Dr. Sears ORIGINAL Baby Sling?

[Sleepyheaded_Mama]

Anyone have any advice on Dr. Sears ORIGINAL Baby Sling, by Balboa Baby?

http://www.askdrsears.com/store/T029...ampaign=balboa

I have never tried a ring-sling before, IMO the long 'tail' portion turns me off the whole idea. But this one doesn't seem to have the long, drape-y tail, so I'm considering giving it a shot. Does anyone know if this particular sling is comfortable or at all worth the $59.99 + tax/shipping?

I have a KKAFP, but my other carriers are MTs and an Ergo. I really want to try to love a sling, lol.

[Draupadi]

Hate my Toddler Patapum. Toddlerhawk?

.*

[pixiepunk]

i personally think heavily padded slings are very hard to use and almost impossible to adjust properly. the thing about the tail in a regular ring sling is that it allows you to adjust the rails (top and bottom edges) independently of the middle. i find that to be crucial in getting a comfortable fit in a ring sling.

if you don't want a long tail, you can just buy a shorter sling. i'm not fond of dragging a long tail around either, so i buy XS or S size ring slings from Sleeping Baby Productions. with the XS the tail only comes to about my waist.

[heatherweh]

The Sears baby sling is what kept me from using a sling with DS 1. I highly recommend doing a non-padded sling to start. The Sears one was bulky and hard to adjust and felt too "pouchy" plus they don't look attractive.

[MamaKickyPants]

i personally think heavily padded slings are very hard to use and almost impossible to adjust properly. the thing about the tail in a regular ring sling is that it allows you to adjust the rails (top and bottom edges) independently of the middle. i find that to be crucial in getting a comfortable fit in a ring sling.

This!

I can't stand heavily padded, closed-tail slings (like the Dr. Sears one) they are hard to adjust and the padding doesn't really do much. As long as the sling is cupping your shoulder and spread across your back, you don't need padding.

[Sleepyheaded_Mama]

Yes I was worried about the padding issue. I'm only 5' 1 1/2" tall so I was worried I'd be overwhelmed by the padding. But I tend to have huge babies that grow like weeds, my youngest hit 30 pounds before his 1st birthday, and no matter WHAT carrier I seem to use, wearing a massive baby looks "overwhelming" on me . I got comments all the time along the lines of "he's half your size already and you're still carrying him??"

Can anyone suggest a ring sling that doesn't look so drape-y?

[clovergirl]

if you don't like the look of the tail on the sling, you could always wrap it around the rings once you have it adjusted like this-
http://sakurabloom.com/store/index.p...index&cPath=14

makes it very clean looking, not at all drape-y.

[Sleepyheaded_Mama]

Originally Posted by clovergirl

if you don't like the look of the tail on the sling, you could always wrap it around the rings once you have it adjusted like this-
http://sakurabloom.com/store/index.p...index&cPath=14

makes it very clean looking, not at all drape-y.

::GASP!!:: I love how that looks!! Thank you!!

I found Zolowear slings and really like how those look, maybe I can love a ring sling after all!! Without ever having tried one, I can see how an open-tail would make for finer adjustments of the top and bottom rails = a better fit through a wider range of stages (shrinking mom / growing baby, etc.).

[Quirky]

I had a customer bring in a Balboa Baby ring sling for help the other day. She had bought it especially because Dr. Sears recommends it.

It's a piece of junk, I have to say -- impossible to adjust, way too padded, and on top of that I don't think it's any better than a bag sling like an Infantino in terms of putting a small baby in a cradle position that forces chin to chest.

I definitely agree that an open-tailed ring sling is a better bet for adjustability. I personally am not a fan of the Zolo because the shoulder doesn't spread out, and I find it very uncomfortable. For an extremely well-priced and well-made ring sling, I'd check out www.sleepingbaby.net