Thinking of a SSC for 8 month old, recommendations?

[highheelsandequations]

DD is (almost) 8 mo, she loves to be carried around at the moment and I'm finding it increasingly difficult to get anything done, especially around late afternoon time when she gets tired, needy and grumpy. I really want a sling that I can put her in quickly and easily, especially whilst preparing dinner or doing housework. I've used and loved my moby wrap since she was a few weeks old (although wish I'd used it more when she was smaller) but I now find it gets quite uncomfortable, plus I find it impractical to tie whilst out and about. I can't get the hang of the hip carry with it and she doesn't like to be so cuddled up on my front now she's older. It's also not very easy to cook (or clean!) with her on my front. We also have a baby bjorn, which I hate, have used once. I'm thinking that a SSC that I can do a back carry with is probably my best option and have been looking at ergo or beco. Any thoughts?

Thank you for starting this thread, I am looking for the exact same thing for my 10 month old who also loves to be carried so will be watching this with intrest! I too have been looking at ergo and beco and think i like the look of the beco at the moment as it looks less bulky? The other one I was looking at was the bushbaby. Please help us!

Thr ergo does tend to cut into behind a 6-9month olds neck I found plus the beco is a bit too narrow on the body part...my boba carrier is a gem, it's a few inches higher than other carriers plus has a removable hood and foot straps so its perfect once you get a big toddler like me lol

I use my hop tye mei tai with my 1 y o and it is very comfortable with both front and back carries. Highly recommend it. Wish I had gotten that first instead of trying out wraps!

Are mei tais easy to get the hang of? I've seen some that look lovely but am a bit worried that I'll have a similar problem to the moby when out and about of long fabric ties dangling on the floor ...

I love the Manduca. I've tried many, and the Manduca is, IMHO, by far and away the best. (I used to love the Beco, until I tried the Manduca.)

Different SSCs suit different people. I run a sling library and have had some people love the Manduca, some the Ergo, some the Boba, some the Beco Butterfly... and some just prefer mei tais to SSCs!

Are you anywhere near a sling library or sling meet where you could try one in person? www.slingmeet.co.uk

The Beco Butterfly has an internal harness which makes back carries very easy. But it is narrower and smaller than the Manduca or Ergo or Boba - so won't last as long as comfortably. The internal harness is a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it thing too - some people find it invaluable, others that it gets in the way.

I really like the Manduca as I like the fact you can easily cross the straps over your back when you do a front carry. 2nd preference is the Beco - less bulky than the Ergo and the optional-to-use foot stirrups are good for bigger kids. But like I say it is really a personal thing which works best for which person. By the way, beware fake Ergos and Beco Butterflies on ebay and maybe elsewhere too.

I have a mei tai and can wrap it really quickly. But I am still going for a buckled ssc for dc2 over the mei tai as I don't want all the material floating around while tying in public either.

Now I have even more to look at! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Have found a sling library but it's a couple of hours drive away so I'm not sure whether it's worth a trip or whether to just order a couple I like the look of and send them back. Will let you know how I get on.

whostolemyname have you made any decisions yet?

Well ... I like the look of the Manduca and the Beco I think now. Though a friend of mine also suggested an ABC. I do like the idea of the internal harness in the beco butterfly as i think I will use it to back carry. I think I am going to order a couple from Amazon to have a look at too and send them back. They are not cheap so you want to get it right don't you?!

Beco butterfly arrived today, had to play around a little to get the straps comfy but I think I've just about set it to a comfy position, will experoment some more tomorrow. Good news is DD loves it, even in the front carry (she's always protested in the past as she can't see as much) and it is sooo easy to do a back carry (I managed by myself on the first try), which is one of the main reasons I wanted it.