Baby slings

When Little Man was just a couple of weeks old, he started to be really wakeful at night. The later it got in the day, the fussier he got. In the mornings, he’d sleep no problem in his crib, or in the pram, but by evening time, the only way he would sleep was in my arms or in his daddy’s arms. I couldn’t figure out why. And I was worried about giving into this need to be held. Worried that I would “spoil” him as I’d been warned time and again could happen. And then one evening, I read some advice on a message board online. “You can’t spoil a newborn” was the advice given. Following this advice led me to the Dr. Sear’s website, where I learned all about attachment parenting. While I don’t think I could ever follow every guideline for attachment parenting, many aspects of it made sense to me. So I stopped worrying about spoiling my newborn, and bought myself a sling.

The first sling I owned was a Baba Sling. I used it for a couple of weeks. But I always felt that Little Man was not in an ideal position in it. It may have been that I wasn’t using it correctly, but I just felt his airflow was a little stifled in it. Also, as he got heavier, I felt there was a lot of pressure on one shoulder when carrying him. If I was carrying him for any length of time, my back would start to hurt.

So I did some research online, and I bought myself a Moby Wrap from Little Acorns.ie (who have unfortunately closed down since). I loved it! And Little Man loved it. I started to use it for an hour or so each day, and I really think it benefitted him and me. I don’t know if it was coincidence, but he started to be more settled at night. It seemed that if he got more time in my arms, or in the sling during the day, then he would settle easier in the crib at night.

It’s just fantastic to be able to keep baby close to you and still have two hands free. I found it so much easier to negotiate the shops with a sling than with a buggy. Now I recommend slings to all new mammies.