Favorite Sling/Carrier? « Back to Group Discussions

[augustmom]

Hey mamas,

How's it going? I currently have the maya wrap, but I'm not in love with it. It's kind of akward, and the rings seem to touch his face and head too mush not matter how many times I adjust the dang thing (which I constantly seem to be doing by the way) SO I'm looking for another sling/carrier and would love your input/advice. Thanks

[dashley111]

I have a Moby, and Bettie *loves* it.  I would wear it everywhere if it wasn't so freaking hard to get on.  I always try to put it on at home before I go out so I don't have to hassle with it in a parking lot or store.  It does not kill my back like a lot of other carriers and I can wear it despite my giant boobs, so that's a plus.

[augustmom]

I was thinking about getting the moby, but heard there's a learning curve with it. but most do. Thanks for the feedback

[jhsmama11]

I love the Moby. Jack is sleeping in it right now. Between youtube and the enclosed instructions I was good at putting it on with a couple days practice. Now it's easy.

[birdhappy85]

I'm still new to babywearing so I don't have a *favorite* carrier yet or much experience, but if you were interested in the Moby and don't want the learning curve, maybe you could get a Baby K'tan? http://www.babyktan.com/whatisktan.html   I have both - they do similar wrap holds - and am liking my Baby K'tan better so far. It's not adjustable so that might be a problem later on if I lose weight (although the baby getting bigger might offset it being looser on me, and my DH can still use it otherwise) but it's so much easier and quicker for me to put on than my Moby and I don't have all of that extra fabric. I'm sure I'll reach for my Moby when my baby gets a little older and try it again. It wasn't so easy for me to get it positioned correctly, though. It does take practice.

[IwannaBanRN]

I love my Moby! I don't have experience with other carriers, though. But I've heard tons of reviews in favor of the Moby, especially for the newborn stage.

Joanie it takes me a minute to get the Moby positioned right after I get Levi into it. Sometimes his head is too high up under my chin and it takes a little bit of jiggling and pulling on the crossed parts to get him to come down. I don't mind, though, because the Moby makes my life a TON easier!

[Abraisme]

I also like the Moby, but with this baby I've been using a Beco Gemini a lot more.  The Beco is easier to put on, you don't need an infant insert and I can breastfeed in it (total plus!).  After 6mo I almost always use an Ergo, which I also love, but don't like the infant insert part.

[MrsKatie]

KJ is almost always in my fleece Kangaroo Korner sling.  I bought it from a used baby-goods store in Portland, since they don't make them anymore.  We LOVE it.  You can find them on ebay, I bet!
 

For longer walks/outings, I prefer the 2-shoulder support of the Moby.  yeah, it's a pain to get on, but we love it.  KJ was super fussy yesterday and nothing was helping, till I put her in the Moby.  She fell asleep in SECONDS.  Yeah, it's a pain to put on, but it's so great!

[seraf]

I don't have a moby, but I hear they lose their usefulness once the baby gets heavier. A regular wrap can go newborn to toddler. I just have a long piece of fabric for wrap ties and a smaller, 2 yard piece of cloth tied like a ring sling. It doesn't move unles I untie it. I use that one for ease (who am I kidding? We have 3 and 3 wraps). My DP has been enjoying the Mai tie, but she also rocks the basic sling and wrap for cross carries and rucksack carry. 

[KaliShanti]

I LOVE my Ergo!

[jbk21]

I have a pouch sling (new native) for times when I just need to throw on a sling.  I am also using a Moby for longer stretches because it's more comfortable.  I don't mind tying it on- I think the kangaroo hold is easier to tie on than the newborn hug hold.  With the kangaroo hold you put them in before you finish tying it.  Much easier.  I just tie it on before I get in the car if we are planning to be out and about.  Then I can just put him in/out of it without removing the sling, so I don't re-tie and drag the fabric on the ground.  

I have a boba 3g that we love- I even used it while 8 months pregnant, carrying our 2.5 year old.  It is SO comfortable and my husband loves it.  I like the toddler foot straps for support.  I can start using that at 15lbs. 

[meesh933]

I have 2 ring slings, a pouch sling, two stretchy wraps, a mei tai, and an Ergo. I don't like the ring slings much; they mostly live in the car for emergencies. They were great for carrying my toddler while huge pregnant, though! I have friends who love their mei tais for younger babies, but I really love the Moby-type wraps for tiny babies. My middle son lived in the Moby 12+ hours a day for months. Jack is not a huge fan, but he will nap in there and hang out when we're out and about. Once he gets too heavy for the Moby, I'll have him in the mei tai or Ergo. I love the look of my mei tai, but the Ergo is definitely easier to put on and more comfortable for longer periods. I used to take my kids to work with me, and I wore a napping DS1 on my back for hours when he was 18-20 months or so and I was 6 months pregnant! I've never used the infant insert with it, though, and I haven't personally heard good things about it.

