Ring slings! Wraps! Mei tais! Back carry! Front carry! Hip carry! Oh my!
The world of babywearing is vast and varied, but it’s not as intimidating as it seems, and, in fact, can totally make you feel like a Super Mom.
When Joshua was five weeks old, I bought a wrap and it changed my life. He was a screamer with an awful case of DontPutMeDown Disease and I was losing my mind. Joshua snoozed for three hours the first time I wrapped him up and from that point on I was a believer.
I had such a good experience wearing Joshua, I couldn’t wait to start wearing Emma and started when she was a tiny two-week old little bundle. But wraps can be hot and it’s summer. And summer means outdoors. And outdoors means water.
And then one day my life was changed. Again.
There was a mesh ring sling from Anna Carrie Baby in my mailbox.
Rebecca and I have known each other since before I was pregnant with Joshua thanks to the (good ol’) Bump which brought us together. She’s a stay/work-at-home-mom to two children who really knows her way around a sewing machine! She started out with mei tai carriers and expanded her offerings from there.
Within minutes of opening up the sling, after I squee’ed a bit with excitement, I put Emma into a cradle hold and she started rooting around, so I nursed her in it while I ate dinner with two hands. And I didn’t over heat! It was a miracle!
It took a little getting used to at first. I was so used to how wraps worked that I had to figure out how to get her into the ring sling.
One night she was incredibly fussy and I was incredibly at my wits end. So I grabbed the sling and decided to figure it out. As soon as I got her snugged up in the sling, she was asleep. And I was able to sit down and relax.
Joshua phone-jacked me. This is from my web cam. What's important here is the sleeping baby.
Taking Joshua to the splash park this summer was kind of a daunting thought. He needs to get out and have fun and I need to get out and talk to other adults. But how was I going to do that with a baby? Enter the mesh ring sling.
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It’s not a daunting thought anymore, y’all. I just put her in the mesh ring sling and then I’m free to play with Joshua in the water.
If the sling gets wet, it’s okay because that’s what this particular sling is made for. The Anna Carrie Baby mesh sling is lightweight and it dries quickly. And it’s cool and breathable in a way that wraps aren’t. Rebecca’s mesh ring sling also has a shorter tail than regular slings so that you’re not dragging a mile of wet fabric through the water while you play.
It’s seriously the best way to wear your baby in the hot, hot weather we all seem to be having.
Sleeping baby! HOORAY! Beautiful ring sling! HOORAY!
The ring sling is so, so easy to use, y’all! Any time we go anywhere, I just grab it from the front seat, slip it over my head, grab her out of the car seat, snug her up, and off we go. I have two free hands to shop and chase Joshua. Or snap photos while he plays basketball at Old Navy or uses the potty. (Potty trained kids ROCK!)
I can even carry both of them if I have to, though that’s a lot of kid to carry.
He shoots! He scores! He pees! She sleeps!
My new favorite use for the sling is going out to eat. Since Emma hates the car seat and can’t sit up on her own yet, dining out was complicated. One of us would rush through our meal while the other juggled the baby. Then we’d switch off and hope the food wasn’t too cold. Now, I put her in the ring sling and we head into the restaurant and I wear her while we eat. She usually goes to sleep before our drinks arrive and stays asleep until, awesomely enough, it’s time to leave. See:
Baby's asleep. Mama's drinking a Sweetwater 420. And eating a meal with two hands.
Emma and I have come to love the mesh ring sling so much I bought a purple linen sling from Rebecca for BlogHer. (Remind me to tell y’all how I’m taking a baby to New York in August, okay?)
I get stopped every time I wear Emma anywhere. I feel kind of like a rock star when they do. People in Target or the grocery store ask about it and remark how cool it is and ask me whether or not she likes it or if it’s comfortable. And oh yes, it’s comfortable! The weight is distributed so that there’s no strain on your lower back to carry her like some other carriers on the market. And because the fabric isn’t stretchy, she doesn’t sag or droop down my torso. And wearing your baby is good for your baby, too, y’all!
I cannot rave enough about the Anna Carrie Baby mesh ring sling and how much I love it. Or about how easy it is to use. I almost made a vlog to show you and then I realized I was on two-day hair and would probably scare y’all. But if you really want me to vlog this, I will. I’m giving like that.
