Can someone help me with the sling minefield?

[NellyE]

OK, so I'm a bit bemused about slings. I'm still pregnant at the moment. Is it best to wait until the baby's actually born before buying one?

If I do buy one, how do I know which is the best to get? We don't have a slingmeet near us, and the reviews seem to say all sorts of different things. I like the idea of carrying the baby as we have lots of steps leading up to our flat, and I'll be using the bus a lot, but don't want to spend lots of money on something I'm not going to use. Can anyone help?

Thank you!

Slings are a very personal thing. Everyone seems to love and hate different types.
Also, different people use them for different functions.
Personally, I used a ring sling with both of my DCs and absolutely loved it. It was fabulous for slipping them into to go shopping. They could sleep in it and breastfeed in it when they were tiny and could sit up in it when they were bigger. I carried them daily from birth to about a year when they learned to walk.
The disadvantage was that the weight is all on one shoulder, so it got tiring to carry for long periods when they were bigger.

Many people like the wrap around slings as they carry the weight on both shoulders and allow lots of different positions for carrying the baby, depending on its age and what activity you are doing. However, the tying takes some practice and it's not quite as easy to just slip them in.

Backpacks are great too, but they tend to feel a bit less personal and cosy than slings. I have one that I use more now that DS is bigger (20 months) for going on longer walks that he won't be able to cope with.
I also used to use it when they were small so that they could sleep on my back while I hoovered, cooked etc when they were feeling tired and clingy.

You can certainly buy a sling while you are pregnant. I bought my ring sling before DD was born and I didn't regret it for a moment.
I really recommend that you go to a good baby good shop that will stock a range of sling types. There you can look at what's available and try a few out. See what suits you and what you think you might like to use.

This site should help explain the different types, and their pros and cons.

If there's a particular type you like the look of I would pick it up secondhand from www.naturalmamas.co.uk or the Yahoo babywearing swap group (there's a link on Sling Guide). And if you find you don't get on with it just sell it on and try another.

Although there isn't a slingmeet near you it is still worth posting on the SlingMeet board to see if there's anyone near you who would be willing to demonstrate their stash.