Slings for bear grapplers and laydees

[hub2dee]

Contemplating slingerdom for dd to be...

I'd like one which is easily adjustable between dw and I so we can both carry as needed.

A few preliminary questions from the childless and innocent:

1. Is it simplest to buy a newborn sling and a separate one for when they're older ? Realistically, is newborn in sling on man silly as newborn needs feeding so often ? (so we should only aim to fit dw in hope of easy bf.)

(Not following 100% attachment parenting full-time sling-wearing tree hugging lark, but can see the bonding and practical benefits)...

(Tree huggers / attachment parenting proponents please read all my threads with a large pinch of salty humour).

2. One piece or two ? I've read it can be tricky getting baba in and out of a one piece (unless they're tiny)...

3. Any sling shops / sling reps in London (or near) who have a wide selection for sale / demo / trying on ?

And lastly, is the Bill Amberg Papoose , available regularly on ebay, totally fantastic or a pile of pants ? Has anyone actually used one ? Looks divine but challenging to my vegetarianism !

Am currently leaning towards Kelty Kangaroo (that's not me in the photo BTW )

(I have read the sling reviews on MN)

PS - Might get Mountain Buggy Terrain, possibly with Carrycot (almost 1/2 price in the States)... would a sling be another piece of unnecessary baby rubbish (or perhaps that would be the carrycot ????)

Thank you for any feedback.

readin the thread now has made e want to answer a few points....
Cod I have big boobs too (30G atm) and foudn a sling fine (tho do agree they are somewhat on show - but then they were anyway lol)
Do be careful when putting on the sling to avoid what someone calls "baby hanging off the front" - i sometimes see people with the baby slung so low I worry. I found the with BabyBjorn and straps tightened nicely I could easily kiss the top of the baby's head by just lowering my face iyswim, which is the recommendation.
I used the BB more than DH but yes, he did do it now and then. Agree Issymum re the scale if the man is very big!
Also whoever said that it's very useful second time is right. With DS1 it was more fo rcountry walks/buses that wouldn't take a buggy, but DS2 (my no 3) virtually lived in the sling for his first 6 months

Thanks for that clary.

It's funny, isn't it, the 'lie flat on their backs as much as possible' vs. sling thing worked for 6 months...

Claire from the carrying kind says she can do sling advice by phone or we might visit her in Hertford. Could be interesting. Reading some of the 'painful back / shoulders' threads makes me lean towards a proper padded solution across both shoulders with additional weight distribution to hips being better for both of us.

I wasn't very impressed by the Carrying Kind's advice we saw them at the Baby Show and they basically asked me whether I liked ethnic fabrics and then just told me all about the features of one type of sling nothing much about lifestyle or the advantages and disadvantages of the different sorts. Maybe they were just under pressure of time.

Hey I had the Bill Amberg and before you all roll your eyes it was a gift from my extravagant, childless sister god love her! It was awful, the baby just kind of dangles and hence your back kills... how fashionable is a hump... not really!
So in my infinite wisdom I got the Wilkinet - lord will I ever get over the trauma of trying to get screaming baby into the bloody thing on the bonnet of the car and realising that unbeknown to me someone had parked their car on one of the never ending straps which was trailing in the gutter .That was not a good day. I mean look at the web site it comes with instructional videos - who has the time?! It always felt slightly like slipping on a straight jacket which depending how I felt at the time was either comforting or alarming.
However - I really did use my sling. When they are small it is so much easier than faffing around with the buggy and if they are colicky (which my little fella was) then that seems to almost always calm them down and you can actually do some other things with your arms like search the internet desperately for colic remedies! My best chum and her hubby love their Baby Bjorn she breast-feeds he doesn't but both seem to think it does the job.

Hey I had the Bill Amberg and before you all roll your eyes it was a gift from my extravagant, childless sister god love her! It was awful, the baby just kind of dangles and hence your back kills... how fashionable is a hump... not really!
So in my infinite wisdom I got the Wilkinet - lord will I ever get over the trauma of trying to get screaming baby into the bloody thing on the bonnet of the car and realising that unbeknown to me someone had parked their car on one of the never ending straps which was trailing in the gutter .That was not a good day. I mean look at the web site it comes with instructional videos - who has the time?! It always felt slightly like slipping on a straight jacket which depending how I felt at the time was either comforting or alarming.
However - I really did use my sling. When they are small it is so much easier than faffing around with the buggy and if they are colicky (which my little fella was) then that seems to almost always calm them down and you can actually do some other things with your arms like search the internet desperately for colic remedies! My best chum and her hubby love their Baby Bjorn she breast-feeds he doesn't but both seem to think it does the job.

Oooops!

I got advice from Earthkind Babies (by email) - I have a weak lower back and wanted to avoid it going again. I found the advice really helpful - I got a Moby Wrap (this is the same as the Hugabub, but half the price) - on her advice and haven't had any problems at all (I used to get backache with the babybjorn). Someone also bought me a hugabub - no problems with that either (it is identical).

Thanks, LeahE for the heads-up and to Pollyana for the Earthkind link and Moby info. Sounds good.

So delighted someone has finally admitted to owning the Bill Amberg thingy, jojo28.

Sounds like some people love slings and have found them super useful and others have found them a complete waste of time and money... hmmmm.....

