my thoughts on a plethora of baby slings.

we have tried soooo many different baby carrying devices since finn has been born.

i know "wearing" your baby might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it has worked for me because i'm always trying to do a million things and it frees up my hands.  i also like being close to finn, and he likes being held, so it's a good solution for us all around.

here is my rundown on the bazillion baby carriers (okay five) that we've been through:

when finn was very little we first had "the sleepy wrap".

i think he is maybe a week old in these! aww!

so, the sleepy wrap is soft and flexible, but it didn't work out for us so well.
finn never loved it, and billy and i could never figure out how to put it on by ourselves.
i either had to put it on billy, or he had to put it on me, and inevitably one of us would get tangled in it and frustrated before we finally figured it out and put the baby in it.
i know a lot of people who love the sleepy wrap, and i know if you do get the hang of it it can be very versatile.  believe me, i watched about 20 youtube videos on different ways to tie the darn thing, but no dice.  i really think it was way too much fabric for my petite frame.

i also tried the moby wrap, which is essentially exactly the same as the sleepy wrap, but it's less stretchy.  i still had the same problems with it as the sleepy wrap though.

here are some pictures of me unsuccessfully trying to wear a much bigger finn in this thing:

how awkward does that look!?

as a side note- if any of you out there in mommyland would like my sleepy wrap or moby wrap, please let me know.  i will gladly send one to you! they are dark green and black, respectively.  we may have used them three times.

next i tried the balboa baby sling.  i really liked this sling and i still use it.
when finn was very small he slept in it like a little cocoon.

i wore him like this a lot when i was eating and that inevitably led to lots of spaghetti sauce on my sling.

it came out.

now that finn is bigger i wear it on my hip and finn's butt sits in it and it works as a hip sling.  i don't have a picture of me using it as that, but it's very easy because the sling is so lightweight and portable.  i can literally throw it in my purse and if i don't want to mess with pulling out the stroller to run into the grocery store i just stick finn on my hip in this sling.  it's not good for long term carrying (especially if your hip is boney) and he can't fall asleep on my hip, so while i like it for short trips i was still looking for something else.

so next we got a baby bjorn.

the baby bjorn was really handy the first few months and finn LOVED it.

it was perfect when he was small, and he always fell asleep in it so we could do anything with him!  we went out to eat all the time with him in this thing and were guaranteed an uninterrupted meal.

as finn got bigger, wearing him in the baby bjorn got harder and harder on my back.
i also learned that finn liked to be worn facing out in the baby bjorn, and this threw off my back even more.

so i started researching a bigger baby carrier option.

while i was doing my research i came across the ergo baby carrier.

it looked like it would be a whole lot easier on my back, and was built for older and bigger babies, so i thought... great!

but right off the bat i noticed that in all of the pictures on the website, none of the babies were facing out.  i thought hmmm, i wonder if you can wear your baby facing out with the ergo!  i have to have an outfacing carrier because finn loves it so much!

i looked a little closer and found that with the ergo you can wear your baby on the front facing in, on your hip, or on your back.  but not facing out.  and then i came across this and found out why. 
it basically says that you should never wear your baby facing out because he can't turn away from stimulus and is constantly getting bombarded.  it also said that healthy sleep is really difficult for a baby worn facing out because he is so overstimulated.

WHAT!

first i felt like a total jerk.  here i thought finn was having a grand old time looking at everything around him when really his head was about to explode.
next i thought, oh man!  maybe this is why finn isn't sleeping well!
the night we went to the fair, for example, was finn's worst night ever.  he was restless and barely slept at all.  it totally made sense that he was completely overstimulated because i was wearing him facing out at a flippin' carnival full of lights and people!  poor baby!

so i ordered the ergo carrier and in the interim i only wore finn facing in in his baby bjorn.  the difference was huge.  he immediately started sleeping better and seemed more secure.

another side note- if any of my expectant friends or friends with new babies would like to borrow our baby bjorn now that finn has outgrown it, i will gladly send it your way!  just let me know! 

finally, our last baby carrying device ever arrived!  the ergo!
as soon as i put it on i felt like finn weighed half as much.  it seriously saved my back.
finn absolutely loves it too.  he likes to be in it awake or asleep.
i have only ever worn him on the front in it, but i'm looking forward to trying it on my back and hip.

it's a little bulkier than the other carriers i have, but it's worth it for the extra back support.
it also has this super handy little cloth flap that you can pull over your baby's head once he falls asleep to block light.  example:

i flippin' love this thing.
(those little brown fabric cuffs on the straps are optional "sucking pads" if your little one likes to chew the straps.  much easier to throw those in the wash than washing the whole carrier.)

(look at mumpeg chowing on some corn in the background! haha!)

finn REALLY loves being in this.  i feel like it's a great way to introduce him into new or busy environments.  it's kind of a safe way for him to securely experience new things.  it's worked out really well for us!  if he is fussy or just wants to be held and i need to get dinner ready or my arms are getting tired from carrying him around, the ergo is perfect.  i feel like it gives me freedom while allowing me to be close to little man, and it's not permanently paralyzing my back. win!


so this concludes my thoughts on the plethora of baby slings that i've tried:
sleepy and moby wraps: great idea but not for me.
balboa baby sling: awesome as a sleepy carrier when baby is little and great as a hip sling when baby is older.
baby bjorn: i would say great for a baby up to around 16 or 17 pounds. we loved it until month 5.
ergo baby carrier: awesome all around for an older and bigger baby. (although they do have an infant insert! we just haven't tried that!)

hopefully someone out there can benefit from my adventures in babywearing and find the carrier that works for you!

xoxo