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Poll:Your Favorite Babywearing Gear
Ok, to try to get the board to move some 
What babywearing gear have you tried?
Which is your favorite?
Any plans to get another carrier?
Do you own a stroller and if so what do you use it for?
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Re: Poll:Your Favorite Babywearing Gear
I have tried the moby, the peanut shell (pouch sling), the ergo, and a maya wrap ring sling.
Currently I LOVE the ring sling!! He loves to be in it, it is easy to use and adjust. Jude weighs 16 lbs and I have no issuse carrying him in this. I had issues with the pouch sling. Once he got a little bigger then newborn I could not get his fluffy butt around my breast. We struggled greatly. The moby wrap was just too much fabric for me. Now that I am more comfy with baby wearing it might work, but I sold it. The ergo I have used a few times and I think once he is a little bigger this will also be a favorite. Plus the ergo seems to be DH friendly and he might give it a go. For now DH just carries him everywhere if I am not wearing him.
At this point no more carriers. DH would have a fit.
Yes we have a stroller. Why? I have no idea other then it was on sale and our carseat snaps into it. We use it to decorate the spare bedroom floor. We have never actually put DS into it and it is way to heavy to use. I am interested to see if people with older DC use an umbrella stroller or similar and when.
I have a Wrapsody Bali Breeze wrap, and I absolutely love it. It was definitely worth the price. I also have a Mei Tai (handmade by this lovely chick on Etsy---I got a super good price on it); I haven't used it much, because DS is still too little for it to really be comfortable. I imagine I'll like it a lot once he's a little less floppy. I am thinking of getting a ring sling as well, or a shorter wrap---I really want to be able to nurse Gabriel while wearing him, and I just can't seem to get all that fabric tied in such a way that I feel comfortable and secure.
I do own a stroller, and I use it for walks and local errands (things within walking distance). Because of the humidity, it's not comfortable for DS to be worn for much time out in the heat---he sweats so much it soaks us both, and he got heat rash from it.
That makes sense. We do not live in a walking friendly neighborhood so we have to drive everywhere.
We have a pouch sling, a wrap (Parents of Invention), and an Ergo. I usually use the pouch, and DS uses the Ergo.
I bought the wrap before he was born thinking it would be comfy for both of us, and it was comfy, but it was just completely impractical for me. Way too long, way too stretchy (he sagged, no matter how tight I wrapped it). It's buried in the back on his closet now. I do like the pouch sling, but I'm finding it to be a little bit of a snug fit for him now. I'm hoping to get a ring sling in a few weeks and I'm really looking forward to it - I've heard nothing but good things about them.
We do have strollers - we got a travel system at my shower, and we got an umbrella stroller free from BRU. I used the travel system stroller when he was a tiny newborn and I didn't want to wake him up to put him in the carrier after a car ride. We really don't use it anymore unless we are going to be walking a good distance. Now that he's bigger, if we did use a stroller we'd probably use the umbrella just because it's easier to deal with.
The wrap I use is a woven wrap, so it has very little stretch to it, and it's very easy to adjust once I have Gabriel in it. (I use the wrap cross-carry, most of the time.) If I'm going to be using it after driving somewhere (like for shopping), I tie it on before I leave the house, and pop Gabriel in it once we get where we're going.
From what I have read, the learning curve when starting out with a woven wrap is a bit steeper than with a stretchy one, but it is supposed to be better for bigger babies, because they're less likely to sag from the fabric stretching.
We have an Ergo - and used it with the infant insert in the early days. LOVED it.
Had a Gorgeous Baby sling (gorgeous but hated it) and a Hotsling (not even pretty and hated it.)
Stroller? We have a Quinny Speedi jogging stroller (for long walks) handles like a dream, but heavy and bulky. And a fairly crummy lightweight stroller. (Got it for a trip to Mexico - thought we'd sell it right after but ended up really liking it!) It stays in the car. It's used for trips to the mall, post office, wherever.
We stopped wearing DD around 20-ish months. She wasn't interested, and we were ok with letting that go, too.
Of course, DD gets a lot of freedom, too and walks a lot.
