moving on from a Moby

[JimmyMcNulty]

I've used my Moby wrap since ds2 was born 3 months ago and while it has some great points I am a bit fed up with it and thinking I want something else. He has good head control and wants to be facing out now, but when I put him in as they suggest (knees right up and legs inside the wrap) he just looked weird and uncomfortable. On the other hand I have found the Moby brilliant at supporting my back - he is enormous for 3 months but when I carry him facing inwards I barely feel he's there.

Is there another sling that is as good for the back but easier to use facing out? I tried a Baby Bjorn for ds1 (admittedly an old version) and it nearly killed me.

Its tricky. I think its nigh on impossible to make a carrier that is supportive for the adult, comfy for the child and allows the child to be in a front facing out carry. There's a couple of reasons for this that I know of:

• as soon as you turn your DC to FFO, gravity starts working against you. Your DC's centre of gravity is such that as long as they face you they lean into you - turn them FFO and they start to lean away which makes them harder to carry.

• as soon as you turn your DC to FFO they can't wrap their legs around you (unless your dislocate their hips!), and so instead of being supported knee to knee they can only be supported under their crotch. This also makes it harder to spread the fabric of a wrap to keep the weight distribution for the adult.

I'm guessing you've tried, but I found with DD that she was fairly happy staying on my front facing in as long as I was happy to turn sideways to everything so she could see. Otherwise, as he has good head control have you tried a hip carry or a high back carry (ie so he can see over your shoulder)? I never mastered hip carries (found the whole asymetric thing too wearing), but DD loved being on my back and still does if I let her (only reservations are she's 2 1/2, >2 stone and I'm 6 months pregnant...). I'm not sure I'd want to use a stretchy for a back carry, but then if you're happy using a Moby you're unlikely to have big problems moving onto a woven wrap.
Good luck

i used my moby with ds2 facing outwards until he was around 6 months (big baby), but found it much more comfy with him facing me.

i also have a mei tai and a woven wrap. you can't face out with the mei tai and i never tried with the wrap, but ds2 was fine on my front or back in either of them til he was well over a year old

Thanks for replies. I haven't tried a hip hold so will have a go at that. tbh I also struggle with the sheer amount of material and can't seem to get it on without it trailing on the ground .

If you're moving on to hip and back carries then you could get a woven wrap that's much shorter than a Moby - have a look here for some different tying methods and here for indicative lengths needed.

Or you could consider a different type of sling altogether - some women find a ring sling is very convenient for side carries, and Mei Tais/Soft Structured Carriers are very suitable for back carries.

Can you get to a slingmeet? It would give you a chance to try a selection of different types of slings and different carries with some moral support to get a feel for what you're happy with.