Baby slings

[crazyh]

I am considering buying a baby sling and am trying to weigh up the pros and cons, i live on a second floor flat,with no lift, and think it would be easier to have a sling to pop the baby in when i am just popping to the shops, and also to carry the baby down the stairs, with the puch chair to avoid having to leave baby on her own, obviously baby would be in a bouncer/cot if i left the room, completely safe. I would just like to hear your opinions on them as i have heard alot of arguements recently saying they maybe unsafe and which one would be the best to buy in your opinion,also considering i am on a tight budget, and would also maybe like to use one for breast feeding descretely in public.

Hello crazyh. I bought a Moby wrap sling before DS arrived. It took a few goes to get the hang of putting it on, and finding how he was most comfortable, but after that we never looked back . I barely use the pram/buggy. If I lived in a 2nd floor flat with no lift I would definitely never use the buggy!

There are loads of different holds with stretchy wrap slings, including being able to breastfeed, although I always just found it easier to take him out to feed and used the wrap just to tuck over to make sure nothing was on show. They're just lovely for newborns - they're so snuggly in there it's like being swaddled. DS just used to sleep for hours in it

I believe the concerns in the media recently about slings being unsafe was in relation to bag style slings. This website is a good place for more information.

Oh I'd seconed a stretchy wrap, great for a newborn and very coumfy to wear. I have a bad back and could still carry DD around for some time in a wrap.

Mine was a hug a bug, but I think all the stretchy wrap's are prity much the same. If you don't fancy trying to get to grips with a wrap you could try a softed structered carrier or mei tai.

I wouldn't get a baby bjon type carrier, they are not good for your back or baby as they tend to dangle them by the croach which is very bad for there hips.

Third vote here for a stretch wrap, I have no idea how I would have coped without mine when DD2 (velcro baby to the extreme) was born.

When she got a little older she got too heavy for the stretchy wrap and I got a stiffer weave Calon BLeau gauze wrap (which is currently for sale ).

I've tried various baby carriers and wrap slings are the only way to go IMO.

Wrap slings are so much more comfortable on your back than the conventional style structured ones. We bought both types and sold the structured one as the wrap one was so much better. I got a hug a bub one but agree most stretchy wrap ones are basically the same. They can be a bit pricey but often come up on eBay.

I had about 5 different kinds of sling and the hug a bug was my favourite.

I (and especially dd) loved the Babybjorn

My first sling was this one: www.brightsparkslings.co.uk/wearing.htm, my little girl used to fall straight to sleep the second she was in it . When she grew too big for that, I bought a Connecta sling, www.connectababycarrier.com/, it's so easy to put on and very, very comfortable to wear (I have four in different colours/fabrics as I love them so much). They can be used from birth, so you definately get your money's worth and can be worn past the age of 3! My daughter is 21 months old now and I've worn her today around town for two hours without any discomfort at all .

There's a new company where you can hire a sling to try it before you buy! They also donate 10% to SANDS and have a fantastic range and lots of advice.
Www.petitpoppet.co.uk

Thanks browny, i love the look of the Coorie fleece pouch sling. DH just gone to work for the day, so need to wait for him to get home to measure me up Trying to decide whether to wait a week till I know if I'm having a boy/girl to choose the colour. I love finding new baby things to buy.

Definitely try it in the shop before you buy if possible.

I bought two brand new ones before dd was born and dd never liked them. I tried them on and off for months. (I'm pretty sure if I had persisted and/or really needed the baby to be in a sling then I would have found one that worked for us eventually.)

I had a huggababy - there wasn't so much choice 10 years ago! I thought it was brilliant - a very straightforward non-stretchy wrap, which you could fit round the baby in a number of different ways, depending on DC's size and degree of head-control and ability to sit.

I moved on to a Baby Bjorn front carrier with older babies as after 6mnths I needed to distribute weight onto both shoulders.

By 8+mths, the DCs were big enough to go into a straightforward umbrella fold pushchair, a style that I think is likely to prove more liveable-with in a flat with stairs up, than many of the other styles.

I was bought an Infantino Slingrider and always hated it, it never felt right, so I sold it barely used. A year later they were withdrawn from sale after causing the death of 4 babies. No wonder it never felt right!

I loved my Lodger Shelter I bought instead, but it wasn't cheap, and when dd outgrew that I settled on a cheaper ring sling.

find a slingmeet near you - you can try them all on, pick everyone's brains and hire them for very little money

I have got a MOBY for the 2nd baby, mainly cos I used a carrier with DS 1 and it was a LIFE SAVER! very often I'd go out with no buggy and it makes travel so much easier

I have struggled a bit using the moby but everyone says to persist