as a bug in a rug in the Ergo all the way there, even laughed when had snow ball thrown at him, and fell asleep on way back, head lolling and all because I had not noticed, LOL!

Will definetely do this again .

Only drawback is that my SI joint hurts again, but may be coincidence as I have been having problems with this on and off since my late teens, WEEELLLL before DCs, so am undeterred.

that is only because i am GMT+4 and dd2 was kicking the stuffing out of me at 6 am.

I'm gutted that I can't carry 3yo BabyDragon in a sling any more. It was lovely

That kanga looks great!
I carry DS2 in a pouch sling on my hip, but the back carry looks great.
Might have to look at those wraps now!

I cant find them on google or on ebay!
Do they come by other names as well as kanga??

I typed in African kanga 2pt4 and a few came up.

on ebay I mean

i'm in the slinging club too! in fact, i was wishing the other day that i had worn her all day long when she was new and little in her kari-me. now i'm onto a didymos and a maya wrap mei tai. i can only manage a back carry with a mei tai but am going to practise with the didymos. slinging is magic! my nct people clearly think i am a mad hippy but i don't care. sling=instant napping where needed, hands free for doing stuff, lovely cuddles, and no struggling with pushchairs on the tube and bus. and there is tons of research about the benefits for baby.

i am sure people think i am mad too but it is they who are losing out on how practical a sling is and how easy it makes so many other things in life.

A few here Charchar.

Kanga isn't a brand name or anything, it's just the name for a big piece of cloth which is typically worn / used in East Africa. They usually come in pairs and are beautiful colours and designs. They're quite thin / floppy cotton.

I sometimes use a kikoy too, which is much the same thing but the male version and tends to be thicker cotton (a little more robust) and more 'manly' patterns - stripes and whatnot instead of swirls or flowers.

Spinspin - I was utterly convinced that the tricotti was going to be the solution for me. [Family Fortunes "uhh uhh" noise]. I so wanted that one to work.

Here is a question for all you Ergo users: this morning I got DS into Ergo all on my own by standing him into the corner of the sofa, sitting down in front of him, "loading" him on and then getting the arm straps and clips done up. Was v proud of myself - see previous euphoric post{blush].

However, this afternoon, I tried same maneuvre and he just did not sit in DEEP enough in the Ergo, ie the edge of the sling ended maybe midback, his, not mine. I only realised after I had already left the house and it then made me v nervous to think that if he leans back too much he could topple out. I accosted a friendly-looking builder (!) we were passing and, with a facial expression that clearly said "mad-liberal-what does her husband think of this-woman" expression on his face, he helped me to "hoik" Ergo up highter/sit DS in deeper, IYKWIM.
I think, the problem arose, because he had multiple layers of fleece on and I was in world's thickest downjacket to keep rolls of babyfat warm.
So here is the question (and well done for getting this far): has anybody experienced a DC toppling out of an Ergo, and any clever ideas how to make sure he is in deep enough?

Other than all that I really enjoyed my slinging day in the snow: participated in very gentle snow ball fight with DSs 1+2, built a snow man on way home and did not have to struggle with buggy at stampede school gates.

foxy, glad to hear about time difference .
Still, 6 am, oh dear...

Loopy, yes, makes perfect sense, thanks for that!
I have tried the bouncing up and down, but maybe missed the crucial loosening of shoulder straps ..
Will try the other thing, too. I AM undeterred .
Surely, with practice, like everything else, it will get easier [hopeful emoticon]?

this is great to hear -have just bought an ergo and love it as thought would be end of sling days..

to Kindercoat - I NEED one, want one, now !
But the price !
Could I sell one of the older DSs to fund this? DS2 is a real PITA at the mo...

Kindercoat is fab. v versatile as it is 3 coats in one plus i can prob resell it for £50 when i finish with it in about 3 yrs time. can't do that with any other coat i have.

and that is how i justified it your honour!

they come up for sale on ukbabywearingswap too so have a look for one.

I Love slinging as well!! Recently a friend from bf group asked me to show her how the wrap is tied, and she tried it out and has now bought one! I have a Moby wrap. How old do they have to be before you can carry on your back? DS is nearly 5 months and has perfect head control, can sit unaided (mostly) Back tie looks a little scary though! Would like to try it though, as he's become very clingy and I can't get anything done. Think it would be easier if I could pop him on my back.

DS has been ill for a couple of weeks (was in hospital sun-thurs but is all fine now) and I really missed our snuggly sling times. He's a chunky 10kg 1yo but I really lovee to carry him in our toddlerhawk. We have the extra long straps and I find it makes it really comfy to have the straps go round his middle then twist and go under his legs - it takes some of the weight off my shoulders.

I love slinging so much that I have a ring, pouch, stretch wrap, woven wrap and mei tai, and I sell them because people asked me about them so often

i have been wearing dd2 on my back since she was 3 mo old. yesterday i mopped the living room and kitchen with her asleep up there.