Mei tais, legs in vs. out, and possible hip dysplasia

[batsister]

Hello.
My son is 2 months old, and I currently carry him in a ring sling (mainly tummy-to-tummy, always with legs in). I am very excited to try out the mei tai that my mother-in-law just made for me . He has quite good head control for his age. At his 2-month visit last week, my son weighed 14.75 lbs and is 24 inches long. In addition, the pediatrician felt he should be checked out for hip dysplasia after examining him. She thought he probably didn't have it, but asked us to get an ultrasound to rule it out (scheduled for this coming week). So I have the following questions:
1) Is there a particular age/weight/height/maturity level at which it is best to start putting the baby's legs out (in a front carry) in a mei tai, or is this just personal preference?
2) When carrying a baby in a mei tai with legs in (in front carry), is it acceptable for the baby's legs to be crossed in front, or is the froggy position better?
3) I understand that legs hanging straight down is not a good idea, but I also read somewhere that legs completely splayed (very wide) is not ideal either... in the event that my son does have hip dysplasia, does anyone know if it would be fine to carry him legs out in a mei tai?
4) (This question relates to the ring sling): I would like to try putting his legs out when carrying him T2T in the ring sling, but I am worried about the bottom rail cutting into his legs (I have a Maya Wrap MamaBaby sling-- no padding on the rails)... any tips on avoiding this/making sure I don't cut off circulation to his legs?

Thank you.

[pixiepunk]

if you've ever seen the way they treat hip dysplasia, it is basically splaying the hips really wide. milder cases they sometimes recommend multiple diapers to encourage the hips apart. so legs out is going to be great for that.

if the mei tai is too wide for him to get his legs out comfortably, you can cinch the bottom of it with a hair tie or tie it with a ribbon or something to make it a bit narrower, the knees should be on the outside so sometimes a little cinching narrows it just enough to make that possible.

when you say crossing the legs, you mean like 'indian style'? i don't know if that would work when he was facing in, but it works great when you face them out, and that works in a ring sling or a MT.

[Adasmommy]

I don't have info on hip dysplasia, so I cannot speak to that but . . .

There is no minimum age for legs out. The primary concern is that baby is comfy. You can also have one leg out and one tucked in under or in front of him in the mei tai.

Tying the mei tai to make it narrower at the crotch, as pp mentioned, is another viable idea--just make sure he's seated and not dangly legged.

In general (again, not speaking to hip dysplasia), legs can be crossed indian style, or froggied. They can be crossed or froggied in front of them (between your tummies) or under them. Usually a baby's legs will tend to fold up one way or the other and you just go with that!

I'm not a ring sling user, but you may be able to roll some excess fabric behind baby's knees, or fold the fabric for a thicker, softer layer behind his knees, instead of having just a thin piece of fabric if you find that it cuts into his skin.

[batsister]

Thank you both for your responses.

I guess "indian style" would describe what I mean by folded legs... sometimes in the sling his legs end up sort of folded under/in front of him (rather than froggied) when he is T2T. He seems comfortable this way, so I guess it would work in a mei tai, too. (On a side note, when I try to froggy his legs in the sling, he sometimes tries to stand up and doesn't want to bend his legs... another reason to try legs out, I guess?).

Part of my question re: legs in/out in a mei tai is whether my son will likely be too big to even try legs in in a mei tai... or would I just have to play around and see what is comfy for both of us?

Thanks also for the suggestion regarding legs out in the sling... I don't actually know if the fabric will cut into his legs (haven't tried it for any extended period of time, because I am too paranoid ), but it seems like it might.

[Jillian79]

As long as you and your baby are both comfy and his knees are higher than his bum, then really you should be ok as you are. My son at around that age also began to sort of stand up in the ring sling/rebozo. Sometimes he would be ok withone leg in and one leg out, other times he fussed until I had them both in. It's totally fine to play with how you carry him to see what works best. And you might find later that some carries are ok one day and not so great the next. My son will be six months old on Wednesday and lately it seems like one carry works really well one day and just doesn't work the next. I dunno why though.

I'm training to become a certified babywearing educator through Die Trageschule (in Germany) and one thing my teacher taught us is that babies' hips need to be in that "seated" position in order for the cartilage in their hip joints to develop into bone properly. She also mentioned that American Indians who were carried in papoose boards as babies have higher rates of hip dysplasia because their legs were swaddled straight down.

[Adasmommy]

Originally Posted by batsister

Part of my question re: legs in/out in a mei tai is whether my son will likely be too big to even try legs in in a mei tai... or would I just have to play around and see what is comfy for both of us?

Yes, play around and see what you're both happy with. At two months, some babies are still doing legs in, some are not. It's all about comfort, and as long as you have a good seated position (legs in or out), you should be safe.