Baby Wearing ..loving it!!

Ilham Najihah in Nojo 'The Original Sling'

Never thought baby wearing is going to be so fun and very addictive. I encountered baby wearing term when searching  the net on breastfeeding sites. The idea of baby wearing just fascinate me and I decided to give it a go. In a glance , baby sling looks very similar to the frontpack we have. The first time we used our frontpack was when my daughter was 6 weeks old. Born at 2.5 kg so, when we put her in the frontpack, we can barely see her tiny head. Since then, I scouted around for other ways of carrying babies.

At first I wasn't convince that babywearing is for me.Well looking at video demonstrations and holding your baby trying to fit her into a sling are two different things. After all,at that time my baby was so tiny. I was afraid that putting her in sling might crush her fragile body. Needed help but there wasn't any baby wearing group around for me to refer to.So back to the www and then I found out about slingbabies. The website had  increased my  eagerness towards babywearing. That night I slept late to study every aspects of baby wearing, different type of baby carriers. etc.I got my first sling off trademe for $25. It was Nojo brand like-new condition. However, I'm a bit frustrated since this sling was not as I expected. It true the padding give extra support and spread the weight but it is too bulky for me. I reckon it well suited for bigger frame person.But this had not deter  me from trying to wear my baby.

Nojo Sling - all cotton with padding for more comfort..

I was struggling to settle my baby inside the Nojo' The original Sling'. She cried and made it clear that she was uncomfortable with it. I tried times to adjust the Nojo... but I guessed the ring itself was not that flexible so changing the size to fit my baby was a hassle. After the 3rd attempt of settling my daughter in the Nojo I just gave up..she just didn't like it. Several days later, I tried to follow the  instructions from a website but still couldn't get my baby to like it. I even need my husband help to get her into it. Finally, one night I tried to stay calm, got her into the Nojo and started to sway my body..and she seemed to enjoy it.The time I saw her smile I knew I did the right thing. 

-------------More on baby wearing story soon------------------

Info:

Ring sling is a length of  of fabric with two rings at one end. Ring slings are made of a variety of fabrics; cotton, silk, and solarveil are a few. There are two types of ring sling:

1) Open Tail  

The 'free' end (called the tail) threads through the rings to create a 'pouch' which supports baby. Since it is open end, this type of ring sling is very flexible  may be used for both parents which makes them cost-effective.  The ring sling shoulder part may be sewn in a variety of ways (SBP pleated / hot dog/ gathered/ accordion/ etc)  to encourage the fabric to spread across your back and spread baby weight evenly.

2) Closed Tail

Usually  have padded rails and it may have a clip instead of rings. The end of the fabric is not too long and  them less mess first type of ring sling.  The way using this type of sling is similar to 'open tail', but without adjusting each rail for fitting.A plus factor in facilitating a cradle and hip carry.The padded rails are good for cushioning the back of baby's legs in a hip carry.