ring sling or rebozo?

[moxygirl]

I want something poppable for a hip carry for my 7mo that can also be used for my soon-to-arrive newborn. My impression is that a rebozo is pretty much a ring sling that you knot instead. Is that correct? Anyone use both? Which would you recommend? And which brands? I'm having trouble finding short rebozo-length wraps? Anyone have links?

Thanks!

[alia]

Yeah... I think you have it right. Well, almost! I believe that ring slings are newer; they are basically rebozos that use metal rings instead of a knot.

I have certainly used both, but I favor ring slings...it's definitely a personal choice...totally up to whatever works best for you. If you want, buy/find a piece of fabric and try it out as a rebozo, and if you don't like it, turn it into a RS!

If you're looking for wraps to use as rebozos, the keywords you need are "shorty" and "rebozo." They'll be somewhere around 2.5 meters long and usually around 25 inches wide. I wouldn't worry about the brand of your wrap... it can be intimidating to make a selection from so many different kinds of woven fabrics, fiber contents, and designs. Just pick something you like the look of, and once you get to working with it, you'll know your personal preferences better and can make a better choice the second time (and often you can trade or sell for funds for your next wrap!)

RS brands... also lots. Just to keep it short, I'd recommend Sleeping Baby or Comfy Joey. Lots of people like their shoulder styles (how the fabric is arranged before it is sewn around the rings), but there are many, many more out there that have strong fan bases too (Psling, Maya LP, Kalea, etc).

Either way, both are highly usable for both a 7 mo and a newborn.

Links... maybe there are some in the stickies at the top of this forum? Also, you can visit thebabywearer.com for articles and a very supportive forum, much like the one here.

[ElaynesMom]

I personally prefer rebozos to ring slings, I just find the slip knot easier to adjust then the rings, but everyone is different.

Several brands of woven wrap manufacturers make shorty wraps (rebozos) if you'd prefer to buy one instead of making your own (though you could do that as well, like the pp said). Some brands to look at might be didymos, hoppediz, girasol, storchenwiege, just do a google search and some retailers will pop up.

Once nice thing about a rebozo is that you can buy a set of rings seperately and make a no sew ring sling:

http://www.birdiesroom.com/c-424-no-sew-ring-sling.aspx

(The above site is I believe the North American distributer of Didymos brand woven wraps, she also sells seperate rings. She is in Canada but ships to the US. There are also several US retailers of the above brands of woven wraps)

Oh, and with a rebozo you could also use a rucksack carry tied under the babies bum (back carry), a torso carry (baby is also on your back), or use the rebozo as a shawl when not carrying baby in it.


Have fun picking out your new carrier, whatever you choose