Baby wraps/ slings

[stepmum88]

Hi all,

Been thinking I need to get a wrap/ sling..... have been told the material slings are the best- does anyone have any advice? Thanks 😊 x

There are lots of different types, and they suit different types of people. Have a look for sling libraries in your area and you can go along and try on different types and borrow some to see what you like.

If there arent any near you, you would be best starting with a stretchy for a newborn - I like the Close Caboo, but there are plenty of others.

I have a close caboo sling which is soft and has been fab from newborn and still using most days at 16 weeks. we also have a boba 3g which is same style as ergo baby - a slightly more strictured carrier which we used for DC1 from around 6 months plus

I found wraps useless for my heavy/big baby as they didn't support us.
I bought a carrier with a 'seat'. This out the babies weight all around my pelvis and not on my back/shoulders.

Something like this: list.qoo10.sg/item/LOCAL-SELLER-IMAMA-HIP-SEAT-BABY-CARRIER-BABY-CARRIER-BREATHABLE/448011138

The bonus is that the carrier but can be removed and you can sit baby on the seat bit (like you would on your hip- good if you have a narrow hips too!)

I had a cheapy stretchy wrap when he was tiny. Bought it off amazon to see if I got on with it. Liked it. Then bought a connecta, was used daily for months. Also had a mei tai style sling for dh as he didn't fit in the connecta.

Stretchy wrap as a newborn - I recommend a kari me. Then a sling library to decide what suits you next - there's structured carriers with buckles, structured carriers that tie, woven wraps and combinations of the above

To the person that struggled with a wrap for a big baby - stretchy wraps will carry a baby up to 6/9 months and woven wraps will support a kid up to about 20kgs or more.

I've not been able to try it out yet as baby only due in a couple of weeks but I got an offer through Facebook for a NimNik wrap. It turned up quickly and looks pretty good and the Amazon reviews are good.

www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=me%3DA33U6PMEA4CAQZ&field-keywords=baby+wrap&tag=mumsnetforum-21

It is half price on Amazon and if you use discount code NWGREY50 it is £10.48!

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit OP, but lots of great advice on slings here so I wanted to ask - can you do hands-free breastfeeding in any of them?

If not, is hands-free breastfeeding ever possible?? Want to know realistically if there's anything I will be able to do while breastfeeding...

can you do hands-free breastfeeding in any of them

Technically you can do it in any of them, it's really a question of how tricky it is to adjust right. I used and loved a stretchy for my first but you have to loosen and re-tie to bf hands free so I think I might try a Caboo for when I have to chase a toddler while bf.

I used to breastfeed hands free in my woven. FWCC was the easiest carry to manage it in, make sure you have a longer wrap. Simply loosen, drop baby down, put boob in mouth then readjust up when done.

I will say though, wrapping and breastfeeding are two separate skills. Have them both relatively 'easy' for you before trying to merge them otherwise it's just stressful. I learnt the hard way!

And to OP. A sling library will be worth a visit. We used stretchies and a soft woven from newborn. Now at 18 months we use wovens in a variety of sizes and we have a couple of onbus for quick up and downs in a back carry. Stretchy wraps are particularly good for newborns as they are much more 'popable'. You can wrap it on a morning and pop baby in and out during the day.

Thanks, this is really helpful! I will head to my local sling library and see if I can learn wrapping as best as I can before my baby arrives and the challenge of trying to breastfeed begins...

We used a stretchy for the first 5-6 months, then a Connecta and Manduca after that. He's outgrown the Connecta now at 16 months (my kid is built like a basketball player, tall and skinny, and he's well past knee to knee) but we're using the Manduca for back carries and it's working well for us.