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Mommy Must Have: 7 Yards Of Fabric and a Pouch Sling
January 6th, 2011 | 
Author: By Mommie V, Staff Writer, My Little Slice of Mommie Heaven (@MommieV1)
Two items I could not have lived without as a new mother: baby slings. Specifically a pouch style sling and a huge swatch of fabric I use like a Moby Wrap.
A pouch style sling is essential for newborns and little ones without head control who like to be carried, snuggled, swaddled or pressed against you, warm and rocking in order to sleep or be content. You know those days when the baby just will not allow herself to be put down, despite how badly your back and neck hurt or how much you would really like to get the smell out of the kitchen sink that’s been growing for days. Those are the days you need a pouch style sling.
Be prepared for the little old lady in the store to be shocked, “Oh, there’s a BABY in there!” But whether you use your sling to wear your baby at home or out and about it definitely frees your hands to do other things – even just relax! – while still keeping your baby close and comforted.
But then there comes a day when your baby will be bigger. They will have head control, they will emerge from the Fourth Trimester and you will say “Ah, there is that human being I’ve been looking forward to meeting!” They will no longer wish to be confined close to your chest, being comforted by your heartbeat and rocked by your walk. They will now wish to look around at the world around them. They still like being close to you, they will still sleep on your chest if you let them, but they will protest at the close confines of the sling.
Enter cross-chest wraps. On a hint from a close friend, I found some great material on clearance at Wally World and bought 7 yards of it. It was 60 inches wide, so I cut it (yes, all 7 yards of it) into three long strips 20 inches wide. For 15 dollars I had three wraps. One lived in my mom’s car, one lives in my car and the other stayed in the house for fussy, clingy days.
I used the instructions from the Moby website to learn how to wrap it. Try it just a couple of times and it will become second nature. My daughter loved being in the wrap so much she would bring it to me when she wanted to be carried in it.
My wrap wasn’t hemmed, so after months of wear the ends of the fabric began to unravel. A quick hit with the scissors helped that. If you’re not a plus-size mama, you probably don’t need 7 yards. My first attempt was with a fabric remnant that was only 5-and-a-half yards long and it wasn’t long enough to wrap around to tie to the back. I’d rather have too much than not enough fabric at the ends.
Going out for a day of shopping? Put your wrap on before you go. Wear it in the car while driving, then you can just pop baby in for a hands-free shopping trip. If you wait until you get to your destination, you’ll be wrapping in the parking lot, meaning the fabric will rest on the ground. Ick on a normal day, REALLY bad on a rainy day!
Now that my toddler is, well, a toddler, we haven’t used the wrap as much. In fact, I’ve actually gone back to using the pouch sling in the hip carry now when I need to carry her, rather than letting her walk on her own. So don’t think you’re done with the pouch sling after the newborn stage, they are useful even when they are older.
As always, please practice proper safety precautions when wearing your baby. Check on them often, position them properly and make sure your are following manufacturer’s instructions for using the particular carrier you have. Never try to wear an older baby that is fighting or refusing to go in the carrier. Never put your baby down to sleep while still wrapped in the carrier. Always use your best judgement.
Did you wear your baby? What sling, wrap or carrier did you find most helpful? Did you need to switch carriers as your child grew? Tell us your experiences in the forum!
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Great post, I didn’t use a sling until my third child. But I wished I had. It was great, and would have come in really handy when I had a newborn and two year old at the same time.
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Pre-baby, I wondered if I was going a bit overboard having a Sleepy Wrap and an Ergo. I was not. Now I have a Hotsling as well, and they all have their very specific uses. Little Mister is emerging from his fourth trimester and wants to look around all the time, so I think we’ll convert to outward facing soon.