Legs out in an unpadded ring sling

[batsister]

Hello. I have an 11-week-old son, and up until now when I carry him in my Maya Wrap MamaBaby ring sling, I use the tummy-to-tummy position with legs in. Well, he is starting to stand in the sling and refuse to bend his legs sometimes, and is also getting bigger anyway (about 16 lbs. & 24 inches long), so I would like to try legs out. However, it seems like the edge of the sling will cut into his legs... does anyone have any suggestions for how to prevent this (in a tummy-to-tummy, and eventually, a hip carry position)?

Thanks.

[confustication]

I don't go legs out until they are on my hip at about 6 months in a rs- 11 weeks seems pretty tiny, but ymmv...

As for cutting into legs... it's just never been an issue...

[mysticmomma]

Could you fold a prefold there?

[earth-mama]

I made a ring sling around the time that my DD was the same age. She did fine with her legs out. It never seemed to bother her legs. However, I preferred using my Moby Wrap because it distributes the weight equally rather than more on one side of my back.
mother to Lily 1/21/09

[justKate]

Originally Posted by batsister

Hello. I have an 11-week-old son, and up until now when I carry him in my Maya Wrap MamaBaby ring sling, I use the tummy-to-tummy position with legs in. Well, he is starting to stand in the sling and refuse to bend his legs sometimes, and is also getting bigger anyway (about 16 lbs. & 24 inches long), so I would like to try legs out. However, it seems like the edge of the sling will cut into his legs... does anyone have any suggestions for how to prevent this (in a tummy-to-tummy, and eventually, a hip carry position)?

Thanks.

At 16 lbs., I would be okay with feet out if he objects to the froggy feet-in position. I know what you mean about the rail cutting in, but I'm not sure how to avoid it. The pre-fold idea was good. Maybe put pants on him? That might help a little. Does it bother him or does it just look like it should bother him?

When he has good head control and you do a hip carry, you can leave the feet in wrapped around your sides. I think It's harder for them to stand up in the hip carry...at least it is for DD.

[RedPony]

I'm not sure what to tell you. Both my girls stood in the ring slings from that age on. My 5 mo STILL does it, and when I try and put her feet out she refuses to bend her legs and straddle my hip. I know she can do it because she does it happily when not in the sling. Anyway, the rails did begin to cut into my older daugher's thighs and she told me about it at 18 months or so. We still used it until about 2 yo because at that time I didn't have an alternative. Now I use my woven wrap almost daily and my ring or pouch sling as needed with DD2.

Guess that wasn't much help!

[dachshund mom]

That's when I switched to a SSC at 2 mos. DD did NOT want her feet in and I couldn't get either of us comfy with feet out.

[batsister]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I could try using a prefold or receiving blanket to pad where his legs meet the sling, but I'm not sure they'd stay in place. My mother-in-law just made me two mei tais (yea!), which I really like so far, so I may switch to using those most of the time and keep using the sling for quick in/out and nursing in public.

[Jillian79]

If you'd rather not put something into the sling to pad it, see if you can gather some of the fabric down at the bottom to bunch under his knees. That way there won't be a single thin piece of fabric there but a cushier section. It also may help to have the bottom rail just a tiny bit looser than you might have it otherwise, as well as make sure his knees really are up higher than his bum. All those things should help relieve pressure.

[tankgirl73]

I have an unpadded Maya ring sling and it's my main go-to sling for out and about right now. With that, and with ALL my other unpadded slings (ring and pouches), I've never had a problem with the rails digging into her.

The trick is to make sure that the rails are all the way up in their knees. They need to be froggied, with knees higher than bum. The inner rail can be tightened quite a bit to get it up there. And like a PP said, it's bunched more towards the knees than towards their upper back. I usually start with most of the sling and pull it up over their back, rather than starting behind them and pulling it down under them. This way, their weight in the sling is mostly sitting at their bum and their knees are just kind of resting up there.

If it's TOO tight it will dig in, DH has had the issue a bit with his pouch sling, which (now that she's almost 3) is starting to get a bit snug with her. And if their legs are not froggied enough, so that the rail is on their thighs instead of inside their knees... well, then their weight is not sitting properly into the "pocket" of the sling, and all their weight will be resting on the rail, and it will need to be extra-tight to hold them there anyway... so yeah, THEN you'll get digging in.

Probably the most common error I see, when I happen to see other babywearing mamas out and about, (other than having the sling up at their neck instead of over their shoulder) is having the kids sitting with their legs dangling pretty much straight down and the sling barely covering their bum. The mums are always having to hold the kid by them bum to keep them in place... kind of defeats the purpose of 'hands-free' eh?

Anyway, all that being said, 90% of the time the rails don't seem to bug the kids even when they do leave red marks. It's not enough to actually be painful or cut off circulation.