My pocket sling (otherwise known as ring sling) was one the best things I ever bought. Renee, have a look in the Babywearing forum, there are some great threads there discussing different types. Also, if you are going to be in Brissy at any point, there is a fabulous lady who sells hundreds of different types and you can try them all as well to see what is comfortable for you and easy to use. If you look up carryingaway in google, it should come up. This woman is amazing and she runs workshops too. Well worth a visit. A good babysling is going to make your life SO much easier.
And if you have a second, a sling is even MORE important.....
I love my baby bjorn and its been used everyday for the past 9 and a half months. I'm starting to look into buying a sling now though as the baby bjorn is starting to hurt my shoulders.
Check out ebay as they have some great slings. I'm considering the peanut shell sling.
We used a baby bjorn with DD (we got the "active" one with better back support than the original) & it was great. We've kept it for this bubs aswell. DH was still wearing DD in the baby bjorn when she was close to one!
This time round I bought a hug a bub off ebay as I've heard so many great stories of using them when bubs is a newborn so this is what I'll be trying (obvioulsy haven't tried it yet but looking forward to it in the coming days!) DH will prob stick with the baby bjorn as he loved it so much.
DH broke his back in 2001 which is the main reason we got the baby bjorn ACTIVE & he never had any probs with his back while carrying DD in it over all thos months
Renstar I.ve just bought a Jazsling off ebay tonight. It looks similar to a peanut shell though. I was also looking at the bubba rocks ones aswell but they look a bit too complicated for me. I'll let you know how the sling goes when it arrives.
Ren, two good points of reference are thebabywearer dot com (US based babywearing forum with excellent info - including reviews on many carriers and For Sale or Trade boards).
Another point of reference is baby-carriers-downunder dot com. It's an Aussie babywearing group that has a google discussion group. The founder and majority of members are in Brissy, they have regular meetups and have a loaners database.
Ring slings (eg: ellaroo, maya wrap, bear hug baby) are great for newborn carrying and bf-ing, and are adjustable, whereas a pouch (eg: hotslings, peanut shell) is sized to the wearer. Correct fit is important for comfort, so you cannot try on a pouch when pregnant. They are also no good if your partner wants to wear it and is of a different size to you. Some ring slings are supportive enough for extended wear (eg: heavier babies/toddlers and long carries) but many aren't, especially those with lighter fabrics; this is where two shouldered carriers are useful, particularly those with waist bands.
Ergos are one type of SSC (soft structured carrier). There are other types which use a similar waist band style (eg: Beco, Patapum), and others which use a mei tai style waist (eg: Connecta, Pikkolo), except with buckles instead of tie straps. Babyhawk, catbirdbaby and Kozy are some good examples of mei tais.
Stretch wraps (eg: hug-a-bub, moby) are great for newborn carries - they are soft, snuggly and wonderful when you have a velcro baby that never wants to be put down. They do take longer to put on, and have a higher learning curve, but the comfort factor is considered worth it. Woven wraps (eg: didymos, storchenweige, vatanai, hoppediz) are great for older babies / toddlers as they offer much more support than a stretchy wrap, but they are much more expensive.
Some BB threads which you might find useful:
here is a thread that I posted in recently which gave a comparison of stretchy wraps & ring slings.
Here and here are threads with lots of info on the benefits of Ergos.
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VERY helpful posts I really appreciate the feedback and recommendations!
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