advice please

[newlittleperson]

Hi

I wondered if anyone could give me advice, I'm hoping to get a proper sling for the new baby when it arrives. With dd I had a baby bjorn carrier, which she absolutely loved being in, but I've heard they're bad for baby's back so I want to get a proper model!

There seem to be loads of different sorts out there, and I'd really like to try a few to suss out which is best for me. How do I go about choosing. I really don't have the money to waste on buying and trying out if it's not going to be right.

Does anyone know of any good shops that let you try out?

Any advice would be gratefully received!

Cheers

:unsure:

[trogette]

couple of ideas, try getting to a meet-up, www.slingmeet.co.uk or renting, there's www.bigmamaslings.co.uk www.sasaslings.co.uk and www.naturalmothering.co.uk or if you don't mind doing a bit of trading and stuff there are a couple of other forums with buy&sell slings and carriers boards and a yahoogroup dedicated to the purpose, along with the www.thebabywearer.com FSOT boards. Slings do hold their value fairly well when treated with care (sometimes a wrap can be worth a little more when broken in but otherwise in good nick!) and all the online retailers will take slings back within their T&C.

BB carriers are OK if the baby's happy to be in them and if the 'wearer' is comfortable too, I often see them used with the baby very low down which makes baby's weight pull on the wearer's shoulders. There isn't any research that supports the theories regarding spine development *but* it is pretty much the same posture as a baby-walker which physiotherapists and other physical-manipulation-therapy-type people have had concerns about for years and years... the posture in a less structured carrier, wrap or sling is known to reduce the risk/effects of clicky hips (it's pretty much the same as the cast for clicky hips) and some carries allow for more skin-contact than others, upright carries in wraps or MTs compared to a cradle carry in a pouch or being in a 'high-street' carrier.

Hope all that makes sense and gives you a starting point (or several!)