Tiny petite Mum looking for sling

[sharond101]

Iam a petite Mum of barely 7stones and 5ft1inches with a 18wk old clingy baby who hates his pram and screams when I put him down. A sling has been recommended but I am scared it will wear down my back. I currently have a Babybjorn carrier and it hurts after 15minutes. Will it be possible to use a sling without pain for a reasonable duration of time given my slight build? Any which you would recommend?

Yes you definitely can, a bjorn will never be anywhere near as comfortable as a proper sling. Have a look on www.slingmeet.co.uk and see if there's a local meet up you could get to and try a few different ones out.

Some companies who do buckle carriers (rose and rebellion is one example) who will make a carrier with petite straps if you ring and ask, I don't think they charge extra for this service.

Personally I find a wrap sling to be the most comfortable option, and can carry my 18 month old for over an hour still, up to about a year old I could carry him for most of the day in one.

disclaimer I'm nowhere near as petite as you (about 5'5" and size 8/10) but I'm seriously not strong in the slightest

Hi Sharond. I'm a little bit bigger than you, at 5'3" and just over 8 stone, but I'm also of very petite build, and by no means strong! I've got a Boba carrier, which I found very comfortable to carry toddler dd1 in on my back, and recently dd2 (now 10 weeks). One of the reasons I chose it was that the straps adjust down very small, and also there are nice elastic loops to fold away the unused lengths of strap, which is handy when there's miles of it! As you may know, the Babybjorn isn't very supportive for the baby, they just dangle from the crotch, whereas these types of carrier support the baby right up to the knee. They're not cheap, but should have a decent resale value when you've finished with it.

I am a Storchenweiger (think it's spelt like that). I am about 5ft 1" and 7.5 stone and my baby was 6lb when born and now at 1 year old she is 19lb.

DH and I use this sling and it's been really comfy and she loved it.