Anyone have any experience with these? I'm going to be a mom in a few months for the first time and I'm thinking I like the idea and may get or make one.
Ooo, slings are one of my favorite subjects There are quite a few out there, but I'll like you to my favorite: The Wrap: http://mamatoto.org/Default.aspx?tabid=121 I'm going to be using (trying anyway) the pouch sling in just a week for my new babe. I think it might eb easier for a newborn, but the wrap is AWESOME for infants and toddlers in my opinion. The Pouch: http://mamatoto.org/Default.aspx?tabid=123 Congrats on the baby
I have a Mei Tei and I love it!!! We had a pouch sling for when she was a wee babe, but the Mei Tei works better for the older babe.
Thanks so much guys! I just realized I have a beautiful sarong that would be perfect for using as a kind of wrap/sling. I don't know what a Mei Tei is, but I'll look it up...
I second MeiTeis and pouches are great too. Different babies like different typrs of slings! Here is a link to a cool site that sells them in very cool fabrics and she gives you pictured instructions on how to use them! www.bellalinabambina.com
I loved my baby carrier slings and I'd definitely recommend any mama to have one. I wish my kids were still small enough to carry around like that, but alas, my twins are almost 3 and over 30 pounds each (can you imagine wearing them both on you? 60 pounds of baby!) and of course my 6 year old son...yeah, that would be a bit weird, not to mention impossibly difficult.
I made my own sling and it turned out pretty good. Skye didn't like it though so I ended up giving it away, last I heard though, the person I gave it to liked it and it worked fine for them. It wasn't hard to make.
I make slings too (and sell them sometimes, but mostly it's a hobby). I much prefer a simple, unpadded ring sling with a pleated shoulder. My youngest still sometimes nurses in the sling, and she's 2.5 now. I carried older sis in one even when I was 38 weeks pregnant with the little one. I find, with my bad back, that it is much easier for me to carry my kids in a sling than without one, no matter how big they get. ...speaking of which, I really have to get to dying some fabric for a friend who has requested another sling in a different color... they are really easy to make if you have a sewing machine, two and a half yards of any fabric (but the lightest weight woven cotton muslin works best in my experience, then you can tie-dye it any color you want) and some rings. I use a variation of the MayaWrap pattern, which can be found at http://www.mayawrap.com/sewSling.shtml or http://www.slingmemommy.com/ or http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/index.html?Baby/sling.html. I prefer this last one, as the pleated shoulder is much more comfortable and spreads the weight across your back instead of your shoulder and neck, but have adjusted the pattern and instructions as I made more slings to do what works best for me and my kiddos.
I liked Over the Shoulder Baby Holder or Maya Wraps. You want to make sure, if you are using a home made sling, that they are very safe and sturdy. A LLL group got sued in the 80s when someone wasn't paying attention, and a sling they made had a seam rip and a baby fell out. LLL then stopped making slings for a way to make money and went to already made slings. They can be made well, but you have to be careful. mamaboogie, if you are making and selling them, make sure you have liability insurance, if the LLL group hadn't had insurance, they would have been in deep trouble, when the accident happpened.
there are no seams to rip, there is no way anyone could possibly break one of my slings without using a knife or scissors. The shoulder is attached in such a way that even if half the threads broke, it would still hold about 100 pounds of weight no problem. I don't sell them commercialy, just to friends and people I know. thanks, though, that was a concern when I pondered the idea of opening my own internet business, why I didn't do it. But anyone can find ring slings to purchase online, some of them are very nice.
I have one of those "industrial carriers" and oh loardy, that thing has so many gizmos and gadgets I can't even begin to descibe it! I'm still discovering new things after almost 6 months of using it. Not to mention Leane sits REALLY low on my back and I hate that. It also squishes my boobs together so that I look like Dolly Parton.... I'm thinkin today I'm going to sew one of the mei teis! The carrier that we have can be worn in 3 different positions, and the 2 ways that one is worn is the same way that she likes to be worn. Her favorite is on my back. I've got this really thick, strong fabric and some powerful thread and a great zig zag stitch on my sewing machine, so I think that I found today's project! Thanx for those links! They're great!
Sounds like you've done a good job! Once, years ago, when slings were hard to come by and I didn't have one, my now 17 year old dd was a toddler, and was really sick and I couldn't put her down, so I just took a sheet from a long twin bed and tied it around me, and put her in it. It worked, and like your design, there was nothing to rip. I'm glad you came up with a good idea. There is a mama on an other thread thinking of good easy craft ideas for a freind who is having a baby. Maybe you could post your idea in her thread! That would be great! http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155525
