Babywearing Post – By Request

You must get either a good ring sling or pouch sling!

When Taite was 1st born I used a zolowear sling that my friend Lis loaned me. I loved it. BUT the shoulder for me wasnt the most comfortable. I have since discovered some other great slings that I ended up getting after trying Lis’ and they are by fav my fav’s.

Fantastic home made ring slings! THIS IS MY FAVORITE RING SLING. The shoulder is incredible… cups you perfectly in all the right spots. It threads easily and its light weight. I have her 200tc muslin ring sling.. she also will custom make yours to fit you.. since im short mine isnt as long as most traditional ring slings.

If you’d like email Kim KimzKreations[at]gmail[dot]com
If you mention me she will give you 5% off your order!

For the summer I really enjoyed the Wallababy solarveil slings… but honestly if I could get this made by Kim, id go with her instead… I just love Kims shoulder so much.. but if you liked some of the Wallababy slings prints, they are very nice as well.

These are formally known as NEST SLINGS… they are by far the PRETTIEST slings Ive used… so well made. I own the Cherry Bomb one and love it.. I look forward to using it more with our 3rd baby (whenever that day happens). The only negative I have is that her slings are very long.. so if you are short like me (5 foot 2) get her to shorten the tail of the sling.

If you arent into the TAILS on ring slings… but still like the idea of adjusting a sling with the ring.. theres the option of the closed tail ring sling. I really love this sling as well. It has a very light padded railing and shoulder.. nothing overly bulky. Its very very comfortable! The only down fall to this carrier is the ring size. When you order them the rings are small, IMO… and I prefer a medium sized ring. So for me I replaced the ring myself by ordering a set of aluminum size medium sling rings from www.slingrings.com.. you just undo the ring from the sling and sew the new one back in.. if you know anyone that can sew its easily done. My mom did mine :) Great sling tho, very easy to use. Very affordable as well.

Also owned by a friend of mine! Man I got some cool babywearing sling makers :)

Farrah’s slings are made with a different shoulder though. Its actually similar to the Nest slings, some what. I love all her fun fabrics… the fabrics are a nice thin batik which is great for summer. My only negative was the shoulder wasnt AS comfortable as some of the other slings. Hers was very similar to the zolowear slings though.

Beautiful beautiful fabrics… wow.. you will fall in love with them. I did. These are very expensive though… if you can afford them thats great.. but I want to be totally honest here. I did not like her shoulder at all. The shoulder on hers was just ok… and to me if you are going to pay $90.00 for a sling.. it should be perfect. Also on her site you will see her slings with the tail of the fabric matching the body of the fabric… its a little deceptive though. Her fabrics arent a batik fabric.. which is ok.. but in this case when you thread your sling… the tail of the sling is like an inside out shirt… it doesnt match. What I found worked was you could twist the sling and create the illusion … and so it looked like the fabric was the same on both sides.

In the photo to the right that is what I did…

But heres what it will look like if you do not twist the fabric…

I loved the fabric so much though… that I got someone to re-do the shoulder to my liking.. so now the shoulder is like the KimzKreations slings :)

Beautiful Ring Slings. Work great! Comfortable. A little expensive. My only problem is the tails are longer (to long for me) and the fabric is a little to thick. I think if you can find one that is single layer (I know they make them) and ask them to shorten the tail, then this would be a great choice. They are soooo pretty!

Ring slings are great for short trips with toddlers to a bank… or something like that..

As well as church! I used our ring sling for church almost every sunday until Taite was 1 1/2 or so.

After being introduced to ring slings I very soon realized the need for something that goes over BOTH shoulders. When a newborn hits about 13 lbs… you feels the strain from wearing after about 30 minutes in a sling. That is when I invested in a Moby Wrap.

I do even own the children’s moby wrap :) that my kids occasionally use. Heres Taite wearing Tyron the Backyardigan.

Adorable huh? :)

So! Favorite wraps...

If you have a newborn-6 mo. old this is by far the more comfortable wrap. Its buttery soft… feels great! It is very similar to the Moby wrap.. and I have a special place in my heart for the Moby, since it was my 1st wrap… but since being introduced to the Sleepywraps… Id say go with one of those instead. They come in some awesome colors! :) I should know.. I photographed every single color they offer for them just recently.

My friend Becky just so happens to sell Bundleboos :)

Bundleboos are woven wraps. They arent as soft as a stretchy wrap.. but they do hold their shape very well. You wont experience any sagging babies in this style wrap. I would say though that I prefer these for babies over 6 months… if not a little older. The cool thing with these are the patented safety seat they created. The wrap has holes in the center for the babies legs… so if you arent a pro babywearer… and feel uneasy throwing your baby on the back without any security… than you may want to give the Bundleboo a try 1st, before investing in a wrap like the Didymos (a german woven wrap that will set you back a good 75-150.00).

