Newborn carries for newbies

[prettyisa]

Hi everyone! I hope you can help me with some really basic beginner's advice. I'm going to have my first (any day now!) and am sold on babywearing, but have no idea where to start. I read through some of the other threads on newborn carries, but some of them are older and I don't know if the safety standards have changed, so I thought I'd just ask again and hope you'll forgive me for covering old ground.

I have a whole bunch of different carriers--a moby, some pouch carriers, a Boba, a baby bjorn, something else similar to those that I can't remember the name of. I'm also open to getting a ring sling and/or woven wrap, or making mei tais (fabric or liquid!) , so ideas using those would be great, too.

What I would LOVE is some ideas on the best holds to get me started. And instructions on how to get into them. So any links to step-by-step instructions on how to do certain holds would be absolutely amazing. I'm a little nervous about getting this teeny little person and then shoving them into uncomfortable positions because I don't know what I'm doing...

Thanks so much! I'm off to go bug the cloth diapering folks...

[mambera]

You sound pretty well prepared!  For a newborn I would stick with the Moby.  Do you have the directions that came with it?  If not I think they are available on the Moby website. 

http://www.mobywrap.com/t-instructions.aspx

I think most people use the front wrap cross carry for a newborn, with legs froggied up inside the pocket.  I think it would be hard to do something damaging or uncomfortable for the baby in the Moby because it's all just soft stretchy fabric, nothing to bind or poke the baby or force its position in any way.

I haven't used a pouch sling myself but I hear there is a lot of variety, some of the less well designed ones can apparently compress the baby's airway or block airflow into the pouch so just be aware of that issue.  Haven't used a Boba either but generally soft structured carriers are better for slightly older babies, not so useful for newborns as the baby swims in the carrier.  I don't like the Bjorn at all, you'll hear a lot about how the position is not good for the baby's hips/spine, I haven't got an opinion on that but I do think it just looks uncomfortable.

I think after a few weeks you will figure out what you do and don't like about the Moby, and then if you want to buy something else you can consider it at that point.   (Eg you may find that all the fabric and wrapping is too cumbersome for you, in which case you might want to try your Boba or a mei tai when baby is a bit bigger; or you might find that you love wrapping, in which case you could consider a woven wrap once the baby gets too heavy for the Moby.)

In terms of other carriers, my personal bias is I do think ring slings are super useful and they really do go from birth to toddlerhood (unlike pretty much any other carrier besides a woven wrap), they are super easy and discreet to nurse in.  Indispensable for short errands but the one-shoulder carry gets painful after a longer period.  I have been through a number of carriers but overall the most useful ones for me have been the ring sling and the wrap.

congratulations on your upcoming babe!

[cat13]

pretty much everything mambera said!

I say just start out with 1 or 2 carriers that you like (like a moby or ring sling) and practice, practice, practice. I watched a ton of videos online and would try them out when baby was well fed and well napped.

[glassesgirlnj]

Our newborn enjoyed the Sleepy Wrap, which I understand is very similar to the Moby Wrap (so I guess this is a  to what Mambera said about the Moby).  

She also liked being froggied in a Kozy mei tai for the first few weeks - HOWEVER, she went through a phase with the mei tai where froggying was no longer comfortable, and she wasn't big enough for legs-out yet. Now, at four months, she seems to like the mei tai again.  But it sounds like you have a bunch of other carriers, so it won't be a problem if she rejects the mei tai for a while!