Favorite (Baby) Things - Slings and Carriers

I've often meant to make a list of all of our favorite baby things that I could pass along to pregnant friends. Last night at girls night out, one of the girls announced that she is having a boy and asked for information on useful/not useful baby stuff. I decided that this was my reminder to make the list before I forget why I like/dislike the incredible amount of gear and toys we have. We have used all of our little baby stuff once with Eleanor and are now putting it through the riggors of Henry. Eleanor is now on to toddler stuff so we have a wide range of favorite things (and not so favorite things) in that genre too.

Since slings and baby carriers were brought up last night as a controversial topic, I'll start with my opinions on them. I love my slings -- I have two, a pouch and a ring sling. We also have a couple of Baby Bjorns (a hand me down Original and a new Active) and an Ergo Baby Carrier. If we had millions of dollars, I would probably have a much larger array of baby carriers but as it is, my husband already things I am a sling addict. So these are my reviews of what we have:

Pouch Sling - We have a Peanut Shell pouch sling. It is like a circle of fabric with a little area for the baby to snuggle into. I got this one for Eleanor, it is bright pink and green polka dots on one side and reversable to hot pink on the other side -- very cute. The things I love about this are that it is so small, I can fold it flat and fit it into my (very small) diaper bag. It also doubles as a blanket because there are no rings, snaps, straps, etc. This sling has grown with her, at 20 months and about 25 pounds I can still easily carry her in it. Plus it is just so darn cute. The only complaint I had with the company was that I placed the order for a sling that was reversable to green and they sent me one with pink instead. When I emailed them to see if this could be fixed, they said that the green was no longer available. Since I wanted the outside pattern, I kept the one I had -- Henry looks cute in pink anyway. Here is Eleanor in the sling when she was super tiny:



Ring Sling - I figured that Henry should have a sling of his own so before he was born I bought a Maya Wrap Lightly Padded ring sling from a local woman named Trish who runs a business called the Baby Hammock. I contacted her because I thought I wanted another pouch sling and she allows people to try out the slings before buying. Well, once I tried on the Maya Wrap sling I changed my mind. This sling consists of two rings and a long piece of fabric which can be tightened and loosened through the rings. There is also a zippered pocket at the end of the fabric for miscellaneous mama (or daddy) stuff. Since this sling adjusts with the ring, it fits both me and Vince. The fabric (we chose the blue color, #15 on the website) is very soft and there is enough in the tail that I can cover myself completely while nursing Henry. Henry can ride upright or laying down -- he prefers the upright position at this point. Eleanor also still fits into this sling but we haven't used it too much with her yet since Henry can't really get around by himself. Here is Henry at a butterfly exhibit in the ring sling:




Ergo Baby Carrier - We got the Ergo when Eleanor was a bit older. It is very comfortable -- wonderful for longer walks, but not something I use around the house. The baby can ride on the front, back or hip. Eleanor particularly liked the back position, riding like a piggy back. It was a bit tricky to figure out how to get here on my back by myself, but once we got the hang of it, there was no problem. We have used the Ergo on walks in the woods, which is nice because she can walk when she wants to or be carried if she gets tired without major strain on me or Vince. I haven't used the Ergo in a while though, it was inconvenient when I was pregnant and we haven't used it with Henry since we don't have the infant insert. Here is Eleanor in the Ergo:



Baby Bjorn - As I mentioned we have two Baby Bjorns. We got an old model Original handed down to us from some friends and Vince wanted to get the Active when Eleanor was born, so we did. I used the old Bjorn quite often when Eleanor was very little. Once she got to be a couple of months old, I found that it was making my back ache if we walked for any distance. I tried the Active model but found that it didn't fit me very well, even though we thought it would. So, I went back to the sling. I've tried Henry in the Bjorn a couple of times and he doesn't like it at all. Anyway, my review of the Bjorn is that it is ok when they are very small but for my money, I would rather have a sling and/or the Ergo. Here is Eleanor throwing a fit as I get her into the Bjorn (old model Original):



Am I a baby carrier addict? Maybe. But it is fun. I think I want to get one of the baby wraps next and give that a try. If and when I do, I will let you know how it goes. For now I need to get a nap in while the monkeys are still sleeping.