Problems with Maya wrap (ring sling) with newborn

[ATruck]

I was so excited to use my maya wrap with my new baby. However, she hates it. We have watched the video, tried it about 10 times (my husband and I) and she always ends up wadded up- it even changes her breathing. Her neck is bent and she sounds like she can barely breathe. She will tolerate it for a while, but eventually makes it clear that she wants out.

Have others had this problem? Is there another sling that I can use till she is a little bigger? She is small (born 6 weeks early). She is now around 6.5 pounds and is not yet 3 weeks old.

I was thinking of getting a New Native pouch, but I'm not sure if I will just run into the same problem. I would love any advice-- I REALLY want to wear my baby.

[melanie83103]

I'm no expert on baby wearing, but I've read that a sling pillow or a folded up blanket placed under baby in the sling helps...... maybe try that?

I'm looking at getting a stretchy hotsling for my baby after she arrives.... supposed to be easier with newborns than the maya...

Melanie

[summerbabe]

I had the exact same experience with my Maya Wrap sling and was SO bummed out because I really wanted to wear my baby. I did not find a good option for him until he was 6 weeks old. I got a Gypsy Mama Bali Baby Stretch wrap and it is awesome!!!! He loves it, I love it. It takes a little learning to use it but it is not as hard to use wraps as you might think--and now that I am used to it, it is super easy. I wanted a stretchy wrap because with a stretchy one, you can put in on and then take the baby in and out. But if it has too much stretch, it is not supportive enough when the baby gets heavier (I read all this on www.thebabywearer.com). So the Gypsy Mama has enough stretch so you can pop the baby in and out, but much less than the Moby wrap or others, so I hear. My baby is around 16 pounds and it is still the most comfy of all my carriers (I also have a mei tai and a pouch). Hug-a-Bub is also supposed to be good for the same reasons, but is more expensive. You can get both at www.attachedtobaby.com and they have an awesome return policy so you can just try it and see how it works. They also sell a DVD called Tummy to Tummy which has detailed demonstrations of all the carries in all the different carriers. You also might get some tips that would give you more success with the ring sling (although I didn't).

A pouch works well for us now, but I could only use it once my son had the head control for upright carries. He just wouldn't tolerate the cradle position. Now we can also do upright carries in the Maya Wrap, but I never use it because I find the pouch much more comfortable and the ring sling just does not work well for me--no matter how many times I spread out the fabric, it gets bunched up in the rings, and the fine adjustments just drive me nuts.

I also have a BabyHawk mei tai which I like. It is comfortable, but not as comfortable as my wrap. My son loves it. I got it recently, when he had good head control. i don't think I would have been as comfortable with it when he was a newborn with a floppy head, but some people swear by the mei tais for newborns. For me, the main disadvantage of it is that I can't pop him in and out of it. You have to untie and retie, which is a pain. I use it for long walks sometimes if I am not going to take him in and out.

I would get a wrap with some stretch, but not too much stretch. The really stretchy ones will be great now, but won't last when your baby gets heavy.

[JJ'sMom]

We use da sling with DS and I found that if I swaddled him in his blanket first, then he did not get all twisted up as i learned to put him in. That worked for both of us as it was winter. Once I got over the learning curve, I could put him in without a blanket adn he loved it too.

He liked to be slung until he got walking...and now runs everywhere.

Julia

[s_kristina]

What kind of holds have you tried in the sling? My ds never did well in a snuggle hold he would much rather be upright. He also has reflux so I messed around with holds until we had something worked out that was comfortable for us. There is tons of fabric in the Maya Wrap so that might be part of the reason she is getting squished up. You can take the tail of the sling to prop her up a bit more in the sling.

[vermontgirl]

Harvest didnt like the cradle position when he was a newborn or ever really because it made his head arch weirdly. I always put him facing inward in an upright position so that his legs dangled out on the bottom. I tightened it so that it cupped his butt and he couldnt fall out. It enabled him to be comfy with his head on mumas chest. It worked really well and he slept great in that position.

[North_Of_60]

We had the same problem. To this day I still hate my ring sling. I am good at using it, so it's not user error, it's just - awkward. I'm chunky and have big breasts, so if if it's not bunching up in the back, it's pushing on my boobs. And to wear it low enough so that my breasts aren't in the way would make it way too uncomfortable.

DD didn't like it much either. She HATED being in the cradle position, so the only way she liked it was in the kangaroo hold, and even then I had to stay moving. I much prefer my double-shouldered carries, like my wrap or mai tei. She's been in the wrap since she was 7 weeks old, and she LOVED it. The minute I dropped her in it should would zonk out, no matter where I was.

[Snowdrift]

I'm not a huge fan of one-shoulder carries, but one quick fix that worked when DD was a newborn was wearing the rs backwards, with the rings on your back. Impossible to adjust once it is on, but it gave a better cradle-hold, without forcing babe into that scrunched down pose that is so disquieting and uncomfortable.

[mamamaris]

didn't have enough $ at the time to get an extra sling when ds1 was born so i kept trying once a week or so. Finally at 8 weeks my little one loved it and didn't leave until 2.5 y/o!