More sling reviews

Can't remember which ones I've posted about, but since my last sling post,
I've tried a bunch more, so here are all of the recent results:

In no particular order

Funniest sling: From Chic Papoose www.chicpapoose.com , the design called
"Chuck". This is a simple pouch sling, reversable (that is, the inside is
pretty black corderoy, the outside is a nice cotton with a samurai print.)
Makes me chuckle every time I see it. Of course the baby sling has a samurai
named "Chuck" on it... of course it does! This is a well-designed simple
pouch, very comfy to wear without a baby, haven't tried it with a baby yet,
but simple weight tests say it distributes weight well and is very
adjustable *only* in the fact that by not having the shoulder sewn together,
it's easy to flip one or both layers over to shorten the sling or bring
baby closer. Nice! Good construction.
Note on sizing. I normally wear a 2x t-shirt... an XL fits okay, but a
little snug. The Regular fit me perfectly. The large I also tried (in Piper,
a much more dignified print) only fit if I completely flipped the shoulder
over. I have a short torso and tend to wear babies a little higher, but
still... most people will want a regular or even a small in this sling. My
husband fit a regular just fine.

The Cuddle 'N Carry: http://www.momsthatrock.homestead.com/sling.html This
is a very new carrier on the block. A simple tie front or back carrier a la
Packababy or Baby Back Tie, this is pretty easy to get into. Nice fabric and
well-sewn, too. This carries babies on the front, facing in, or on the back.
It's basically a rectangle with straps coming off each corner. Tie the
bottom two around the waist, the top two go up over your shoulders and cross
or not, come back under your arms and then tie under baby's bum or around
baby's back. Sounds complicated, but really isn't.

The New Maya adjustable pouch. This is a redo of the Maya pouch, but with
zippers to adjust the thing smaller or larger. Given that the prime
difficulty with fitting pouches is that most people ordering off the
internet don't end up getting the right size, the fact that someone like me
can fit into a small on the largest setting and then hand it to someone
petite and have it fit them on the smallest setting is a real godsend. A
well-fit pouch is one of the simplest, easiest and most comfortable carriers
out there--this makes it easier to get it just right. Most people can safely
order a small--those who are very petite will still find the current small a
bit large. Check with the company before ordering--the main office has a lot
of experience with who will fit what size! www.mayawrap.com When this pouch
fits right, hip sitters can't arch back in it and small babies can be held
high on the chest comfortably.

The Ellaroo: Very pretty wraparound carrier. Wraparounds are basically very
long pieces of fabric. What makes the difference is how much give, how
light, etc. the fabric is. The new ellaroo is lightweight Guatamalan
handwoven and has a lovely fringe at the bottom. Very comfortable way to
wear a baby front, back or hip, but takes longer to get in and out of than
most slings or pouches. The kind of thing to wear when baby *must* be up for
a long period of time. Our tester baby enjoyed that we could put her in
facing outward a la Baby Bjorn--I liked that it holds her more securely and
without her legs dangling, higher on my body. www.peppermint.com
(Peppermint.com has an outstanding variety of other carriers, too!)

The Sutemi Pack: www.sutemigear.com This frontpack/backpack is a variation
on the "square with straps" theme that originated with the Chinese carriers
(one is the Mei Tai, available at Peppermint...), but evolved to be a
modern, padded, buckled piece of baby equipment which promises to help carry
even 40 or 50 pound children on the back without too much parental distress.
Very comfy on, helps distribute weight to the waist rather than shoulders,
and unlike some other carriers, will actually allow a hip carry as well as
the front and back carries. The fabric is very soft and the blue I got is a
vivid, clear royal blue. The scrunchy is a great extra, and can help support
a sleeping toddler's head. Well-thought out and solidly built.

The Ergo Baby Carrier. (http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/ and retailers)
I haven't gotten to try the Sutemi with an older child yet, but I did get to
try the Ergo. It has a lot in common with the Sutemi, but its straps work
"backpack" style rather than crossing in front. My 38 pound tester
4-year-old was incredibly easy to wear in this pack, although it's a tad
more difficult than the Sutemi to put on. This would be my carrier of choice
at present for carrying a preschooler through the zoo, or on other long
excursions. I may like the Sutemi better when I try it on with kid, but of
the carriers I've actually worn the 4-year-old in, this one is definitely
the best to date!

