Comfort vs. Beauty

[Sleepyheaded_Mama]

Torn between a Maya Lightly Padded Ring Sling for comfort though I find them largely unattractive, and a Taylor Made batik Ring Sling, which are beautiful but unpadded, so possibly less comfortable.

Honestly, these are probably both luxuries I won't be able to afford before this LO in born, but can anyone indulge my little pipe dream and advise me on which way to go?

I am still holding out hope that my dad might throw some cash my way for my birthday in Oct., lol.

[lifeguard]

Go for comfort. You will hopefully be using your sling all the time & if it's not comfy for you you won't use it.

I have an ergo which I think is ugly but it is SO comfy & we both love it so much.

Plus, when it's on you can't really see how it looks anyway!

[RunnerDuck]

Personally I don't find the Maya unnattractive, but I don't find it comfortable, either. I don't know if the fabric stretches or the rings slip or both but I find myself having to adjust and readjust a lot when I use it - which is rare now. I used it a good bit with my son for hip carriers but now with my girls I have a beco 4th gen which is both attractive and marvelously comfortable (and never needs adjusted). I don't like the Beco Butterfly - I'd take an ergo as a runner up to the 4th gen - I don't think the ergo is ugly it's just not as colorful. But of course everyone has the own opinion on what looks good, what works well, what feels good, etc. I feel like there is a certain earth mama appeal to the look of using a sling... but I just don't like how it feels/works for me. Esp. with the rings slipping all the time!

[prufrocks_lady]

I bought an unpadded Maya sling when pregnant with my first daughter and didn't find it uncomfortable at all if positioned properly. So don't let a lack of padding scare you from a sling you really love.

Just another note to consider: I bought a wrap sling with my second daughter and have gotten a massive amount of use out of it. My babies like to be upright so the cradle hold in a pouch or ring sling wouldn't cut it with them. A wrap has allowed me to hold her upright pretty much hands free since day one.

Also, check out etsy.com. They have some less expensive sling options.

[baturay]

Maya Wrap only has a little bit of padding on the shoulder, but lots of other ring slings have no padding at all and are still comfortable. For example, Sakura Bloom and SBP are both unpadded, but very very comfortable. So, I really think you can get beauty and comfort and don't have to choose between the two.

[Kiara.I]

Originally Posted by baturay

Maya Wrap only has a little bit of padding on the shoulder, but lots of other ring slings have no padding at all and are still comfortable. For example, Sakura Bloom and SBP are both unpadded, but very very comfortable. So, I really think you can get beauty and comfort and don't have to choose between the two.

Definitely. An unpadded ring sling should cup the shoulder, and not slide up into the neck. You don't need the padding because the pressure is mostly on the end of the bone, where it's strongest, not pressing into the side of it like if it were sitting on top of your shoulder. Make sense? Also, a pleated or gathered shoulder has quite a bit of fabric right at that point anyway, so it's almost like it's self-padded.

I find that heavily padded slings are often very UNcomfortable, since they slide around and dig into your neck, and often have heavily padded rails that make them impossible to adjust, etc. I really prefer a totally unpadded sling.

If you can sew at all a ring sling is super easy to make, so you can get one even cheaper than new. Also, I sometimes see maya ring slings on craigslist. If you keep an eye open you might be able to pick one up super cheap. But, if you are going through craiglist you really need to know what you are getting, since often the mamas listing there aren't familiar with a lot of carriers and don't really know what they've got, you know?