Hello, my MIL is wanting to buy a sling for her niece who just had a baby and asked me to look into one for her. I had a Maya wrap (wring sling) for my now 3 year old and liked it but since then I have seen women with the one piece slings without the rings or tails, they are just one piece of stretchy material sewn at the end like a big tube. I had asked a couple of women awhile ago if they liked them and they seemed to. Is anyone here able to tell me if they liked the maya wrap or this stretchy one with no rings better and what the name of it is? I liked the Maya but the tail seemed to always be in the way, unless I was nursing and then it kind of came in handy and the material was an unbleached cotton so it didn't stretch a lot and meld to our bodies very well which means I needed to continually adjust it and it seemed the rings would dig in to my shoulder more often than not. Any info/opinions/referrals for baby wraps would be appreciated. I would also like to buy from a local maker, if you know of one in the area that sews baby slings.
I just wanted to add that my MIL and her niece both live in Canada so I can't take her to try one on...I can only have her measured as I plan to order the sling from here and have it mailed to her...
Thank you K. H.
Like the other moms I have to go with the Kangaroo Korner sling. I bought mine from the lady at a local craft fair and I LOVE IT!! My son was older when I bought it so I never got to try some of the positions for newborns, but look forward to it with the next baby. Good luck!
I got a great sling from target.com that I have loved. If you search hot slings you will be able to check them out. They DVD with explanation is not great, but even so, the sling is pretty easy to figure out. It is one piece of fabric and my little one loves it. She is only 2 months old, but there are multiple positions so it will grow with her. There are tons of great prints too.
I didn't like my Hotsling, but I think it was because the size wasn't right. Therefore, I second and third the other gals who say that it is important that the mom try on the Hotsling, preferably with the baby.
Hotslings are very nice, but the sizing is crucial. They now sell them at select Targets (Bloomington 494/Penn does) if you want to look in person first. The website is very informative too.
Kangaroo Korner is another one-piece sling that is adjustable by snaps. That one was my ultimate favorite, since sizing is a little less crucial... they are made here in Minnesota (northern twin cities, I think).
Peapods in St. Paul carries both of those slings, I believe, if you wanted to compare. They also carry Maya wraps too.
Good luck! It's a great gift!
I had about 5 different slings (addict I know) and my faves were the ones from www.kangarookorner.com I LOVED the fleece pouch- it was my #1 fave, and the cotton pouch was nice too. Both are the ringless kind.
And she's local and very nice :)
HTH!
I went to a free baby wearing class held at a local library, hosted by AMMA maternity (ammamaternity.com). They had tons of good information and lots of styles to try out. Maybe there is something similar in her area so she could let you know what felt good for her before you buy.
Jennifer - Minneapolis, MN
You are probably thinking of a Hotsling (that is the brand name - it will come up on a google search). I have a friend who loves her hotsling and I have one for my new baby (who hasn't been born yet so I can't give a personal referral). The only tricky thing about them is that they have to be sized right. Your MIL might want to go with the new mom to be sure she gets the right size - they have tons of gorgeous patterns.
Good luck!
B.
Momma to a toddler and a new baby due in April
Check out www.theslingstation.com
they have a bunch of wraps and slings to choose from. I have a maya wrap as well. I still carry my 20month old around in it. Mei Tei wraps are also nice, or a Moby strech wrap. There are so many...good luck
Kangaroo Korner has nice fleece pouch slings that are adjustable with rows of snaps. That was the sling I prefered most by far for a shoulder sling. We also got a fake Moby wrap made out of Jersey material which is super stretchy. We liked this better when our little chunk got above 20 lbs as it distributed the weight better. I don't know if it would be helpful, but I in think there's a NINO (nine in nine out)chapter in the Cities. I'm not sure where your niece lives, but I've heard that the NINO meetings have a ton of slings that you can try out so you have an idea of what you like.
S.
I have a Hotsling, and it is ok. It was great for my son when he was an infant, and again now that he is a toddler, but there were months in between when it didn't work for him. Those months I used a ring sling (Over the Shoulder Baby Holder). I used the OTSBH for my older son the whole time he was a baby. If I hadn't been given the Hotsling, I would have used it again the second time around.
I'd go the safe route (since you can't go with her to buy one) and get the ring sling. They seem like they'd be harder to use, but I didn't find that to be the case, and I thought it was easier to get a good fit.
Good luck!
J.
The Kangaroo Korner adjustable fleece pouch is made here in MN. Since it is adjustable you don't have to be as exact about the sizing. However, I personally found pouches difficult to use with a newborn. For that age, I really really liked a stretchy wrap like the Moby (can be purchased locally at Peapods or seen online at http://www.mobywrap.com/). It looks complicated but really is quite easy to use and VERY comfortable. For long term use, I really like a mei tai like the Baby Hawk (can be purchased locally at Creative Kidstuff or online at http://www.babyhawk.com/).
Pookababy is a Canadian website that has a lot of info about different types of baby carriers and sells them too. http://www.pookababy.com/101/index.html
Another good website with a lot of info and online customer service reps that can help answer questions is attached to baby (http://www.attachedtobaby.com/). It used to be based in MN but moved to CO a year or so ago. It's mom-owned, has a lot of variety, and has a very liberal return/exchange policy so if what you get doesn't work, she can send it back and get something else that does.
My daughter lived in my Peanut Shell Sling for months and took fantastic naps. My girlfriend loved her Kangaroo Korner fleece sling so I think you can't go wrong with either one.
http://www.goo-ga.com (For the peanut sling)