Just creeping in here to add my two pennies...

hub2dee, why don't you borrow a couple and see how you get on? They're pretty expensive - you could try before you buy maybe?

I love my slingeasy. Baba falls asleep in it, then I can put him down by bending over and slipping the sling over my head for him to use as a cover. The only thing is, he wants to be bf in it all the time. Can smell the milk, I think.

Hey ! A benefit ! I won't ever smell of breastmilk...

(Unless I get vomitted on from a great height)...

Maybe MN should have large cardboard box and fill it with 6 different slings and parents to be pay £10 postage and it gets sent to them...

Actually, £10 at the post office would probably allow me to send one carrot and two onions to SoupDragon and not a lot else...

Message withdrawn

You're a bit keen, aren't ya ? I would've hoped my time ran out...

Anyway, what on earth does the 'hub2dee phenomenon' refer to ???? Huh ?

My dd loves her pram (with fleece in it) and hates her sling. I also hate sling. It's like doing origami with an octopus, and it does your back in. Hooray for pram!
Also, when you have a sling, you don't have anywhere to put your shopping!

hub2dee ... you can borrow my baby bjorn to see if you like it if you want

although I only really used the sling a few times it is quite useful, but if you're going for a wander I find buggies better (I kind of agree with aloha)

of course if you're baby needs comforting in the early weeks you can wear her round the house and get on with life

used a baby bjorn first time and have been using a slingeasy for dd2. so so so much better ( the sllngeasy) do feel a bit hippy wearing it though

That would be lovely, Twig - only when there's no chance of scrumbly madam fitting it though, and only for 1 day. Thanks. Saw mutual friend today and had bagels with the boys.

I hope the better slings / carriers are straightforward to use - like a front-facing baby-centric backpack in a way...

Have been delving into Attachment Parenting (is that a bit like saying considering bottlefeeding from birth, or quite like the sound of Gina Ford ?) - and baby wearing is obviously a key part of the ideology... was hoping to see 'if it's all that'

PMSL at the thought of lugging big fat heifer child in a baby bjorn

she's already grown out of it honey

Slings are IMO HOPELESS if your day out might involve, say, a nice sit down in a cafe. Or even a restaurant. Because when you sit down the baby sort of dangles on your lap - usually wakes up - you have to eat around it. Much better to have baby snoozing peacefully in pram while you eat.
If you are shopping with a sling you can't try anything on and you have to carry your shopping yourself (horror!) and that's hard because I found even with a sling I used at least one hand to support the baby anyway.

Surely, Twiglett, if you squeeze really hard...

woops... couldn't you get one of those big flouncy fabric things and pretend you're a Mayan ? The kiddies always seem to smile... perhpas they're plotting murder ?

Good points aloha. It hailed today. FFS. Can you and me escape to Hawaii and leave this cold Island for ever ?

It's snowing ffs. London. In April. Just taken in my baby broad beans and lettuces.

I'm moving to California. Who's coming ?

aloha said:

baby snoozing peacefully in pram while you eat

I think this may be one of those things that divides parents according to their babies' temperaments.

For example, DS only EVER snoozes peacefully in his pram if it's being wheeled over the bumpiest sections of pavement that can be found. If it's stationary for longer than forty seconds or is being pushed over smooth surfaces he wakes up and screams inconsolably. Which would not be fun in a restaurant or cafe (even if I could find one near me into which I could actually manouver said pram).

Now, if I had a baby like aloha's who would snooze peacefully then I might use the pram a whole lot more.

Mind you, DS also hasn't read the books on baby-wearing. After the first few weeks he decided that he doesn't like being in the sling at home, although he quite likes it when we go out.

It's more hail than snow, really.

Let's agree it's 'hailoing' then. I'm still not sticking around for another Winter.

Maybe LeahE you could glue a small lump of wood to one of your pram wheels so it would always be bumpy ? LOL.

Agree with your analysis though.

If ANYTHING stops moany baby moaning, it's a godsend - whether it's a pram, sling, dummy, Calpol etc.

Otherwise, if baby is a sleeping gem, everything is a 'worked for me' item...

PS - Don't you think it's a bit OTT to be foisting Jean Liedloff on your ds ? He's still in a pram !!!! Some mothers eh...

This thread has rather much moved on, but hub2dee, you appear to be my baby-equipment twin, or you will be if you make the choices you're making!

The Kelty Kangaroo is lovely. We've used ours lots (DH more than me), with both kids. It's been used for two other people's kids and is about to be loaned out again. Looks like new, goes in the washing machine!

DH is 6'4" and not a slim chap, and it works fine on him, and he always finds it the easiest way to put a baby to sleep. I can breastfeed discreetly in ours, which is unusual in a non-pouch sling - but based on the experience of other mums I know who've used my sling (very happily), I don't think breastfeeding with the baby in it is for the more-generously-endowed ladies.

What I particularly like about it is the fact it's in two pieces. You strap on a harness, you put part on the baby, then click the two together. If you come home, and have a sleeping baby, you can unclick and put the baby down.

The Mountain Buggy Terrain with carrycot is really nice too. We love ours.

Ah yes, i absolutely agree that the whole sling/pram, dummy/thumb/nothing, bed-sharing/cot etc debates do all absolutely depend on the temperament/preferences of your baby. And you don't know until you try something how they will like it.
I still like my pram for shopping though