HELP! First pregnancy and need a good first time sling - Page 2

[Kristine233]

I think an unpadded ring sling is a good first sling. With a good shoulder they are comfy and easy. There are lot sof places that make inexpensive yet high quality ones. www.sleepingbaby.net (SBP) for example makes great ones. If you can try finding a second hand sling. Theres a Babywearing FSOT board on Yahoo groups, a FSOT board at thebabywearer and FSOT board here that all usually have a variety of carriers available. Goodluck!

[mommy2girlies]

i hear the ring slings work great, but im only 4'11" and the tail would be dragging on the ground on me!! thats why i like the pouch (hotslings) cuz there's not extra material. very streamlined.

[Krisa]

Originally Posted by loudmama

I REALLY reccommend the Kangeroo Korner Fleece Pouch. I work at pregnancy-early parenting store & this is by far our best selling baby carrier. It is VERY easy to use! Just go to www.kangerookorner.com.

I second this. After all my problems getting started babywearing - this was our savior! It is abbreviated KKAFP, it is an adjustable pouch.

Good luck to you!

[Kristine233]

Originally Posted by mommy2girlies

i hear the ring slings work great, but im only 4'11" and the tail would be dragging on the ground on me!! thats why i like the pouch (hotslings) cuz there's not extra material. very streamlined.

Many slings are sized so you can have a shorter tail. If you order from a WAHM they will size it down as well for you.

[tgrlilly]

We love our Wise Woman Slings
(By way of disclosure Jeni is a dear friend and gave us our first sling when ds was born)
His dad has used it from about day 5 on and I have used it from about 10 weeks on - I just held him mostly until then.

It is sturdy, washable, and easily adjustable depending on who is carrying ds. It has held up to 17 months of constant use!

Happy Babywearing!!

[cvcraven]

I've been lurking for awhile, but never posted here... I just wanted to offer a quick warning about ebay... There are alot of WAHM carriers on ebay that are great, but just as many that are horrible!! :
I wasted a lot of $$ before I understood which ones were good. PLease check out the reviews on thebabywearer.com website before buying. If they aren't listed, I wouldn't take my chance on it as a first time slinging mom. An experienced BWer would know if it was bad, but you may not. Then you could have your baby in an unsafe carrier, or it may not wear right so you'll give up and quit wearing them..

Okay.. getting off of my soap box now. LOL

Good luck and Happy Babywearing!

[jimi bell]

If you are going to be in Japan with your baby there are lots of great things there too.
Like pp mentioned, the cloth diapers are wonderful, easily available and inexpensive.
There is a store called "AkaChan Honpo". It's Japan's version of Babies R Us, only better. It is THE place to buy baby goods at a reasonable price...I bought a lot of essentials there. Otherwise the other places (dept stores and boutiques) have absolutely gorgeous and high quality stuff but are quite expensive (except when they have sales).
The stuff at Aka Chan Honpo is pretty good quality too!
Also, in Japan the govt pays to have facilities for moms with their babes to go to. They're great. It's usually in some kind of public bldg (school or something) and they have a ton of toys and women there who just hang out and watch the children and chat with the moms. Definately a great place to go to meet other moms...they're called "kuminkan" and you should find them all over the place...
I like the Native Baby Carrier for when the baby is little. there is no adjusting, you just slip the baby in. And they have organic ones too.
but as the babe gets older I think the NBC will be too small.
I just ordered the Wise Woman Sling (I ordered a silk and hemp one, yummy!)
the prices are good too.
good luck..(I lived in Japan for 7 years so if you have any questions, ask)

[JenniferC]

I went with a Kangaroo Korner adjustable fleece pouch for my first pregnancy, nobrainer sling, you just throw the baby in and go! I found ring slings trickier to get used to and use, for my second bebe she'll likely be in the ring sling, but now I know more of what I'm doing!

[mamajenmac]

love my sling!

I've got a great sling - thin fabrics w/rings that can be pulled tightly keeping babe close - and know of two places that you can purchase them: www.kangarookidsonline.com sells slings in prints and solids AND one made just for wearing baby in the water.
www.sugarbums.com sells great quality slings as well for a great price AND ones made from SolarVeil, a fabric that blocks UVA & UVB rays with wicking props as well.
Both locations also sell slings for sibs' baby dolls/animals, and both are made by WAHMs!

