Help with Maya Wrap

[lis2pt]

I have read such great things about the Maya wrap on these forums for babywearing so I purchased one and now I have a love/hate realationship.  I want to love it, but hate how much difficulty I am having getting DS positionined comfortably for him and me.  He is 11 weeks old, and was 24 inches and 12# at his 2 month check up so he is long.  When I try to put him in for tummy to tummy, he ends up with his legs pushing to the side (he likes to stretch them) which is not good on his hips.  I have tried putting his legs out of the wrap in the tummy to tummy position like shown on the instructions, but that doesn't seem comfortable either.  I also cannot seem to get it adjusted so it provides some head support. We have been routinely using the Ergo which he loves, but I want to have the option of a carrier that is more portable and easier to transition to nursing position.  Does anyone have any tips that have made the Maya wrap work for them?  Secondarily, if anyone who loves their Maya lives anywhere close to Snohomish, WA would you be willing to meet to help me troubleshoot?  Thanks!

[LamisDove]

I had a sling similar to the maya. My LO did not care for it in the early months, although she did spend some time in it. She was long and wanted to see. She didn't want to be cuddled like the tummy to tummy video on the maya website shows. I did have some success laying her in a cradle position. (If the ring was on my right shoulder, her head was toward my left side.) This way, she could push her legs out a bit and see up at my face. Also, I often would have to lift her up manually with my left arm so she could look around. I think I also put a folded blanket in the sling before I put LO in it so she wouldn't sink too deeply. Once she got head control, things improved a lot.

Best of luck!

[guatemama1]

i too had problems getting used to the maya sling. the fabric gets all stuck in the ring... never is like in the demo video. i never use it :( but i want to...

also interested in tips... :)

[GoGoGirl]

I didn't like the Maya demo dvd much, it just wasn't too helpful for me.  But I LOVE this video for youngish babies in ring slings.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

I had to check a video to know what "tummy to tummy" was exactly.  One think I can say from looking at the one video I saw is that they folded the sling (so there was a deep pocket).  I don't do that.  I wear the sling so it stretches across my stomach/side.  In other words the top of the sling is about at my breasts and the bottom is about at my waist.  The center of the sling is slightly more baggy.  There is no sling between you and baby.  Does that make sense?  

For the tummy to tummy hold at 11 weeks I would let the feet dangle.  The bottom of the sling would be about at the backs of the baby's knees and the slightly looser middle of the sling would gather around the baby's butt.  The top middle would be pulled rather tight, bringing the baby's chest in close.  The very top rail would be adjusted to comfort either at the baby's shoulder tops or even over her/his head.  

As far as the fabric moving on the rings -- I find that the Maya fabric is a bit hard to move at first but with washings and time (a few months) it will start to move well.  By the time you've used your sling for about 7 years it may start to move too easily.  ;-)  

[cristeen]

Are you using a wrap or a sling? 

I haven't used the maya, but in the Moby, the position that worked the best for us was a modified hug hold.  I had DS facing sideways instead of T2T with me.  It allowed him to stretch his legs a bit, see out and still have head support.  The wrap was once around the stomach, then over the opposite shoulder (from the back), and then around the waist again so I had an X in front and one in back.  The flat tummy piece allowed him to move and stretch as he wanted, while the X could support his head.  If he fell asleep in that position, I could just pull the X over his head a bit more for more support.  It was the only position he would tolerate for long.

HTH