Pouches and bigger babies.

[selkiewoman]

Hi-

My daughter is five and a half months old. Originally I'd wanted to use a New Native sling/pouch with her, but she was born with hip dysplasia and needed to be in a harness. So of course pouches and slings were out, as were many other babywearing methods. Luckily an Ergo worked perfect with the position the harness held her legs in.

So now she has been out of the harness of just over a month (hooray!) and is doing great in that department. Sometimes she seems annoyed by the Ergo, I think it digs into the back of her knees. So I wanted to try the New Native I have... and even though I've heard of five month old babies in the sling, I tried putting her in and it just does not seem right.

Her legs are a little more likely to stay apart as many hip-babies do for ages after coming out of the harness. So that might be part of it.

But do any of you have 5 and 6 months old that you wear in a pouch or sling? How do you have their legs in it? Are they comfy? My daughter is not a big baby for her age, probably average.

Thanks!

[Beauchamp]

7 months old here...we use our Comfy Joey pouch a lot at the grocery store and on short errands in a hip carry. DD likes that she can turn her head more than the Ergo to see things around her. She's more free in it, I guess. Also, she's big for 7 months...28 inches, 19 lbs or so.

[almadianna]

I have not found pouches to be comfortable for older babies. I know some do but at that age I wanted support from both shoulders.

[MamaPhD]

Though I prefer Ergo with my 13 mo DD (big for her age at 22 lbs), we do use hotslings a lot of times, too. I have her face me in a hip carry with her legs dangling out. Pouch works better in some situations, but not for a long carry for sure because of weight is only on one shoulder like thishttp://www.hotslings.com/hip_carry

[SallyN]

ditto to MamaPhD

[lindsayjean]

I can't use a pouch for very long at all before it starts hurting my shoulder/back with an older baby. I pretty much just use my pouch for the newborn phase and super short trips. Even semi short trips though, like to Target or something, I still use my wrap because it is so much more supportive. My baby is 5 months old. Honestly, unless you are planning to have another, I would not pay for a pouch at this point in your childs life. Just my opinion.

[AustinMom]

I always used the kangaroo carry with my son

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44snbbszTps

Here is another site with a whole bunch of other ways to wrap. Oh, and you can buy 5.5 yrds of fabric and cut it in half long ways (so you have two 5.5 yrd long pieces of fabric) and have two wraps. make sure you buy tshirt like material. It less than $20 all together for both.

http://www.wrapyourbaby.com/pocketwrapcrosscarry.htm

I don't know if you can carry this way with your baby's prior hip issue, but she may not like the Ergo carrier because it doesn't keep their hips in a natural squatting like position, (of what this picture shows http://www.ergobabycarriers.com/baby...egory/carrier/) The same thing with the baby bjorn, I hear babies don't like those much. And they are crazy expensive too.

[Beauchamp]

one thing about a pouch and a bigger baby is that while it may not be the MOST comfy solution (a la Ergo) they are fast and definitely beat just holding a babe in arms. For us, our pouch holds her on my hip, where I'd normally hold her with my arms, but the pouch is doing the work. I bought my first pouch around 5 months and my second just last week (7 mo) They fold so small and are great in the diaper bag or in the car as a spare carrier if you forget your main carrier.

[SallyN]

Lindsay- While I agree that a pouch won't be as supportive for you as a two-shoulder carrier, it shouldn't be causing you such pain. Do make sure you've got the correct size (makes a HUGE difference) AND... that the inside 'rail' is pulled up (especially in the spot where it's coming around your torso from your back) and the fabric is spread out across your back as much as possible.

AustinMom- that's a bad shot of the ergo. a baby should be sitting in an ergo just as in a wrap (not hanging by their crotch like it appears in that photo, or in Bjorn's or Snuglis... you're right on that part!)

My high-needs baby was in a mei tai (front carry) for most of the time, but once she had really good torso and neck control, my hotsling became my go-to carrier. and then once she was a toddler and constantly wanting up/down/up/down/up/down... the pouch was much easier for in/out/in/out than the mei tai. it was also easier for in/out of the car when we had many stops to make for errands.