Baby carrier - advice please!

[EmmaDoran]

Can anyone recommend a baby sling/carrier? My son is 3 months old and I've tried the Baby Bjorn, which he seems to feel a bit squished in, and a Premaxx which neither of us felt overly secure with. Would be interested in finding out if anyone has any recommendations.

Cheers!

Emma

[Pickle]

By far the most comfortable sling I found with a small baby was a Hugabub (or similar, a Kari-Me is the same design). They are wrap slings, so basically one long piece of fabric that you tie in a specific way to hold the baby - supposed to be much better for baby in terms of hip/leg position than a Baby Bjorn type carrier and are much more comfortable for the wearer.

That said, my partner wouldn't wear it for love or money, so struggled on with the uncomfortable Baby Bjorn!

When my little one got older (about 7 months) we switched to a Patapum (similar to an Ergo) which is an unstructured carrier which can be used on the front or back and was brilliant.

Hope that helps.

[sophiechristophy]

Ergo is the best. Not cheap but the most used bit of babygear we bought!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ergo-Baby-Carrier-Organic-Green/dp/B002R0DVMA/ref=sr_1_12?s=baby&ie=UTF8&qid=1297031913&sr=1-12

[ClareC]

We used a Bjorn when our daughter was tiny (not great, gave me shoulder ache as soon as she was bigger) and afterwards, I think from 4 or 5 months a Yamu (?) which was fantastic, holds the weight on your hips and can carry front, back or side..... Will check the name but would def recommend.

If you can, try out different one's before you buy, I think slings are quite personal ie different people get on with different one's!

[snowboarder]

Has anyone used a 'close' sling? Looks as if a good compromise between soft wrap for little ones without endless wrapping/knots etc. Agree ergo (+ others similar) are great for 4/6m plus.

[Gidders]

Agree with recommendations for wrap slings, they are brilliant for the first 6 months or so. We now have a connecta (similiar to ergo/yamu), which goes front or back and is really comfy. I would avoid baby bjorns.

[Maki]

Yes, I used a close sling and loved it - even managed to breastfeed with baby in it whilst I did housework!

It was really comfortable, easy to put on and I think it looks quite stylish too. My only negative would be that I in no way needed quite so much material, so the excess hung down to my knees, but I got used to it quite quickly.

[buggie]

I use a close sling - was fab as when the bugglet hit the 5lb mark (at about 3wks old!) I could start using it, being in first floor flat is great for short trips out.

She's nearly 5mths and even though she is still tiny can easily have her facing outwards, as there's nearly a ft difference in me and hubbies height (plus v different sized bodies) we can swap it between us without taking ages to adjust it (although hubbie still needs to be talked through how to put it on so he doesn't end up with his head/arms out the wrong bits!).

I tie the excess material under bugglet's legs otherwise they'd really get on my nerves!!

[bluesuperted]

Another ergo fan (ergo maniac some may say...) and worth looking around/trialling if not sure. I'm currently renting a manduca (fab, similar to ergo but has some nifty features such as ability to cross straps for even more support something I'm considering as I'd like to babywear to one year plus) and also has a clever in built infant insert which might interest you. Renting via Slumber Roo who I recommend, fantastic customer service and advice from Debi and much cheaper to check out by hiring than buying the wrong one.

I use my ergo all day everyday! Use the pram once a week... And my LO is 6 months and 21 lb and I'm 5'3. My husband loves it too and it's the piece of baby equipment I'd save in a flood!!

[bluesuperted]

This may only be of interest to sling geeks like me but I found this product comparison between an ergo and a manduca from a Canadian retailer very interesting.

http://extraordinarybabyshoppe.blogspot.com/2009/08/product-comparison-ergo-vs-manduca.html

Other soft structured carriers (SSCs, ergo is one of these) that review favourably are the Beco Gemini and Butterfly, totally gorgeous too.

For woven wrap (for babies who are too heavy for stretchy wraps) the big names are didymos and storchenwiege but I am just a bit impatient for wraps although I love them once on.

[Kaska]

I have few :-$ woven wrap around slings.I found them brilliant even with my very heavy boy.I found stretchy not as supportive as woven slings...I am happy for you to come around and try them on.It is not so complicated as it looks to put them on :).I have Didymos and Ellevill zara at the moment >:D

[EmmaDoran]

Thanks to everyone for your advice!

Emma x

[snowboarder]

Can anyone with a close sling spare me 10 minutes to instruct on use?!? Tried to get newbie in it yesterday and am too baby brained to work it out...

[ladyruskin]

bluesuperted Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Another ergo fan (ergo maniac some may say...) and

> worth looking around/trialling if not sure. I'm

> currently renting a manduca (fab, similar to ergo

> but has some nifty features such as ability to

> cross straps for even more support something I'm

> considering as I'd like to babywear to one year

> plus) and also has a clever in built infant insert

> which might interest you. Renting via Slumber Roo

> who I recommend, fantastic customer service and

> advice from Debi and much cheaper to check out by

> hiring than buying the wrong one.

