Recommend a Baby Carrier/Sling

Irish Gunner

Hi

Ok junior due to pop his or hers head out soon and we think we have everything. However we never considered a baby carrier/Sling. We are both 6ft and are looking for one that's easy on the back and nothing to difficult.

With Sterling weak at the moment was looking at ordering online.

Don't know where to start or what to look for when buying. Be good also when we are travelling.

So any good recommendations or is it better to wait until Junior comes out and take it from there?

Cheers

jlm29

Irish Gunner wrote: »

Hi

Ok junior due to pop his or hers head out soon and we think we have everything. However we never considered a baby carrier/Sling. We are both 6ft and are looking for one that's easy on the back and nothing to difficult.

With Sterling weak at the moment was looking at ordering online.

Don't know where to start or what to look for when buying. Be good also when we are travelling.

So any good recommendations or is it better to wait until Junior comes out and take it from there?

Cheers

Your best bet is to go to a sling meet, or a 1:1 sling consult, and see what suits.
There's also a national sling library, that you can hire from to try out a few things (wait times can be long for the more popular ones, so you could apply for a few of these now).
I have a kibi, and I love it, but it's only suitable from 4-6 mo onwards. I also have a connecta, which is suitable from birth- I love it less, but I'm tolerating it until he fits the kibi.
A friend of mine has a kokadi flip, and loved it, suitable from birth. The new Tula free to grow is getting good reviews too.

I'm biased towards buckle carriers- I've never tried wraps or ring slings, But plenty people love them too!

scarepanda

We have 2, an ergo and the baby Bjorn original. I can't put on the ergo as there's just to many straps and very awkward with a baby. But I absolutely love the baby Bjorn!

I'm a short arse, but the baby Bjorn is so easy to wear with great back support (I don't have the strongest of backs and have had no issues). It's also so easy to put on and take off and so easy to adjust which is handy if both of you will be using it.

We got the carrier as a present when bubs was born, but I was very sceptical about it so didn't start wearing our LO till she was about 7 months old, so no experience about wearing a newborn. My LO is very small though and from that side of things I'd have no issues with a smaller sized baby. I do plan on wearing bubs #2 if and when they come along.

I would advise on investing in a carrier cover though, as it's harder to keep bubs wrapped up in the carrier. We have a bundle bean cover. It's not perfect but I love it. It's water proof (as opposed to weather resistant like most covers), it has a fleece lining so it's cozy and we also use it as a footmuff for our buggy.

January

It's such a personal choice. I used ring slings and soft structured carriers but I know loads who used stretchy wraps and woven wraps too. My suggestion would be to have a sling consult (if you're near South Dublin or Kildare, then I can highly recommend Rachel at Sleepydust Slings for a consult) before baby arrives so you know what suits and what is comfortable.

scarepanda

jlm29 wrote:

I have a kibi, and I love it, but it's only suitable from 4-6 mo onwards. I also have a connecta, which is suitable from birth- I love it less, but I'm tolerating it until he fits the kibi. A friend of mine has a kokadi flip, and loved it, suitable from birth. The new Tula free to grow is getting good reviews too.

Jlm29, can I ask what you do/don't like about your carriers? As ive said love the baby Bjorn, but as it was given to us Iv never had to look into X,y&z of the different carriers

Digs

I'd definitely echo the pp and try a sling library when baba arrives. Great service, very knowledgeable people on hand to help and super cheap.

I've had a few, it's a personal choice really. Didn't like the stretchy or ring slings (I know some who love them!), had an ergo I didn't like. We now have an Isara for our second baby and I adore it, now she's 1 we can back wear which my husband likes. I'm 5ft8 and he's 6ft and we find it very comfortable. It was one of the ones the library sent me originally to try, would really recommend trying a few.

Irish Gunner

Thanks for the replies

I like the look of the Baby Bjorn and will look at the sling library also think the nearest to us is in Malahide based on what I see at

http://www.babywearingireland.ie/

Never knew these existed so that's new

Cheers

mrsmags16

I had a Caboo Lite for when he was a newborn, lovely and soft and very easy to pop into one-handed. Can also be used to breastfeed in a side wearing position. It was all material so easy to wash.
We use a Mamas and Papas Morph now - baby is nearly 4mo and quite 'sturdy'. It is more structured and like Baby Bjorn. Husband wears the M/L brace and he is 6'4" and finds it very comfortable.

fits

Husband is 6'2 and we use a kibi and a connecta. Love both of them. The kokadi looks gorgeous for a newborn. Recommend a sling consultation

jlm29

scarepanda wrote: »

Jlm29, can I ask what you do/don't like about your carriers? As ive said love the baby Bjorn, but as it was given to us Iv never had to look into X,y&z of the different carriers

Scare panda, I'm no expert!
I'm not a big sling user- I use the buggy more, while I know other people who loved slings so much they rarely used a buggy.
I love the kibi for its longevity! Have been using it since he was 5mo, he's 21 mo now, and I'd say there's another year in it, if we wanted it. He's big for his age (just about as tall as my friends 3 and a half year old girl). I carried him up a mountain on my back recently, and can honestly say it was no harder than just walking up on my own. It's very comfy because it's ergonomic. its easy to put on. For front carries I like that I can cross the straps behind. I can swing him around onto my back easily enough (though when people observe me doing this, they feel compelled to help, so I must look very awkward when I'm doing it!).
I like the pattern too, which I know is probably not that important!
I like the connecta because I don't need an insert to use it with my smallie. It's also very light (no padding really) so I can stick it in the pocket of the buggy, just in case!
I used a borrowed baby bjorn for a short time, and found it wasn't very comfy (my baby was big though!). It's not ergonomic (the one I used wasn't anyhow, I think they have a new version out now). Babyies should be supported knee to knee in a sling- its more comfortable for the wearer, and I'd imagine more comfortable for the baby too.
A good sling will also follow the TICKS guidelines, for safety!

rainbow kirby

I used a stretchy wrap in the early days and later a Connecta and Manduca. My son is 17 months now and he goes in back carries in the Manduca mostly.

Moonbeam

I have had a few slings over the years.
There is a baby wearing iIeland Facebook page,it is well worth joining.

This is a fabulous resource for safe baby wearing - http://www.beststart.org/bcpresources2016/handouts_for_parents/PQCHC_TICKS-RuleForSaveBabyWearing%20(English).pdf


I loved my ring sling but had full buckles too.