Best carrier for breastfeeding/sleeping baby at work

[ctrygirlatheart]

Hi there,

DD and I will be going back to work in a couple of weeks and I am wondering if anyone has any great ideas on what carrier would be ideal for us. I need to be able to breastfeed her easily and discreetly and have her be in a comfortable and secure enough position to fall asleep on the boob. Ideally it would be easy to take on and off and get her in and out. DD is 5 months and 15ish lbs. We currently have a Moby that is not quite a comfy for her now that she is bigger and I have never quite figured out how to BF in and is obviously not easy to get on and off. We also have an Ergo that we love to death BUT I have trouble adjusting the straps up and down to get her to and from the breastfeeding height by myself as I have short arms. Any ideas? Maybe a ring sling but worried about comfort for me with her weight. Thanks!!

[*MamaJen*]

I took my son to work with me full time until he was six months old, and part time for about a year. It worked out great.
I never got the hang of nursing in a sling, but I hear that a ring sling tends to be the easiest. I used a pouch sling with DS at work, just to hold him, and I would nurse with a blanket -- not covering his head, just draped over my boob. I found the pouch sling was the easiest for getting him in and out. I also kept a moses basket on my desk for him to sleep in, and we spent a lot of time with me sitting in my desk chair cross-legged, with him asleep in my lap.
It helped that my office is really progressive and everyone was totally supportive.
If the ring sling is adjusted properly it should be pretty comfortable for long term wear.

[ElaynesMom]

What about a mei tai? It would support her weight more than a ringsling since it's a 2 shouldered carrier, and since the shoulder straps tie at waist level they may be easier for you to loosen/tighten than the ergo straps?

[Jlcampbellkidz]

I could not nurse in the mei tai at all. ofcorse Im a DD cup so size matters. I nursed easiest in my hotsling (pouch/peanut shell) or my homemade wrap sling. I used a nursing cover when nursing in the hotsling and found this one the easiest when babu was little. After about 6 months the wrap was much easier to nurse in and also the material was wide enough to pull over the sides of my arms and top of breast so no cover was needed.

The wrap was also nice as they got bigger and heavier since it provides support over both shoulders. Im a big believer in having more than one sling if you can. Ebay has some great sales and if you can sew homemade is a great alternative too.

[batsister]

In my experience, a mei tai allows two hands free for typing, etc., but a ring sling is better for nursing.

Good luck!

[junipervt]

my vote is for a mei tai & one w/ a head rest like babyhawk. easy to nurse in (I have about a c cup), very discreet, easy to adjust, DD loves sleeping in ours, comfy for prolonged use, & you can sit in it.

[Adasmommy]

My choice would hands down be a woven wrap, and I would just leave baby in it when she falls asleep.

If you do need to put her down, I'd think you could learn to pop her in and out of it while leaving the wrap on your body, or else to untie it fairly quickly. There are a lot more ways to wrap with a woven, so you could experiment until you find the carry that works best for this.

IME, wraps are the easiest for nursing, the most discrete, and the cuddliest for soothing and sleeping in!

Any type of carrier has the potential of working though, and I think you should go with the one that calls to you intuitively. Get it right away and learn to to nurse and remove and everything now so it's a cinch when you get to work! Good luck!