Sling advice please!

[craftymama]

I'm pregnant with my second baby. When he/she is born, my DS will be 27 months. I've bought a double buggy for transporting them out and about, and we already have a Baby bjorn. I'm just looking for a sling to use mainly (but not exclusively) when we're at home. I really don't know much about the different types, but I'm keen to carry this baby in a sling as much as possible, perhaps even breastfeeding whilst there. The only thing is that my DS was 9lbs 2, and was generally a pretty heavy baby (I struggled to carry him in the Baby bjorn past about 5 months), and I'm guessing this baby probably won't be a small one, so a sling that would bear big babies would be ideal. I quite like the look of the slings with lots of cloth (like the Kari Me, for example), but I have no idea if that's the best sort for me. Any help would be greatly appreciated...

my ds2 was 10lb+ at birth. I've used a Kari-Me and an Ergo from day 1 and am still using both at nearly 6 months. They are both quite different from the Baby Bjorn type which I never really got on with for dd and ds1. Kari-Me is very comfy but takes a little longer to put on. Ergo also very comfy and easier to put on, especially once we didn't need the newborn insert any more.

I never managed to feed in the slings but whether that's because he was too big for the sideways position or I'm just cack-handed I don't know. But he still gets carried several hours a day and am looking forward to back carries soon!

I have been using a moby wrap. It is so simple to use, just tie it on, pop baby in and out as required, very comfy for baby and for you.

I used a ring sling and a wrap for DD2. One thing to bear in mind is the stretchy wraps (like moby and kari-me (i think)) are only good for first few months, once the baby gets a bit bigger they aren't as supportive, so I bought 2 cheaper wraps 2nd hand, one stretchy and one didymos cloth one.
The stretchy ones are much easier for lifting ina nd out for BFing and if you use it as a front cross carry you can carry the baby upright and very easily lie them down to feed.

have a look on you tube for videos that explain how.

I also used the didymos and a mei tai to carry DD1 on my back until I was 8.5 months and I still carry her on occasion now she is nearly 4, so they are definately supportive!

I've got a Sleepywrap for my second ds (now 7 weeks) and it's fabulous. It's an American wrap, but was sent quickly and without any bother. The instruction booklet is nice and clear too.

There is only one way of putting it on and you just use different positions as the child gets older. The fabric is nice and stretchy and doesn't seem to 'bag' in the way that some stretchy wraps do.

As you can tell, I'm a bit of a convert !

As the others say, you'll probably find many slings that are much more comfy once baby is bigger than a baby bjorn. With ds3 now 5 months I've used a connecta which has buckles and now also using a calin bleu wrap with the front cross carry. I think the key is the position the baby is carried in in these slings compared with the bjorn which baby feel much more weightless. You can buy slings second hand too which is useful.

Thanks very much, ladies, your advice is much appreciated! I haven't decided which sling yet, but you're giving me lots of ideas to research. Maybe I will need one for when(s)he is little and another for when (s)he is bigger, there certainly seems to be masses of choice out there!

Definitely get a stretchy wrap for when they are tiny. You can actually just make one from a length (about 5 metres) of jersey cotton - I know nothing about fabrics, sewing etc and I just went into a fabric shop and asked them to show me the jersey cotton. I went for 100% cotton (some of the commercial makes have lycra etc added which makes them stretchier but less supportive for larger babies) and chose a pattern I liked. It feels like t-shirt material.

You just buy 5 metres of this, and it comes at 60 inches wide, a perfect width for a sling is 20 inches, so you can get three out of this, or do what I did which was to have one 20" wide and one 40" wide. I then just folded the 40" one to 20" before I used it (using the thinner one when small and the thicker one when older) - the best part is, it won't fray at all so absolutely no need to sew! I had to taper the ends down of the wider sling to be able to tie it and it didn't fray even though it was a diagonal cut.

Most of the commercial stretchy wraps (moby, kari me etc) state a weight limit of about 33lbs or 13kg on their websites - I would say that mine became uncomfortable a while before that, my DS is 15 months and 24lb now and I could definitely not carry him in one! The wilkinet website which is a carrier to use on the front and back recommends switching to back carries at about 18-20lbs, which I would say is a good idea of when a stretchy wrap will no longer be supportive enough.

I now use a toddler patapum and find it brilliant - the thing with a toddler is that they are so heavy you really need a carrier to be adjusted correctly, and I found this out today, I had adjusted it to take coats into account and had made it too loose, and he was really heavy and hurting my back. On the way home I made it shorter again and really noticed the difference, even though DS was asleep and was a dead weight.

I wanted to get a woven wrap initially as these are supportive like the stretchy wraps, but more so, and you can use them from birth until age 4 or so, but unfortunately I never got the hang of tying it and tightening it with DS in place, so I found the stretchy wrap which you pre-tie and the soft structured carrier which you pre-adjust the best things for me.

Another vote for a stretchy wrap - without it I would get no sleep and would be one-handed for everything. DD sleeps, rides and feeds in it - fantastic thing!

I have just bought an Ergo to use with DD#3 and so far I love it - it clips and adjusts a lot like a rucksack, but can be used for front hip or back carries and does from tiny (with an insert) right up to toddlers. It has a hood that you can fold up in place to support their head if they fall asleep in it. It is much safer for spinal development too than the baby bjorn due to the position in the carrier in comparison.

Ive got close sling (stretchy) Dead easy to put on/off no ties/buckles.
Im still using on DS 10mth (18.2 lb Ish) but am looking at a MT to swap to soon.

I'm also thinking of a stretchy wrap for my second baby but am put off because I think I might be too cack-handed to tie it -Are they as complicated to tie as they seem? and are they easy to use without a second pair of hands for assistance? Your expert advice would be very welcome!!

The close sling just slips over your head-no ties buckles etc.
Not sure what others think but we love it and have used it loads-would be lost without it...