The Ultimate Baby Wrap: www.ultimatebabywrap.com
This is another "long, long piece of fabric" sling, but with rings on the
end. The twist here is the fabric--95% cotton and 5% lycra. Definitely the
bounciest sling I've tried, which babies like but some moms don't. You have
to get this TIGHT to get it to hold baby up high enough, but it may well be
THE most comfortable thing we wore a small baby in. The give distributes the
weight very well across shoulders, back and waist. Getting into it is a
project, but once you're in, you don't really have to take it off--it is not
at all bulky, despite the heavy duty fabric! This is one of my favorites for
newborns up through crawling. Once a kid is into the whole "up down"
schtick, I don't know that I'd want such an involved carrier (I prefer
pouches for more independent kids), but for a newborn where you're wearing
them, like constantly, this would work very, very well.

The Zolowear sling. www.zolowear.com
The red Zolowear silk sling may well be the most drop-dead gorgeous sling
I've ever tried. The shoulder either gets rave reviews or pans--people
either seem to love it or it doesn't work at all for them. I found the
shoulder to be okay, but not outstanding, but the sling is pretty enough to
be worth it. This evaluation may change once I wash it--they get softer when
washed. My favorite way of wearing this sling? When I wore it to go shopping
with a friend, I flipped the rings down to my hip and tucked her baby in,
snuggled high on my chest, with the rings totally out of the way, while my
friend tried on clothes. Baby just snuggled right in and the Zolowear sling
may well be the most secure single sling I've ever tried that rings-down
position with. Many other slings will allow baby to flop out sideways, but
that didn't seem to be a problem--I just adjusted the edge a bit tighter
and the very secure, solid fabric held baby in just right. This sling will
STAY where you put it and does not slip in the rings at all, period. The
scariest thing about this sling... the $149.00 price tag for the silk
versions. But if you're going to a special event, this is a gorgous piece of
Mom-clothing. This sling is NOT baby furniture, it is a fashion accessory.
g

The MamaBaby sling: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/products/CA03S1.htm
This one is my baby, and the sling I have the most experience with. Made out
of 100% cotton interlock knit, this sling feels like a nice t-shirt on,
gives just enough to conform to mama's body AND baby's body, and when you
wear two of them crossed, you can do just about anything. Recently I watched
my friend hold her baby facing out from her hip... and she tossed one sling
on around the two of them and one shoulder, then cinched the second one
around both their waists and her kiddo just stayed in that position. I've
done a colic hold in this. The most interesting application is the one in
the picture on the website--you can hold a newborn up on your shoulder,
securely, and later shift baby down for nursing, usually without having to
re-adjust the sling. Because it's a little stretchy, you can really move
baby around easily, changing positoins without moving the sling. Because it
conforms, it will hold baby where you put baby. Just an amazingly
comfortable carrier that works well at just about every age. In almost every
age category there will be other slings that are as comfortable, but I don't
know of any which cover the entire range quite as well. At heart this is
just a very simple ring slnig--the fabric and the two-sling holds are what
set it apart.

The Maya Wrap www.mayawrap.com
This is one of the more common slings these days, and still an excellent
product. It's both beautiful and versatile. This is another sling people
either love completely or just don't get. The shoulder works for some but
not others, and no, it's not the same groups as the Zolo--the shoulder is
very different. Again, I find that any difficulty I personally have with the
shoulder design goes away when I use the sling rings-down, but even in the
rings-up position, if I take the time to really adjust the sling properly,
it's very comfortable to wear. I've used this one for lots of heavy library
books, as well as a heavy toddler or two. Don't try to overload the
pocket--get a wrap-sack and you'll have a secure zipper compartment. Most
people do better with the Maya if they get help with it in person the first
couple times they wear it. Key points--flip down the shoulder cap. Reverse
the sling to wear it on your left shoulder--the tags should be up. Pull
*all* the slack around to the front and hold it there when you tighten the
rings so the rings don't slip when you pull. And do adjust edges
independantly--it's more comfortable and more safe when you do this!

The PeaPod sling: http://www.littlelily.com/
Very basic, very cheap sling. Plain muslin, the cheapest sling is $16. Yes,
really. Designed to be a second sling, the slightly oversized rings mean
that you really will NOT want to wear this for babies over the weight limit
of 25 pounds, but as a backup sling it's great. Comfy enough, compact
enough, this is a good "extra" for the car or diaper bag.

