Would someone be kind enough to lend me a wrap around sling thingy for a fortnight?

[Wills]

Naturally I'll pay all postage costs and send back fully cleaned etc etc.

I have an almost one year old baby boy (my third) and he wont be put down. My back is in agony and I'm on really strong pain killers. In the evening I have to plonk him in his cot and let him howl just to get the two girls to bed. My back consultant has told me not to pick him up - but heck he's still a baby! Someone has suggested one of those wrap around sling thingys. But they're expensive and I really don't have the money to buy it and then discover it doesn't suit us (me and my son that is). I've looked on ebay but given that they're second hand they also appear to go for high prices so I'm really frustrated. Would anyone be prepared to lend me one for just a couple of weeks????/

Many thanks

Girls you're gonna have me scuttling to the hills in pure panic at this rate .

I have to admit that I would really love to find a solution that invovles me freeing my hands. I struggle to sit still and having my hands holding a baby will drive me nuts so I do feel a solution that frees me up will be best for him and me.

My friend (who's read the raising sons book) assures me that ds has simply reached clingy point (i.e. he's approaching a year). That most boys do this and that there is no known end point i.e. all babies differ.

So.....

To answer questions. I haven't weighed LO recently (i.e. since he was 6 months). Most people exclaim that he's a real bruiser. He's not fat i.e. no rolls in his legs but extremely long and broad chested with a massive head (that believe me if I'd known ran in dh's family I might have reconsidered when he popped the question cos all three kids were born with head circumfrances on othe 98th centile ).

I do think the solution needs to involve both shoulders but I'm daunted by using a wrap. I've registered with babywearer and have wadded my way through their literature. I suspect I need a woven wrap and a permanently live in guide to show me how to use it.

In what way is a Mei Tai different?

What is an ergo-a-like and a Mam Eco

Finally - Chirpy I agree in that this site needs a smug smiley. But it also needs a slightly drowning smiley.

It's pretty overwhelming eh Wills!

Okay, the wrap is a bit daunting but can be mastered with a small amount of effort I promise! Have to say that it's true that they're not to in-out-in-out so once dd is in she stays in LOL!

given your description of ds's dimensions I'd deffo suggest a toddler mei tei. that'll give you the growing room you'll need.

basically a mei tei is a shaped fabric with shoulder and waist straps. very easy to put on and good for front or back carries. quite comfortable but you might need to customise with a chest strap if you're doing back carries with a heavy child. otherwise your shoulders pull back a bit. you can do this with a lightweight scarf very easily.

whereabouts are you? look at the forums on slingmeet and see if you can make one of the meetups because you'll get so much help and you can also borrow different slings to try them out.

i was really unconfident with my wrap till a swedish friend came to stay with her 5month old, a backpack and a wrap! wish i'd figured it out when dd was newborn now.

good luck!

But will a Mei Tai work for hip carries. That's definitely his fav position although i suspect you'll say my back would beneift back carry

I believe it can do but haven't tried it myself and it's not really designed for that either so might be tricky.

a ring sling or a hotsling is very good for hip carries but as you say, not so sure it'd be good for your back.

he'll get used to the front or back carry really quickly and i'm sure will enjoy it - took my dd a few goes and she was sold!

I found a sling fastened by a D ring (does that make sense) given to me by a friend but never used. I'll dig it out when I get home and see if it is suitable for you.

that's a ring sling Sue

yeah yeah, whatever lentil weaver...

ooh you made me drop a lentil now!

if you boil lentils for long enough with not too much water - you can spin them into a kind of hemp-like strand. Much easier to weave that way.

ahhh showing your true tye-die colours now aren't ya!

I think you should try it tonight Paddle.

i'm too busy re-hydrating cous-cous grain by grain tonight actually.

Suejonez - yes pleeeeeeeeease.

ok its called a huggababy. means nothing to me but the other lentil weavers on the thread can probably advise

You might find that the HippyChick plus something like a ring/pouch sling would work. The hippychick would actually take the weight of your DS but the fabric one would keep him close to you and Hands Free, like Chirpygirl said.

I've never found that that HippyChick has strained my back at all - even when I once ran through Gatwick with 4yo DS1 on it!

If you want to free your hands, I would go for the ergo. Baby sits on your back like you are giving him a piggy back, can't rate them highly enough. You can also wear baby on your hip and on your front with the ergo. All of the weight goes on your hips. With an older child that is bigger, other type of slings child gets in the way of doing things I find.

A fellow sling addict I know paid a fortune for her wrap and never used it or got on with it, I was banned from sling purchasing by this point so I never tried one .

sorry wills, i meant i have an ergo and i also have somthing else which i cant remember the name of bu is just exactly like my ergo. so i could lend you on.

it is the only sling ive ever really gotten on with or been able to wear for any time and ds3, now 16m still goes in it and loves it.

hey, its a self deprecating post, but its honest!