Ring Sling Blues

[juliav]

We have a Rockin' Baby ring sling that was very expensive for how little we've used it successfully When Ophelia was really young (she was almost a month early) she just got lost in all the fabric and looked pretty squished, with her chin against her chest. So, I put it away for a while. Now we're trying again. On the occasions that we managed to get her in and situated before she lost patience with me she fell asleep and was content.
Unfortunately, her position was such that I really couldn't do anything. I felt she was too low and sort of sticking out. Like her bum was resting on my right hip and her head was sort of just sticking out in front of my left boob, but nowhere near close enough to nurse. I tried rearranging but to no avail. If I try to tighten the sling she gets all crunched and struggles.
Can anyone offer some suggestions? I'd really like to carry her hands free more often. She's 3.5 months now and has pretty darn good head control, but not complete.
Thanks!!

[Devaskyla]

Maybe you could post some pictures?

[stellabluz]

You could try her more centered on your stomach in a kangaroo, facing outward position~legs kinda wrapped up like a comfy pretzel. I got used to on the hip basically around 4 months, she had good head control and i used it mostly just for a load off my holding her, but at that young age , youre never really "hands free", they still need your support behind them or around them. Don't despair, with my first, i never felt comfiortable with the sling, then from 6 months on, i used it ritually on my hip up until age 3

i like them even more as they are older and heavier!

good luck~

[amberg007]

I have mixed feelings about my ring sling for some of the same reasons. My Dd never liked the cradle hold and so I would put her in the cuddle or kangaroo when she was still an itty bitty. Now she is 5 mths old and much bigger and I have found that the only way we are both comfy is a sort of side kangaroo carry, where she sits facing the side with crossed legs in front of me. She does stick out pretty far which makes it sort of awkward to do cleaning and such. I still find it a bit difficult to use and wish it would be more natural. She enjoys just walking around like that.Some people use it like 2nd nature (I envy them). I keep coming back to a hip carry but I feel that she still isnt quite ready to spread her legs like that. I am hoping that it will get easier & more natural. In the meantime, I am getting an Ergo or Beco structured carrier for hiking and hands-free needs.

[LianneM]

I prefer a ring sling when my babes are more like 4-5 months old, facing in, vertical. I can swing to one side or the other, lower to nurse, raise for them to sleep, etc.

[baturay]

Ring slings can work well for any stage really. I've used them from newborn through toddlerhood. I think with some tips and practicing using it correctly you can make it work for you.

It sounds like she's riding too low, especially if her bum is on your right hip. That's really low. And if she's getting buried in the fabric, then her pouch is too loose and you need to tighten the pouch more so that it's not as deep.

Here are some links that will help you wear it correctly.
http://www.thebabywearer.com/index.p...nslingproblems
http://zolowear.com/Wearing.aspx#2

Best wishes!

[Natsuki]

Have you watched the zolowear videos? http://zolowear.com/Wearing.aspx They're very helpful.

My guess is that the rings are too low in how you're wearing it, and that you're also not tightening it correctly.

I use a ring sling from newborn through toddler - it's wonderful. My month old daughter has been napping in it daily.

These are my two favorite positions:

1. Tummy-to-tummy. I only use the cradle position when nursing, otherwise having her upright between my breasts, against my heart, is my favorite way to wear her (and it is truly hands-free).

2. Cradle positon with her head *opposite* the rings. I have never been able to wear my kids cradle-style with the head the same side as the rings - there's just not enough room and they get all weird diagonal/squished like you describe. But when I put her head opposite she lays sideways in the same position I use for nursing and there is tons more room - her feet are near the rings and her head is on the other side (sometimes it's easier if I have her head outside the fabric too).

Ring slings took me awhile to master with my first baby but I am sooooooooo glad that I did - they're great! It took watching youtube videos to figure it out after a few months of struggle . If the zolowear videos don't help you (i recommend watching all of them starting from the top b/c they give helpful 'before you put the baby in' advice to make it faster and easier - ideally you should be able to have the baby into the ring sling and fully adjusted for comfort within 30 seconds. Sometimes it takes me just 10 seconds from putting her in to being ready to go about my business, but it takes practice to get there), then search 'ring sling' on you tube and watch some videos.

FWIW, I've also heard that the Rockin' baby shoulder is less comfortable than others out there - I personally love my mayawrap lightly padded ring sling, I tried a few other kinds and this is the best out there for me.

[pixiepunk]

definitely check out the zolowear vids. really, really helpful. and if you can post pictures of you wearing her (just a shot in the mirror or something, doesn't have to be fancy) we can critique it for you.

[juliav]

Thanks, I'll try to take a picture today when she wakes up!

[infraread]

You've already got great advice, so I'll just add that my oldest son hated the ring sling until he was 5 months... but then he practically lived in it until he was 3

So don't give up!

[juliav]

Thanks for all the great advice...we did watch the Zolowear videos and ended up deciding to try a different style ring sling. We went with the Maya with shoulder padding. At the store we had a much easier time getting into this sling and the shoulder padding made a big difference. I think the Rockin'Baby was just way too much fabric and too thick as well. I had trouble adjusting it.
Anyway we'll see how this one goes

[juliav]

So, here are our pics... we did get the new sling and tried it out this afternoon...what do you think? does this look right?

Here are the only pics we had of the rockinbaby, I was not motivated enough to stick her in to take more. I think the rockinbaby sling is super pretty, maybe we'll keep it for when she's big enough for hip carry

PS. I just noticed the toothpaste dots on the mirror in the picture...ewww gross, sorry

[swd12422]

I'm no expert, but that looks right to me. And if you're both comfy, then it's right!

And I was going to post that your tub is amazingly white and clean for having such a LO... I didn't even see the mirror spots!

[baturay]

I think it looks great!

One thing I like doing to make it a little more comfy for the little one when the head is near the rings, is to take the tail and loop it through the rings once. That gives a little padding there if the head happens to bump into the rings.

It's hard to see it in this picture, but you can see that the rings are covered.
http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/w...g?t=1236709928

And this isn't that big of a deal right now with this carry and at this age, but the top rail (the upper rail) could be a little bit tighter.

Can't see your back on the picture you posted, but for most comfort be sure the fabric is spread out as much as possible and not twisted back there.

I sooo didn't see notice the mirror until I finished reading your post. I think I'm too used to mirrors having somethin' on them all the time.

[clovergirl]

the pic of the cradle hold in the maya wrap looks pretty good, was it comfy for you? you may also want to try doing a cradle hold with her head on the opposite side of the rings. for some reason that always worked better for me, i was able to get the baby a little higher and tighter. and i wasn't worried about the ring hitting baby's head that way too.
you may also want to try an upright, tummy to tummy position with the maya wrap. you can have her legs in or out, though at this stage she'll probably want them out.
good luck!

[dziwozony]

i've always struggled with cradle holds in the ring sling...i really like tummy to tummy, w/ babe's head on my chest. he's 2mo now & i've been doing it since he was days old.

[chipper26]

I haven't read other posts, sorry if I repeat...
go to the babywearer.com. They have a section specifically for slings and I believe there's s sticky at the top of the forum with many of the most helpful tips to common problems. It really helped me, that and practice.

I think mastering the ring sling is difficult!

[limabean]

I never felt like things were comfy until I tried carrying my DD with her head on the opposite side as the rings -- then all of a sudden things felt the way I always thought they were supposed to! So definitely experiment with different holds until you find one that clicks. And keep in mind that the "right" carry may change as your LO gets bigger -- nowadays, my DD's and my favorite carry is the hip hold, which never would have worked for us just a few weeks ago!