Do you say anything when you see someone babywearing "wrong"? - Page 2

[SeekingJoy]

Where I live slings like hotslings, the peanut shell, etc are really popular. I frequently see moms tugging at them when the fabric gets all bunched up at their neck. Or they use one too large and the baby all but falls out.

How could I approach these moms?

[Ivan's Mom]

Happened to me

A "sling expert" at LLL has told me twice that I was wearing Matilda incorrectly in my HotSling. I tried it her way and it hurt like heck after less than 5 minutes! I looked on the HotSling website and they recommended wearing the baby the way the LLL mama told me to, but I wont.

I like it the way that I wear it and Matilda is always happy and has never fallen out not gotten her circulation cut off. So, maybe the wrong way to some is the comfortable way for others.

The recommended way to wear the HotSling (folded in half and having baby sit up high) killed my shoulder and back in less than 5 minutes and made Matilda cry.

[MoonStarFalling]

You have to do what works for you. Particularly the ring slings bunched at the neck, it is in fact more comfy that way for many people especially men.

[annettemarie]

I find it incredibly annoying (no offense Arywn, if you read this thread )

Unless my kid is dangling by one thigh or turning blue, leave us alone. We're fine.

[MadameXCupcake]

I know I wear my ring sling wrong but when I wear it correctly it hurts. The rings dig in and my back just hurts. So I think maybe some moms do wear the slings 'wrong' on purpost so I wouldn't say anything unless it was obvious they were having problems.

[lil_miss_understood]

I have no idea when a mom's bwing "wrong". I'm new. I have a Moby and was silly enough to buy an Infantino sling. What a waste of money. I love my Moby but I find it so incredibly uncomfortable most of the time. Even if I adjusted ds2 so he was "high and tight", he inevitably became low and loose after about 20 minutes- the waist wrap and tie would *always* ride up and pull my shirt up and the baby would go down, down down...
I'd love if some mom had shown me what I was doing wrong.

[brooklynbabymama]

I do approach people if they seem to be having trouble or when their baby is screaming and they're frazzled...usually pouches and sling needing to be tightened (DD hated getting lost in all the Psling fabric when she was tiny). When applicable, I like to pass on some advice that really helped me, about positioning the baby more diagonally, rail-to-rail, than flat in the pouch which does result in chin-to-chest unless everything is super snug or the mama has a blanket under the babe. Not sure if people resent the intrusion or might take the advice home and try it next time, but I know I had to figure everything out by trial and lots of error.

[caenach]

Originally Posted by jennifercp8

I may leave it with a suggestion by saying "Hey, just a little tip I learned from someone, but you might want to try ___________. It was a lifesaver for me!"

:

I can't imagine many situations where it couldn't be done with subtlety like this if you felt you just had to give some advice. Start up the conversation with a general comment about bw'ing and then phrase the advice in terms of something you learned or something that helped you if the person seems interested in talking to you?

I would never stand for someone tugging on my sling or wrap while I'm wearing DD. Ugh. But I guess I'm sort of a self-help kind of person. If I was uncomfortable or wanted help--I'd be the one to walk up to the babywearing mama, go to a babywearing group meeting, or look it up on the net.

[nursingmom]

It's been a while since I used my sling (6 years gap between my second and third) and I was wearing it completely wrong at a grocery store. Another mom came up to me and adjusted the sling for me. I apprecited it so much! My back was hurting no more! I still remember how she came and helped me. Please do say something! Even after years of babywearing, I needed adjustments!

[bmcneal]

Originally Posted by peainthepod

Speaking as someone new to babywearing, who isn't sure she's doing it right half the time, I'd welcome some friendly instruction. But I think it would really depend on the tone you use and how you approach the person you're trying to help. If I were wearing a sling incorrectly and endangering the baby, or just making it unnecessarily harder on myself, I'd want to know! But no one likes a know-it-all or busybody, so you'd have to be really tactful.

Originally Posted by Dahlea

As a newbie myself, I would love it if someone would tell me/help me figure it out better. You can only learn so much from youtube videos and diagrams! As long as you are nice about it, and don't come off like you're so much smarter, etc. I wouldn't mind a little helpful advice (as long as the person actually knew what they were talking about!)

:

I'm *so* not good at understanding the videos, so I would *definately* want a more experienced BW mama to help me!

[ChetMC]

Would Not Appreciate It

There have been many times when I needed to stop and adjust my carrier because it had worked itself lose, or the baby had changed position themselves, or something had gotten twisted or whatever, and I was just waiting for a time and a place where I could stop with a baby and two other kids to get things sorted out. If somebody stopped me to tell me what was wrong while I was looking for a chance to stop and hadn't found one yet, I might just cry.

One thing with slings especially, some more than others, is that they work themselves loose slowly and you don't always realize it right away.