>

> I use my ergo all day everyday! Use the pram once

> a week... And my LO is 6 months and 21 lb and I'm

> 5'3. My husband loves it too and it's the piece of

> baby equipment I'd save in a flood!!

Where do you rent slings/baby carriers from? I am keen to 'wear' my baby when it arrives this summer but don't want to buy anything in advance as not sure what would suit us both. The idea of renting/trying a few designs out is really appealing...

[Moi23]

I've had a kari-me, various baby-bjorn style ones, an ergo-baby and frankly I've not got on with any of them. The ergo would be good if I could get him in position without help, but I find it impossible! I have a pashmina shawl that my aunt gave me. I tie it round one shoulder and he sits in it resting half on my hip. Its the easiest thing I've found. My other half refuses to use anything else. It's a bit hard on my shoulder though now. I have a baby-bjorn and an ergo if anyone wants to try it out.

[karter]

Is it safe to carry a new born in a sling though for a long period of time?

[clarebells]

I can recommend the Sleepy Nico http://www.sleepynico.com/

I started out with a Hugabub, brilliant for a new born, used until my daughter got too heavy at about 3 months.

We then (unfortunatly) had a Baby Bjorn which we were given, until that was sending me to the chiropractor.

I then did my research, eager to contintue the in-arms phase and discovered this great site which tells you all about baby anatomie http://didymos.com/index.php?s=sah&t=babys anatomie and much more...

I decided on the Sleepy Nico because its easy to click on, my daughter can go on the front or back (more the back now that she is 13 months old), seat support for my daughter from knee to knee, back support for me with lumbar strap and shoulder straps, can breast feed easily if carrying on front... worth every penny and I wish I had had this sling from the start.

Hope thats some help.

[bluesuperted]

LadyRuskin: You can hire quite a selection from Slumber Roo - Beco, Manduca, Moby, Babyhawk, Boba... there are other sites but I don't have personal experience of them. Slumber Roo has been excellent in my experience. I don't know its name but there is one site that donates money to SIDS charity in return for sling hire, might be worth googling that one too.

Moi23, I'm surprised you've found the Ergo tricky to put on. For the front carry I do the following: clip on the waist band, adjusted to the correct tightness, pick up baby and straddle his legs froggy style around my waist (he's now 7 months, so he grips really well now, but have been doing this since circa 4 months). Then I hold baby in place with one arm and use the other arm to pull strap over each shoulder. Once they are in the right place I use one hand to clip the strap at the nape of my neck. You can then pull on the side straps (just under boobs) to tighten it further and pull baby nice and close to you. The back carry is something I haven't quite mastered on my own - but that's why I just bought a Beco Butterfly II as it has an internal harness which will hopefully make life easier when I start doing regular back carries on my own.

Karter, here are 2 good links re: babywearing safety: http://babywearinginternational.org/articles.php?article=2 and http://babywearinginternational.org/pages/InfantSlingSafety.php. You may have heard about 'bag slings' in the press, these are not safe and shouldn't be confused with reputable sling designs. I actually feel safer carrying my LO in his carrier than in my arms now as I know he's comfortable, in a good position and nice and secure. For a newborn, many advise the stretchy wraps as the safest way of carrying baby, the Baby Bjorn style carriers put stress on the infants spine and are not recommended or comfy for carrier/carried long-term (I used one til 1 month old but won't bother with it next time and will start with a stretchy wrap such as a Moby and then progress to soft structured carrier when baby is old enough).

[Moi23]

bluesuperted Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> Moi23, I'm surprised you've found the Ergo tricky

> to put on. For the front carry I do the following:

> clip on the waist band, adjusted to the correct

> tightness, pick up baby and straddle his legs

> froggy style around my waist (he's now 7 months,

> so he grips really well now, but have been doing

> this since circa 4 months). Then I hold baby in

> place with one arm and use the other arm to pull

> strap over each shoulder. Once they are in the

> right place I use one hand to clip the strap at

> the nape of my neck. You can then pull on the side

> straps (just under boobs) to tighten it further

> and pull baby nice and close to you. The back

> carry is something I haven't quite mastered on my

> own - but that's why I just bought a Beco

> Butterfly II as it has an internal harness which

> will hopefully make life easier when I start doing

> regular back carries on my own.

I can do the front without too much problem, though the backstrap is quite difficult, particularly if you've got a coat on. I can do the side carry too, but my shawl is way quicker and easier. It's the back carry that's really difficult. In fact I just tried it again this morning and baby (9months) was yelling and crying, while I broke into an almighty sweat. Really frustrating because that's exactly why I wanted an ergo, so I could carry him on my back. To be honest, I think I just wasn't destined to child carry. I love the idea of it, but the reality for me is mostly back pain!

[Belle]

What are people's thoughts on pouch slings? My son was a refluxy baby so only went for upright type sling (bjorn), but am pondering options for the next one. Like the idea of e.g. coorie sling, as just don't think I can get on with a wrap such as Hugabub.

[buggie]

**edited as realised made almost identical remark earlier in thread :-$**