[PinkTerrier]

Slings & Pouches - Maya, KKAFP, Hotslings

I have LOTS of different slings and the Maya Wrap requires the most adjustment and fiddling of any of them. The steel rings are relatively heavy and the fabric constantly slips through the rings so I constantly have to readjust it. I've never had this problem with any of my other ring slings (TaylorMade, KangarooKorner, Moms In Mind, Wise Woman, Sachi, OTSBH).

For the simplest, non-fiddly, no-to-low learning curve baby carrier, I'd recommend a pouch -- either a Kangaroo Korner Adjustable Fleece Pouch (www.kangarookorner.com) or a Hotslings (www.hotslings.com or www.carrymeaway.com (in NC)), or if you're going to breastfeed or would prefer a ring sling for some other reason then either a very lightly padded Ellaroo ring sling (www.carrymeaway.com (in NC)) or a Moms In Mind (www.momsinmind.com) ring sling. I think they're really nice, well functioning ring slings. There is a learning curve for ring slings; it took me quite awhile to figure out how to use it well. Ring slings need to be threaded through the rings properly, which isn't hard to do, but takes a little practice. Pouches can just be popped over your head and onto your shoulder.

It's a lot easier if someone can show you how to use a baby carrier in person, easier than online videos or printed instructions. I see that you, like me, live in North Carolina. If you're anywhere near the Triangle area, you might want to check out www.trianglebabywearers.com which is a free group that has a Yahoo forum http://groups.yahoo.com/group/trianglebabywearers/ and a forum at www.thebabywearer.com (you have to register for the site, but it's free). We just had a great NINO (baby carrier users http://www.nineinnineout.org/) meeting (free) where lots of people shared and got to try out lots of different baby carriers. Many people there would be happy to help you out. You could come to a meeting and try some carriers out in person before buying one.

Good luck!
Mary

[lisalulu]

I also have a Rosado sling and loved it for the first three months. I wore my son in it for large portions of the day. He did most of his napping in it and I could do all kinds of chores around the house. As he got heavier, my back started bothering me too much to wear it-I have a bad back. I then bought a Moby Wrap and found it took a bit of time to figure out. My son didn't seem to care for it as well either so it didn't get used very much. Although I have met a couple moms who adore their Moby Wraps. I am currently using an Ergo Baby Carrier but mainly for walking around the neighborhood. I still haven't mastered geting on by myself yet!

[tingras]

don't get lost in babycarrier land!

There are so many options for baby carriers, it's easy to get lost in choices. It was mentioned previously, but the best resource to really compare and learn about carriers is http://www.thebabywearer.com. I would highly recommend joining and then taking a look at the "babywearers near you" section of the forum to see if you can hook up with a bw educator or a more experienced babywearer that has a "stash" you can play with! Some of us more "zealous" babywearers have many, many, MANY carriers. I personally also teach bw classes in the Buffalo, NY area so if you'd like to email me please feel free! If you can't find a class or educator in your area, a great way to help learn babywearing is the new Babywearing DVD called Tummy 2 Tummy--it's pretty comprehensive. http://www.tummy2tummy.com

BTW, Tupelo Honey's SlingSet pouches are WONDERFUL if you want a soft pouch that's not as heavy as fleece but softer and stretchier than cotton. http://www.theslingset.com

[MeditativeMama]

The best baby sling in the world!

Hi! The very best sling in my opinion is made by Heart 2 Heart in Canada. The padding is nice and thick on the shoulder and they use enough material to make it comfy. I've tried many other brands (which will remain nameless!) and I always went back to this one. Here is their website: www.heart2heart.on.ca/index.html

Good luck!

[Tupelo Honey]

That's a very padded sling, which many people find difficult to adjust properly for upright carries. If you like the idea of padding under the rings though, there's the less-padded, open-tailed Mother's Helper.

Here's a helpful thread showing the different shoulder styles of various brands, including Mother's helper.

[reilly's momma]

I think one of the easiest first carriers is a ring sling. Pouches are great, but they have to be sized properly, so you usually cannot share it with another person, (unless you are both the same size) and if your size changes, or as your babe grows, you may find yourself needing a different size. So my vote would be for an unpadded ring sling to start. As you get the hang of babywearing & as your kiddo gets older, you may want to check out wraps & mei-teis too.