7.5 month old suddenly not wanting to sling?

[Mrs Dimples]

Has this happened to anyone else? My son has practically only gotten out of the sling to get his diaper changed since I bought it 4 months ago, but this week he doesn't like it anymore! I have been using the hip carry, which he will tolerate for a few minutes, but then he arches his back and screams to get out. He wants me to carry him on my hip, just not in the sling! Ack! He's so heavy, plus I miss my little sling buddy! I tried to kangaroo carry him, but he wanted to get out of that after a minute as well. Is this a phase? Will he grow out of it? The stroller is such a pain...

[april77]

DD went through and anti-sling phase. I think it happened around the same time that she started crawling and was good at sitting up in a grocery cart. I just kept trying - slinging and vacuuming (which she loves for some reason) until she wanted out, letting her play and then trying again. One day she was fine with the sling again. She just started walking and that didn't cause the sling problems that crawing did, although she still prefers the grocery cart for at least half the trip. Don't give up yet, hopefully this is just a phase!!

[KoalaMama]

I think this is pretty typical. Is he going through a new developmental stage? That will do it for sure.

As to him wanting to be carried but not in a sling... You can set a boundary there if you want. Basically explain to him that if he wants to be carried it has to be in the sling, then put him in. If he wants out then put him down. He wants up, put him back in and explain it again. And so on. He'll realize that "up" means sling. (Of course, I'm assuming here that you mean he wants to stay up and be carried for a while without a sling. If it's just the up-down-up-down thing, then maybe you're happy to just carry him for a couple minutes that way.)

Not to worry... before you know it he'll be velcro sling baby again!

[Mrs Dimples]

Thanks ladies. He is not crawling yet but has just become proficient at sitting, and he is starting to scoot backwards, etc. So he is approaching a whole bunch of milestones...I figured it was something to do with that. And yes, he does want to be carried on my hip all day long but not in the sling anymore. I think we may go ahead and set a boundary there because I need my hands occasionally and my poor puny biceps can't take it!

[Tupelo Honey]

Making sure he's as comfy as possible in the hip carry may help too. Make sure the fabric is all the way down to the back of his knees and that his bum is a bit lower than his knees, so he's really sitting down into the fabric.

[Mrs Dimples]

Update

Just a little update - after a few days and one visit to the doctor to make sure my son's very marked irritability wasn't due to any illness, like an ear infection or something, I am happy to report that it appears his mood swing was the result of heavy-duty teething and he is now back in the sling and happy as a clam. Thanks to those who offered advice, I'm so relieved to have my happy sling-baby back!