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Guest Blogger: Wearing Baby Over One Shoulder
March 9th, 2010
Hotsling (Photo courtesy of sdminor81 via Flickr (CC)
Guest blogger Michelle Branco of mom and toddler luxury website doudoubebe.com explores the one-shouldered options for babywearers.
Babywearing: the one-shouldered styles
One of the big advantages of the increased popularity of babywearing is that parents have a huge variety of styles and manufacturers to choose from. But the terminology can get overwhelming: here’s a quick primer on the styles you’re likely to encounter.
General tips:
- Two shouldered styles tend to provide more support
- Test drive a few styles if you can (or buy from stores with fair return policies)
- Don’t keep using a carrier that’s not comfortable – it will rarely get better
Pouch (Hotsling, Peanut Shell, Pippalilly)
The pouch sling is the simplest design—basically a swath of fabric sown into a circle and folded in half. The key to a pouch is to get the correct sizing – be sure that you try it on with your baby and buy where you can exchange if it doesn’t fit well! Although some manufacturers make adjustable pouches, you lose some of the ease of the fitted pouch with the adjustment mechanism. For a sleek, fiddle-free carrier, they are ideal.
Ring Sling (doudou, Taylormade, Ellaroo, Sakura Bloom)
The ring sling is a long band of fabric with two rings at end, through which the fabric is pulled to make a ‘tail’. The tail can either be open or closed (sewn together so it doesn’t fan out). Rings can be either acrylic or aluminum: acrylic rings tend to grip fabric better, but some people find them more difficult to adjust. The shoulder can be padded or unpadded – the key is that the fabric spreads easily over the shoulder to distribute weight and padding doesn’t add to the comfort overall (though it can add warmth).
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