Help needed with new ERGO sling

[QueenGina]

DH has just bought Ergo sling and has been carrying our very small 10 month old dd on his hip. DD arches her back to look skyward, as if she is trying to look forward upside down. Has anyone else had this problem? And is it a problem?

Do you mean she's too high up in the ergo? I haven't done a hip carry, but if that happens with a back carry, you need to lean over and bounce them up and down a bit so the fabric comes up iyswim? If she's just arching because she's trying to get out, not much you can do about that although maybe indicating she's not quite comfortable.

My DS arches, just because he enjoys looking up at the sky sometimes.
If you haven't been carrying before, sometimes they are just getting used to the new experiences of it.

Did the bouncing and dd seemed comfortable enough. I think that she just likes looking at the clouds.
We had a Baby Bjorn before and used to carry her on the front facing outward so she could see everything we could see, and dh is wondering if she prefers this outward facing position which is why she's arching?
In any case, if no rain this afternoon, I'll try taking her out for a hip sling walk to see how it goes.

Hello CMOT - I went on to slingmeet and have actually met a couple of Mums in RL who have been giving me advice (we're also going to try and organise a meet), so thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Wanted to get a Mai Tei, but one of the sling mums I met thinks I might struggle with the amount of tie-ing as I am VERY SMALL and thin. The Ergo is really going to be DH's sling, would welcome any recommendations you might have for a sling for me?

I have a Yamo and an Angelpack, and ds loves to arch back in both, usually to grab handles on the bus. It's quite annoying but he hasn't fallen out

Glad that Slingmeet worked for you. I'm not very good on MeiTais for the petite (as am tall, and so is DH), butthis thread on the Babywearer has some suggestions.

A Podegai might work for you as you only have two straps to sort out, and its very adjustable. And if there is a real excess of strap left, you can always cut them down.

If you have trouble with straps slipping off your shoulders with the MT or Pod, the himalayan tie is really good for stopping it.

You could easily shorten the ties on a mei tai, just tie as usual then cut off excess (leaving enough to hem)If you needed a smaller bodied mei tai, both Freehand and Babyhawk MT`s(old style - without headrest) would be good.

a small MT for a petite mum is the cwtshi which is made in wales. it is good for petite babies too. dd liked it because she has her arms out.

i also love my tettitet and would not sell it for anything. they are made in norway so run more expensive.

I am 5ft3, skinny with narrow shoulders and the ergo slips off my shoulders and the waistband is too big.

i don't understand why the mum said you would struggle with the straps on a MT. I found them simpler precisely because they need no adjustment like the buckles on Ergos, etc. do.

if the straps are long, just wrap them once more or tuck them in.

Totally agree kiskidee, and as you can cross the straps on a MT, you dont get the shoulder straps slipping problem. If you didnt want all the straps of a mei tai you could also try an onbu - body & top straps like an MT, but with metal rings instead of straps on bottom - v quick & easy to use.

another tip is to raise both knees when your LO is in the carrier. it will make their bottom slide down into the carrier and sit properly in it.

Re: Ergo - met a RL Mum today who says that her dd does back arching in Ergo too, whether being carried on hip or on front. Guess this is the way some babies like to look at the world.

Kiskidee - I envy your height; you're a good half a foot taller than me! perhaps that's why it was suggested the ties might be a bit too much for me.
Someone else suggested cutting the ties on Mei Tai to me. And, will check out the cwtshi and tettitet as DD is SO petite.
Am trying to get to a slingmeet - very excited.

One more question - of anyone is still watching this thread - I'd like to carry dd on my back when I become a bit more sling confident. AS I'm small, people (especially on tubes and buses) will stick their elbow in my face by accident. I'm worried that if I carry dd on my back, something might happen to her and I won't know about it as I won't be able to see or protect her probably, especially as I'm so small. What are other people's experiences of this? Am I being neurotic?

here is a pic of a small boy with a newborn and a cwtshi.

if you visit the connecta website, the owner who is a mum of 6 has her older kids demoing her SSC with the younger ones. i can't seem to find her blog now.

Kiskidee - that is just so cute !

QueenGina - you'll soon know about it - one of the things about using a sling is that you feel every movement they make. I can tell where DS is looking just by the feel of his bodyweight shifting. You can carry a small mirror in your pocket to keep an eye on them too.

that is so cute!
if that little boy can do it, makes me feel a lot more confident about 'slinging it'