Honestly I have no clue where this wrap came from. I want to say Hug-a-bug wraps?? I lost contact with them (their fault) after they shipped it to me for a giveaway… and never heard back. So I cant recall thats the site or not. None the less… its a Guaze Wrap. These are sold by many companies… and are an alternative to the more expensive Woven Wraps. I found them to be really fun… but not the most comfortable. The fabric I felt cut into me in places … where the woven Bundleboo or Sleepywrap didnt. I hear though that Gauze wraps are the wraps for summer :) So maybe I just didnt try long enough.

I have also tried the DIDYMOS wraps at a babywearing group I use to go 2… amazing wraps…

Well worth the money if you have it. I didnt have it :)

But I might invest in one with another child… they are amazing.

The photo of me using this orange wrap… was my 1st experience with the Didymos :) this ones the MARTIN pattern… Had I had money at the time, that would of been mine haha.

I discovered Mei Tais after Wraps :)

The reason being was that wraps for me got so hot! Even the thinner ones. That and at one point I felt like I needed something with less wrapping… although a Mei Tai uses similar techniques… it wasnt as overwelming to learn.

I still love wraps.. but if you think that would be to hard for you.. try the Mei Tai…

I love love love my babyhawk. Very well made. The straps are the perfect length.. the body is the perfect size. I do though recommend Mei Tais for babies over 6 mo. old. I did not like the Mei Tai for Taite until he was a little older. Just because the body of the Mei Tai seemed to cut into his legs.

An Etsy Mama :) Home made with lots of love. These Mei Tais are very simple but so nice. Very affordable. They also come with a cute little bag to carry it in. I would love to get another more girly one, if I ever had a girl.

A more wrap like Mei Tai. This Mei Tai doesn thave padded straps. The straps are made out of a heavy duty fabric with a wider strap. Making it really supportive! I do however prefer this one more for front carrying.. I just didnt seem to like the whole “wraps over the boob” deal :)

But I hear a lot of women do.. so if you do, this would be a great option for that.

#4: Kozy Mei Tai

Id say my least favorite.. but not a bad mei tai. I loved the body… it was larger so it worked great for toddlers.. but the straps were angled kind of funny. Still well made.. just prefer the others over this one. Also the straps are shorter.. so if you like to wrap the straps more like me.. get the XL straps.

If you have time, make your own Mei tai!! I have.. theres lots of patterns online… The one in this photo is the Scandi Mei Tai, click here to view the pattern.

I have only tried two pouch slings…

I lovedddd this pouch sling. Worked beautifully!! So easy to use. I gave it to a friend and am kicking myself.. cause I miss it LOL. I will def. have to look into one like this again for the future.

Got this one for a review.. its nice if you want multiple people to be able to use it.. since most pouches are fitted… but for me I prefer the fitted pouch slings.. But this one wasnt bad, just not my preference.

If you have a husband… or don’t like straps :) You need a good structured carrier.

If you own a snugli or baby bjorn.. take it to goodwill.. better yet, burn it. Sorry, no offense, LOL.. I hated those tho! (You can read why HERE) I owned a snugli with Caleb and because of it had no interest in babywearing because it was so uncomfortable for me… and Caleb.

I LOVEEEE the Beco carriers. By far my favorite Structured carrier so far. The insert inside it for newborns is fantastic… it is by far the easiest carrier to get on and off. Works beautifully and is sooo comfortable.

Love the Patapum. Very comfortable. I actually have it loaned out right now to Brittany at 4 little Men and Twins. Its a great carrier and fits women really well. I really loved the padded waist it had.

My husband favorite, by far! He calls it the manly carrier.. because its black and has buckles :) He will wear this.. and only this carrier. He refuses to wear my pretty Beco :) even though I know he’d love it once he had it on.. The Ergo though fits him VERY WELL. Its comfortable and easy to use. For me the Ergo was a bit large for my frame.. but im petite. It fits Travis like it was made for him!

So Id say if your a smaller woman… go with the Patapum or Beco :)

If you have a husband or are over 5 foot 5… get the Ergo AND beco ;-)

OK! SOoooo Thats a lot of information :)

I have many babywearing post on my blog… you can view all of them by CLICK HERE… at the end of the post you can click “older post” to view even more. Theres tons!

Oh and you can view many more of my babywearing photos HERE on my flickr album.

To end… My list of what I would buy if you only wanted 1 of each :)

1: Kimz Kreation Ring Sling

2: Babyhawk with Headrest Mei Tai

3: Beco Butterfly structured Carrier

4: Sleepywrap

Now one of my all time fav. babywearing pictures :) Its old and not a great quality photo.. but its just sooo special to me!

For more info on Babywearing I suggest joining The Babywearer!