I've thought about looking into a woven wrap. Not having to take it off/put it back on after driving was the major selling point for getting a wrap in the first place, but the one I had just didn't work for me. Learning experiences I guess
I'll have to research them a little more now, thanks!
I have tried the following:
What babywearing gear have you tried? Moby (loved, but she seems too big for it now), Hotsling (never fit quite right), BabyHawk (liked it a lot, but not as comfy as the Beco), Beco Butterfly (love, adore)
Which is your favorite? My Butterfly. Love, love, love it.
Any plans to get another carrier? No, I think we have plenty for now, although I love all the different Beco fabrics.
Do you own a stroller and if so what do you use it for? Yes, a lightweight umbrella stroller. We use it a lot when the weather is hot -- DD gets too sweaty when we wear her on really warm days. I also use it for walks to the library, because carrying my huge stack of books and carrying DD wears me out, and when I want to take the dog along with us -- it's easier to manage poop-scooping when I'm not wearing her!
What babywearing gear have you tried?
Moby, Hotsling, a ring sling, Babyhawk Mei Tai and some bjorn-type of carrier with adjustable straps
Which is your favorite?
LOVE the Babyhawk! Mr. uses the bjorn knock-off. Hotsling is ok for at home use here and there but when DD was a newborn it was useless.
Any plans to get another carrier?
Not at this time. I might try a back carry with the mei tai soon.
Do you own a stroller and if so what do you use it for?
No stroller. Eventually we might get a simple umbrella stroller but we're not wanting for it yet.
1 and 2. We have a hotsling, a snugli and a bjorn. DS liked the bjorn best, and DH didn't mind wearing it. He was the primary baby-wearer. I didn't mind any of them but didn't really love them either.
3. I am going to try a bunch more slings and carriers for the next baby, so keep your recs coming.
4. We have three strollers. Crazy, I know. We use a jog stroller for walking around in town -- we live in an urban area in walking distance to a lot of parks, shops and restaurants. As DS has gotten older, he isn't as big a fan of being worn, but he doesn't mind his jog stroller. We also use a light umbrella stroller once a month or so -- mostly when we are out at the mall or someplace we just need to pop in and out of.
I have tried just about everything through the babywearing group in my town. We own:
a BabyHawk- love it. Comfy! Loved being able to choose the fabrics and "extras". It works the best for us right now with DS's size.
a Baby K'tan- loved it until DS got to the 20 lb. mark.
a handmade ring sling- like it. Used to use it a lot more. This is not the most comfortable for me anymore since DS is so huge. I have back problems and any time I try to hip carry now, my hip and leg go numb.
a Baby Bjorn- did not like. Not comfortable. IMO, this is not any better than a Snugli.
I think I am going to cool it for awhile, we really love our BabyHawk and that is what I am always using now. Also DH just doesn't understand the cost of good carriers and he told me in not so many words that my BabyHawk would be my last carrier for a little while.
My mom got us a travel system when I was pg. I hadn't expected to wear DS as much as I do because of my back problems, so we did have plans to use the stroller. We did use it when he was still in the infant seat... if he would fall asleep then we wouldn't have to wake him to go somewhere and also if it is very hot outside we still use that stroller.
I've tried the moby, babyhawk, ring sling, pouch, baby k'tan, and woven wraps (in that order).
Favorite by far - woven wraps!
Ummm...I have a wrap buying habit...it's bad
I don't have plans to get another kind though.
I have a BOB Revolution - I've only ever run with it.
Breastfeeding Counselor with Breastfeeding USA
Babywearing Guide ** Newborn Carriers
Cloth Diaper Guide
Safe Bed Sharing Info
The better question is what haven't I tried? I have 16 carriers
My go-to's are mei tais after a year and x-slings for younger babies. I make my own. There are pictures in my BW bio and in the blog. For buckle carriers, I like the Beco and O&A (Olives and Applesauce). In theory, I love my Didy, but I almost never use it.
I probably won't be buying more carriers, except perhaps to demo to clients.
NorCalMOMS bio* NorCalBOTB* babywearingBIO
Harmony Doula