And speaking of giving, Rebecca’s giving y’all FREE SHIPPING from Anna Carrie Baby with the code SUPERMOMFS.
What are you waiting for? Run! See for yourself how awesome it is to wear your baby in a ring sling!
I did not have a ring sling until recently. A friend of mine bought one, but she is TTC and her toddler is too big for it. I LOVE it! I will definitely be buying one for our the next little point guard that comes around!
The ring sling is AMAZING. I fully intend to test the linen one out with Joshua when it arrives, though he’d probably do better in a woven wrap converted to a ring sling.
Re: linen RS for toddlers… I have a WC RS made out of a storch and a “toddler width” single layer linen RS. I choose the linen every. single. time. with my 30lb 2 year old DD! So sturdy, light and most importantly COOL for summer in the desert.
you have me convinced! even though i don’t have a little baby to put it in, i am ready to buy one! great review!
Well, if there is another baby, you should totally get one! Or for a friend as a baby shower gift!
I would have loved this last summer. We used the ergo with the infant insert and while it worked wonderfully, i had to wear a tank top underneath and i was a sweaty mess. Maybe if we reproduce again. 😉
I’m resigned to being a sweaty mess in virtually anything, including my birthday suit, around here in the summer. BUT, I’m a LESS sweaty mess with a mesh ring sling!
Well you already know that you sold me before. But yay. It should be here like tomorrowish I think. Yay. Again. With the YAY. Again.
Yay!
Again.
Thank you so much for this post!! I was just thinking YESTERDAY, “I wish someone would post about ring slings and which one to buy!”
No, I’m not making that up! What are the odds?
I’m due with my second baby in mid-January and I have a 2yo daughter now so I’m thinking ahead about how to have two hands and a happy baby 🙂
I’m so ordering one of these bad boys tomorrow (now which pattern to pick?!)
Btw…we met at Blogher11 and I’ve been following you since then. I just left my full time job last week so your blog is more relevant than ever! 🙂
I totally remember you! Congrats on your new little one! For a new baby in January, I’d probably go straight to the linen sling instead of starting with the mesh, and then get the mesh one for summer. However, if you wanted one that could probably hold either of your kids, and it’s in your budget, one of the girasol woven wrap conversions would be awesome. There’s a beautiful pink one in her shop that I’m lusting over right now!
I could never get the hang of a ring sling but I did fall in love with my wrap! Both of my kids needed to be held basically all of the time and oh how I wish I had something like that when they were babies.
I do love the wrap, but I do not love how hot it is. I’m so, so glad I figured this out!
I CAN”T FIGURE OUT THE RING SLING!
Gah! I feel like such a dummy!
I will vlog it. Just for you. Because I love you.
Fab review thanks – have you reviewed wraps by the way? I love that they’re so stretchy and i think they’d be perfect for the first few weeks with our newborn… I think you can make them too – any advice?
I do have a wrap, and the stretchiness is what I love when baby is tiny, but what I DON’T love once baby gets heavier. The stretchy lets baby slide down too low and hurts my back. But I do love a good wrap with a newborn.
However, having gotten used to the ring sling, I can say that with another baby, I’d have no problem tucking baby right on into a linen sling and going about my day, and then you wouldn’t have to buy another carrier, you know? Well, maybe you’d want something ergonomic, but a ring sling will do everything a wrap can do and then some where as a wrap can only do what a wrap can do. So for the money, I think the ring sling is the better choice.
You CAN make a wrap and it’s really easy. It’s about 6 yards of a jersey knit fabric cut into half its width. With 6 yards of fabric, you actually get two wraps. You can serge the edges if you’re so inclined, but in general, you don’t have to do anything to the edges.
Thanks Miranda, that’s great advice. I think I will make my own wrap just for the first few weeks but I’ve got my eye on a couple of ring slings too 😀
That looks genius. I was way too scared to use one when my daughter (another Emma) was a baby as I am not capable of successfully folding sheets alone! We used the bab bjorn, which was great especially in the airport… Your Emma is darling!
I’ve known that I wanted to get some sort of carrier but haven’t really figured out which one would be best yet. Thinking about having a baby in the Florida summer, it sounds like this would be great. Thanks for the info!
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