gift for friend?

[SilverFish]

my friend has a 8lb newborn and i want to (and promised her) get her some kind of baby carrier.

my first thought was a stretchy wrap. a) i really liked it for the first few months, and b) it's an affordable gift. but some people i've talked to never really liked it, and i was determined to babywear, so muddled through the learning curve and figured it out. if she was more inclined to use the car-seat/stroller anyway, she might never get over that hump. also, i had a very tiny newborn that needed the extra warmth and support of a stretchy wrap and was light enough to use it for a long time.

then i thought ring-sing. it wasn't my fav, but i definitely like how easy it is to learn to use, is good with a slightly heavier newborn and is also cheap(ish). it's definitely not something i'd consider to be the best representative of baby carrying, so i'm hesitant.

i LOVE my mei-tai, but they are very spendy in my area and i'd feel weird spending that much on something that i don't know if she'd really use, plus we're not really at that gift level with each other anyway (does that make sense?)

i'm crafty and handy with a sewing machine, but pricing out fabric for a stretchy wrap ended up being nearly the same as buying made. a ring sling is much more affordable to make. i don't have the time to make a mei-tai.

so, what should i do? would you have appreciated a handmade gifted carrier? what kind? any other types of carriers i could look into that aren't more than $60? is a less than ideal baby carrier better than no carrier at all? should i just buy her some cute baby clothes and be done with it?

[Mom2M]

I was looking on Etsy for stuff and there are a lot of slings and wraps that are under $60. I loved my Moby wrap but it was a very boring color and maybe if you are looking to encourage her, something that looks good would help.
I like this one http://www.etsy.com/listing/58287765...rder=&includes[0]=tags&includes[1]=title
There are a lot of ring slings on Etsy too. For me, the ring sling wasn't the best early on because I could never get them adjusted correctly with a tiny baby.

[somegirl99]

Do you have a stretchy wrap and a RS available that you could let your friend try out and see what will work best for her before making a decision? Yes they both have a learning curve, but if you are able to help her the first couple of times it won't be a big deal.

[Mom2M]

Here's the one I was trying to think of and I just came across a picture of it so I'm putting it here. The only problem is the price is higher, I wonder if you could find one used or you could just give it to her as a suggestion along with your sling or wrap that you give her.
http://bluecelery.ca/020~Baby_Sling/

Kind of like a starter carrier, lol