How I started babywearing – My story

When I was pregnant I already knew I wanted to wear my baby in a carrier. This was more for practicality purposes at first , mainly walking the dog, holidays in Wales etc.
I started to research about all the different types of carriers , I quickly realised that your standard off the shelf ones were not the best choice . They do not support the optimum position for your baby, and not only that apparently once the baby got bigger/ heavier they were not very comfy.

My first sling was a ebay cheapy mei tai, it was plain black on one side and red paisley design on the other. Mum and dad friendly :). This was easy enough to use with a teddy , however with a newborn I couldn’t figure out how best to use it.  This was later sent to Turkey to enable a friend .

I also ordered  a black stretchy wrap when I was pregnant. When it first arrived I opened the parcel, I couldn’t believe how long the piece of fabric was. I immediately thought what on earth had I done. I then I got a teddy ( a very important bit of kit for any future babywearer) stood in front of the mirror and begin to wrap.  After a few attempts I got the hang of it , just had to wait for the baby now.
This quickly became my favourite wrap as it was so easy to put it on in the morning and just pop J in and out as the day went along, Even my mum carried J using it. My Husband did attempt to go out using it once, which I was impressed , he did however come back carrying J not in the sling as he couldn’t figure out how to wrap him back up .

I then found out about sling library’s and started to fall down the slippery slope of collecting a stash of slings. I originally wanted to hire a buckle carrier for my husband as we thought he would find it easier.  Following this I bought a Connecta solarweave , this summer was so hot that I needed something light to carrier J around in.  I had already bought a Didymos Jakob as our legacy wrap , even though I had no idea how to use it ,but hey that’s what Youtube is for right ? .

I have since bought a Wallabi Wraptai, this has quickly become my favourite. The plan was to sell the Connecta but my mum has decided that I’m not allowed as that is now hers. So this is how I now have a stash of slings.

Considering I was only planning on using a carrier for practicality it has become a life saver.  The realities of having an allergy reflux baby soon kicked in . The early days are such a blur but I would not of made it through without a sling. They have seriously saved my sanity , as far as possible, and when I’m having a bad day it makes me feel so close to my baby that my heart could burst.