[LunaLady]

I haven't really found a carrier that DS and I can enjoy... I have a Maya wrap ring sling, a Moby, and an Ergo. He's not crazy about any of them... Except the Maya wrap for nursing. I've used it almost every day this last week when we are walking around a store or whatnot and DS needs to nurse. It's great for nursing. He was okay with the moby when he was a sleepy newborn, and the Ergo with the Heart to Heart Infant Insert was great then, too. But if he's awake and not nursing... he wasn't NOTHING to do with any carriers. Makes me sad! 

[Abraisme]

This is pretty common in small babies that don't have great head control.  My dd1 hated the Ergo until she was 6mo, one day she decided it was fine and I used it daily from then on.  Before that she only wanted to face out in the Moby.  Coralie will only be in a carrier if she's sleeping, otherwise she wants to be looking around.  Keep trying your carriers, it's likely that one day he'll decide that they're okay.  :)
 

Originally Posted by LunaLady 

I haven't really found a carrier that DS and I can enjoy... I have a Maya wrap ring sling, a Moby, and an Ergo. He's not crazy about any of them... Except the Maya wrap for nursing. I've used it almost every day this last week when we are walking around a store or whatnot and DS needs to nurse. It's great for nursing. He was okay with the moby when he was a sleepy newborn, and the Ergo with the Heart to Heart Infant Insert was great then, too. But if he's awake and not nursing... he wasn't NOTHING to do with any carriers. Makes me sad! 

[KayPea]

nak. Our Ergo is the one item of baby gear I couldn't live without. Having very large boobs puts strain on my back, so I can't use one-shoulder carriers at all. We were using a Moby at first, but Oren is 13 lbs now, and just feels too heavy for it, for me.  We use the heart 2 heart infant insert with our Ergo and I really like it. I nursed him for the first time in it, and it was great! Nursed and made lunch at the same time.   

[jill the pill]

I love my sleepy wrap!  I don't think it's called that anymore but it makes my life so much easier.  I just made my bed and put on a duvet cover with baby in the wrap.  My husband wears it too to give me a break at night when he gets home.  I can't put my baby down without her waking up and crying so I just wear her pretty much  all the time.  I can always get her to sleep in the wrap.  When I'm home I just tie it on in the morning and leave it on most of the day.  It's fabric is a little stretchy so it stretches with the baby and snaps back in place when you take baby out. 

[augustmom]

Thanks for the feedback. I can never make a decision, but this has helped. thanks again.

[ZippyGirl]

Cannot, cannot, cannot live without my Ergo.  With my DD, I used a ring sling in the early months, but my new baby hates the sling.  So, I bough the Ergo infant insert, and it's been perfect.  When he falls asleep in the Ergo, I undo the Ergo and keep him in the insert and put him on my bed.  The insert makes him feel almost swaddled, and he stays asleep so nicely.

[Jaimee]

I think to be successful at babywearing you really need to have more than one carrier... possibly 3 or more.  What I mean by successful is able to get baby into a carrier when necessary and have a happy baby and mama.  Some days baby may prefer one carrier over another.  Some times you may need baby on your back instead of front in order to accomplish what you need to do.  Other times you may want your partner or other care giver to wear baby and they are more comfortable with a different type of carrier.  As baby grows different carriers may work better. Etc. Etc.  My biggest mistake with my first child was assuming that the ONE carrier I bought (a HotSling, which is a pouch) would work just fine for both of us all the time.  Turned out she hated it and so did I and I thought that babywearing just didn't work for her.  It wasn't until I was enlightened by other babywearers that I found a carrier that worked for us.

So, my carrier stash includes a Moby (or other type of wrap), BabyHawk Mei Tai (my personal favorite), and a Beco Butterfly II (dh's favorite).  I also have a pouch sling that I stash in the diaper bag for times that I forget my MT and need something.  And I have a CatBird Baby support belt that I added to my MT to give it a padded waist so that it works well when baby is much heavier.  It would be my advice to find a local babywearing group and/or natural parenting store to go try out different carriers and see what you like as well as get tips for proper and varied use.  If nothing exists in your area, I highly recommend watching the DVD Tummy 2 Tummy, which is packed full of useful info about the 4 main types of carriers.

[seraf]

Jamiee, I think you're right about needing more than one. I sure have days where I don't feel like the sling and days where he isn't digging the wrap. fortunately he will always go to sleep on my back. Which I can do with either my short or long.   I haven't tried him in an African back carry yet, and I think he is old enough for it. He isn't real flexible in the hips the way my other two were.