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We have an Ellaroo wrap - lurv it!! DS was in a Baby Bjorn at first which was great for a newborn, and my husband could carry him in that a lot longer than I could.
The wrap is much more versatile, although I am still trying to get the confidence for the back carries. DS is 15 months now.
what is a hab and where do i get one??
I have used a number of slings with both my bubs and both were big babies.
Ring sling
padded shoulder mesh fabric
Put a lot of weight on one shoulder, by 6mths too heavy to use for long periods. Mesh was slightly cooler but left a grid all over bubs skin. Took a little to get used to but easy to use, easy on and off. limited positions and always worried about cutting off circulation to bubs legs or squashing them
Backpack
quite large and bulky but they have better ones now. At the time only suitable from 6mth. Good storage underneath but hard to get on and off without tipping bub over. Great for active outdoors hiking, sports at festivals/carnivals. worked until 18mths
HAB
Love it, stretchy jersey fabric makes it very cuddly but very hot, could only wear it with aircon on. We tie it on before going out and pop bub in and out.
Wrap
We made our own wrap (same as HAB) out of lighter cotton and are trying out muslin at the moment and it isn't as stretchy but is much cooler. Check out mamatoto dot org for some great instructions on wearing in different positions. Our DD is over 8kg and we still carry her in the newborn (HAB style) but are starting to experiment with hip carry and forward facing. My hubby loves this one too - took him 2 goes to learn how to tie it - he loves all the attention he gets from the women I think
Have fun deciding
Gracie - the Mothers Direct shop in Malvern East sells them. The benefit of buying from them is that the profits go back into the Australian Breastfeeding Association. $112, from memory, but less 10% if you are a subscriber. If you DO subscribe, then you would be in my local group :)
Cricket - there are many websites that outline or go through the benefits of babywearing (with soft cloth slings, not commercial carriers), which may serve to educate your DH and justify the purchase. There is one book I can recommend that should be available where you are (American author), called The Vital Touch by Sharon Heller (pretty sure that's her first name, definitely Heller, though, I cited her in an assignment!), and that book has impacted on me quite strongly (I read it last year and it has served me in two assignments so far, for my psychology degree!). It's a pretty good case for babywearing, co-sleeping and keeping baby close. Otherwise, the many babywearing sites are pretty compelling. There is heaps of literature supporting it, so if you would like me to send you information from academic articles, I can hop onto my uni's database and send you something in a PM? I'd hate for an uneducated DH to stymie a wonderful babywearing relationship when all he needs is a bit of...edumacating!
i've just bought an ergo and cant wait to try it out, hoping it's as easy on the back as everyone says!!
I got the ergo yesterday!! I think its fantastic:D I went for a decent walk this morning & my back was fine, didnt hurt at all. Bodhi slept the whole time. When its on the front, it just as easy to put on as a baby bjorn. My arms are short so its a little more difficult to put on the back for me. I'll keep practicing tho! I fully recomend it or at least just going in & trying it out to see if its for u or not.
Anyhoo thats my 2 cents!:p
thanks mayaness- am thinking of subscribing actually, just need to convince dp to let me use his credit card lol!! so you guys would recommend the hab?? looks like a goer, i was just checking out the different colours....nice
cricket, why dont you look at buying one second hand? There are heaps on ebay :)
I have come across some of the literature on baby-wearing, and it does sound logical to me, but if you have a particular site, or essay to recommend, Mayaness, I'd love to hear about it. By all means, send over a PM. :)
Danni - I have been checking out e-bay recently, and saw one that looked great, and I believe it went for about $35, plus about $8-10 for shipping. I was sorely tempted. But I do want to make sure that DH is supportive of the idea (and that I have done as much research as I can!) before I commit to it. Also, I've never used e-bay before - still figuring that out. (If you have any tips or suggestions to pass along on that topic, please send them over!) I've seen a few being sold out of Australia too, and I always wonder if it's a BB member. :)
My daughter is only 8 weeks old, and we bought a Baby bjorn active. It was expensive (180.00) but so worth it. I only use my pram to go on long walks, but the bjorn for around town, shopping etc. It caters for bubs til about 26lb - whatever the conversion is.
I bought a Baby Bjorn Active, which is supposedly good to use from newborns onwards, presuming they are over 3.5kg - DD was under 2.5, so it was weeks before we could use it. So when she was a newborn we bought a ring sling, which she liked and was really comfortable until she got to about 3.5kg, then it was only good for short walks or around the house. We are now using the Baby Bjorn Active and I think it is brilliant. I can walk around for literally hours without DD getting heavy or hurting my back or anything.
check out the baby wearer website, too. It's a very comprehensive site.
I have a hugabub and love it. It was a bit hot when my DD was born (Feb baby), and it took us a little while to work out how tight/loose it needed to be, but it was great after that.
I must say though that my DD has never really enjoyed the chest-to-chest carry, and it takes a bit of walking around and patting her if I want her to go to sleep. She MUCH prefers the facing-outwards carry so that she can see what's going on around her. So from four months, that's how we've done it.
I take her for long walks in the HAB and have never felt any back problems. I have just ordered a Hotslings fitted pouch sling, as I wanted something I can easily put on to pop her in and out of, and something I can use to carry her on my hip and back. We will probably get an Ergo too, when she gets bigger.
OP tell your DH that all the carriers hold their value really well, so even if you buy one and decide it's not for you, you will be able to sell it for not much below the new price on Ebay.
Hi Lyric,
as I can't PM you yet (get posting to get your count up!!), I'll just tell you here - could you please come back to your post and 'unlink' your link (just type the name of the site without the w's and the dots and the com's) before a moderator finds it and slaps you with an infringment notice (i.e. infraction)? Better still, could you post the link in the 'Websites and Online Stuff' instead (you're allowed to there!)?
I'm going to check it out now, anyway, but thought I'd give you a heads up ;)
Oooh, thank you Mayaness. I didn't know we weren't allowed to show links.
I love your username, Lyric BTW!
you're new, it's hard to get your head around these things...I've been here nearly 2 years and sometimes I get caught out, too :blush:
Just a reminder, forum guidelines are here.