I'm finding slings seem to fit in several categories:
Baby equipment: Functional, a bit gadgetty, often with padding and buckles
Baby furnitu Think upholstry: Lots of padding, cute baby prints
Mom comfort clothes: Many of my favorite slings are almost completely
inobtrusive when on, make no particular visual statement and don't scream
"baby". Kind of like a nice comfy t-shirt--you don't think about them when
you wear them, you just USE them when you need them.
Mom fashion: These are slings that are so pretty that they drive women to go
get pregnant just so they have a good excuse to buy and wear the darned
things. (Hint... the best of these can function like a nice shawl AND switch
very quickly into a good place to stash your library books. A pretty sling
is NOT a reason to go have a baby. Really. Honest.) These are slings made
out of sumptuous fabrics like silk brocade and velvet, or slings that make a
distinct fashion statement that doesn't include cute little teddy bears or
yellow ducks on a pale green background.

I have very little use for slings-as-baby-furniture. I have more use for
purpose-built slings-as-equipment such as the Sutemi and the Ergo. But my
heart is with slings that can be worn as Mom clothing. Despite my lack of
baby at present, I often throw the Zolo, Maya or MamaBaby around my
shoulders as a shawl, just because they're comfy and just the right amount
of warm on a summer evening. The Rebozo wearers have it right... it's handy
to have a shawl to carry things in. Gallon of milk? No problem. Stack of
hardback books? No problem. Certainly easier than carrying in my arms! With
my foster son, I found that I always had a free hand. Once I was carrying
him in the sling, his diaper bag on my shoulder, the carseat (which had a
strap, not a handle) up over my other shoulder as well as my daughter's
violin, and I still had a hand free for some groceries. Wasn't comfy for
long, but sure made getting into the house in one trip easier!

Jenrose

Jenrose wrote:

Can't remember which ones I've posted about, but since my last sling post,
I've tried a bunch more, so here are all of the recent results:
Jenrose


I just wanted to say thank you! This was an awesome way to spend some
time... checking out all of my other options out there! I currently
have a maya wrap type sling that I made myself (with Rev. Jan's
instructions) in a wonderful teal and lime batick print with cat stick
figures on it. I definately get more rave reviews than I did with my OTSBH.

Tammy

In article m, "Jenrose"
writes:

I'm finding slings seem to fit in several categories:
Baby equipment: Functional, a bit gadgetty, often with padding and buckles
Baby furnitu Think upholstry: Lots of padding, cute baby prints
Mom comfort clothes: Many of my favorite slings are almost completely
inobtrusive when on, make no particular visual statement and don't scream
"baby". Kind of like a nice comfy t-shirt--you don't think about them when
you wear them, you just USE them when you need them.
Mom fashion: These are slings that are so pretty that they drive women to go
get pregnant just so they have a good excuse to buy and wear the darned
things. (Hint... the best of these can function like a nice shawl AND switch
very quickly into a good place to stash your library books. A pretty sling
is NOT a reason to go have a baby. Really. Honest.) These are slings made
out of sumptuous fabrics like silk brocade and velvet, or slings that make a
distinct fashion statement that doesn't include cute little teddy bears or
yellow ducks on a pale green background.

This is totally true! I hadn't put that much thought into it, but you are
right. I've been making up a ton of slings to sell at our LLL fundraiser and
someone commented that I didn't make any out of "baby" fabric. Well, duh, I
thought. These are for the mom to wear.

I even made some that are more dad-oriented with haberdashery-type fabric, for
lack of a better description, and no-frills.

The most versatile ones, IMO, are the light weight denim and canvas ones. I
found cute trims to cover up the thread where I sewed in the rings. I tend to
go back and forth and back and forth so many times that it doesn't look very
nice, so I cover it up with some nice trim or even a little strip of the fabric
itself.

One of the prettiest I sewed--a purely Mom fashion sling--was a cute white lace
patchwork with pink broadcloth showing underneath. I found the lace on the
clearnace table at WalMart and looked at 4 other Walmarts in my area before I
found anymore! I found a near replica at Hobby Lobby but it was $12.99 a yard!
Ouch! The pink and white one was gorgeous and I did sell it. I am going to
line the other one with taupe broadcloth and probably keep it for myself.


koa
Still nursing James, 02/06/01
EP'ing for Joey 04/02/03 (BCP)

"Karen Askey" wrote in message
...
snip
The most versatile ones, IMO, are the light weight denim and canvas ones.
I
found cute trims to cover up the thread where I sewed in the rings. I
tend to
go back and forth and back and forth so many times that it doesn't look
very
nice, so I cover it up with some nice trim or even a little strip of the
fabric
itself.

How are you sewing the rings in to get that much back-and-forthing? The way
we do the MamaBaby slings is to use a double-needle (two needles, one
bobbin), mark a fold, and then just keep sewing and sewing all the way
around until it's done. No back and forth at all (but we don't pad it,
either.)

Jenrose

"Karen Askey" wrote ...

All the stitching ends up less than 1/2 an inch wide, but still not neat
enough
for my taste. Looks like this, more or less:

A\/A/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/A\A/\
\/A/A/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/A\/A\

I don't know -- I consider multiple rows of stitching to be a design
feature. I use a straight stitch (unless I'm sewing knits) and have 3-4
rows of straight stitching, each 1/4" apart. Just two makes it look kind of
messy, but 3-4 starts to look like a nice pattern, and I've had compliments
on that. I just got a new (refurbished, high-end) machine, so it's easier
to go through multiple layers, but I've found that sewing slowly and
sometimes even lowering the needle by hand once or twice in the sticky
spots, helps to avoid broken needles and thread.

Jenrose, I'd be curious to see detailed directions on how your sling works
on the site where it's sold -- just as a constructive criticism, I couldn't
pay $40 for something without seeing more pictures and the like.

Regards,
Jan
--
Mum to Stephen, 22 May 2000
and Strychnine, EDD 29 September 2003
My personal page: http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/
Baby-related crafts: http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/Baby/crafts.html

In article , "Jan Heirtzler"
writes:

"Karen Askey" wrote ...

All the stitching ends up less than 1/2 an inch wide, but still not neat
enough
for my taste. Looks like this, more or less:

A\/A/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/A\A/\
\/A/A/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/A\/A\

I don't know -- I consider multiple rows of stitching to be a design
feature. I use a straight stitch (unless I'm sewing knits) and have 3-4
rows of straight stitching, each 1/4" apart. Just two makes it look kind of
messy, but 3-4 starts to look like a nice pattern, and I've had compliments
on that.

I'm quite sure that if I had a better machine the stitching would look better.
As it is, the bobbin often gets all jammed and I have that stringy mess on the
bottom that I have to cut away. I'm going to have the sewing machine cleaned
again and see if that helps. I've about reached my limit of what I can do as
far as cleaning and such. I bought it second hand and it's about 20 years old,
I would guess. Still, for the money I gave for it, it has served me quite
well! I have no trouble sewing the changing pads I make and they turn out
quite well!

but now I'm itching for an embroidery machine. . .

koa
Still nursing James, 02/06/01
EP'ing for Joey 04/02/03 (BCP)

"Jan Heirtzler" wrote in message
...
"Karen Askey" wrote ...

snip

Jenrose, I'd be curious to see detailed directions on how your sling works
on the site where it's sold -- just as a constructive criticism, I
couldn't
pay $40 for something without seeing more pictures and the like.

Yes, we'll be getting that up soon--it's still VERY new. That said, there
are several pics in the photos section of the Yahoo babywearing group, and
the directions are in the files there (although not the final draft, it is
enough to give most people a good idea.) Soon, though, we'll have a VERY
elaborate tie-in to the simple shopping cart entry that is there now. The
sling will have its own site within the next couple months when Maya Wrap
(who is manufacturing the slings) gets their whole flow ready for wider
distribution.

Jenrose

"Karen Askey" wrote in message
...
In article m, "Jenrose"
writes:

"Karen Askey" wrote in message
...
snip
The most versatile ones, IMO, are the light weight denim and canvas
ones.
I
found cute trims to cover up the thread where I sewed in the rings. I
tend to
go back and forth and back and forth so many times that it doesn't look
very
nice, so I cover it up with some nice trim or even a little strip of
the
fabric
itself.

How are you sewing the rings in to get that much back-and-forthing? The
way
we do the MamaBaby slings is to use a double-needle (two needles, one
bobbin), mark a fold, and then just keep sewing and sewing all the way
around until it's done. No back and forth at all (but we don't pad it,
either.)


I can't double needle my machine and it works much, much better if I use a
jean-weight needle *and* the zig zag stitch. (Took me about 2 broken
regular
needles to decide to use a jean weight needle and about a dozen jean
needles
and hours of frustration to figure out the zig zag part.) I just go across
the
folds, do a little reversing to lock it in, turn it 180 degrees, go
across,
reverse a little, turn, repeat about 3 times.

You should check out Jan's alternative instructions-- you can sew the
shoulder in using a straight stitch (and personally, I never had a problem
using a single line of triple stitching on my personal slings) and never
break a needle. I think www.slingmemommy.com uses the same technique.

Do you pad your shoulder?

Jenrose