Kangaroo Korner Sling and Pouch

[cecsheets]

I am pregnant w/ my first child and am trying to decide between the Kangaroo Korner Padded Sling and Fleece Pouch.

My hubby has a genetic condition that prediposes him to shoulder separation which happens maybe once or twice a year. (Then he's stuck wearing a different type of sling!)

I will probably be wearing the sling more, since I'll be breastfeeding. But I hope that Hubby wearing one will help prevent further injury to his already weak shoulders.

We would like a sling to carry our baby from birth (cradle and kangaroo holds) through toddlerhood (on the hip). Hubby would also like to wear it on his back.

What would be the benefits and disadvantages of an open tail? (Personally, I like the tailored look w/o the open tail. But that's just the vanity of a first-timer!)

If padded slings are more comfortable why would you want one unpadded or lightly padded?

How is the fleece pouch for breastfeeding? Can you do
it "hands-free?"

Is the fleece pouch form fitting enough to not need padding?

Whew! I guess that's everything! Thanks so much for taking the time to help me find the right sling!
Christine due 6/23/03

[jubilee]

Are both of your husband's shoulders affected? Where is he separating, at the A/C joint? Sounds very painful. I have the lightly padded sling from Kangeroo Korner's website, but haven't yet tried it out. (Still waiting for baby!) But I'll let you know what the shoulder strain is once I get to try it out.

[amym]

I have both of these. I ended up getting both because I thought that the fleece pouch would be too warm in the summer, as it sometimes gets above 100 degrees where I live.

I loved the fleece pouch when our daughter was very little. She had colic & putting her in the pouch helped calm her down. It was almost impossible to breastfeed with her in the pouch, if I remember right. I think I did nurse a few times in the pouch, but I had to put DD in the other way. For example, if I had the pouch going over my right shoulder, I put her in so her head was on the left side, normally I would wear her with her head on the same side as the pouch was on. Hope that part makes sense! She is a year old now & I have used the pouch to wear her on my hip. I don't think that you can use the pouch on your back. But I would have to check on that. The pouch can be used "hands free". My baby was very secure in the pouch. I don't know if my husband would have been able to use the pouch. I think he would have needed the next size up, which is an advantage of having the open-tailed sling. It is more adjustable. The pouch is form fitting & does not need padding.

The advantage of having the sling with a tail are that you are able to adjust the sling. When baby is small you can tighten it up quite a bit & as they grow you can loosen it up. If you need some more room to breastfeed, you can let it out a bit. It also allows people of different sizes to wear the sling. The tail can also be used to cover baby up while breastfeeding. It gives you a little more coverage! The sling is also hands free. The sling can be worn on the back.

The sling I have is lightly padded. Heavily padded ones aren't quite as adjustable, as the padding gets in the way. Lightly padded was just enough that DD could rest her head on the padding & it was enough that my shoulder didn't get sore. I think I read that you might not want padding if you get really warm wearing your baby, or if you wanted to wear the sling in the shower or pool.

Hope that helps answer some of your questions.

Amy
mother of 2, Samuel, 4 & Olivia, 1

[August Mom]

According to the instructions with the KK fleece pouch, the child can be worn on your back, facing your back. I tried it with DS and did not feel secure. He's only 7.5 months, though. So it might work better with an older child. To me, it felt like the sling needed to be tighter for that position, but I already had it in the tightest setting. HTH

[spa]

I love my Fleece Pouch and have used it for six months, since my son was 8 months old. We use it in almost every position, but I agree that the back carry is a bit less secure than with back-specific carriers.

[ginalc]

I too have a history of shoulder problems! (The doctor said I have hyper-elastic joint tissue that predisposes to injury and reinjury) After 11 years of frequent dislocations, I finally had surgery to repair it. My shoulder used to dislocate every time I turned the wrong way, put on my coat, sneezed, even in my sleep that dern thing would pop out of socket! (Imagine me and my 3 year old DD in McDonald's on the Interstate 2 hours from home. I am stretching, the shoulder pops out, and I tell my DD through the tears to go ask the nice lady to call an ambulance because mommy's in PAIN!!!) I am 6 years post-surgery and haven't dislocated since! Yeah!!!

I use carriers because I finally have stability in my shoulder and I want to keep it that way! I have both the KK lightly padded sling and the fleece pouch. I can wear each of them on my unaffected shoulder for a good length of time, however I CANNOT wear them over my affected shoulder. The strain is just too great.

Overall, without carriers, I have to resort to pushing my little ones in a stroller by the time they reach 15+ pounds, and attend to their needs while they walk and/or sit in the stroller. Currently, I push my 4 mo. old DS around in a stroller IN THE HOUSE. He weighs 17.5 lbs. I also have a "No pulling on Mommy's arm" rule.

I love the convenience of the KK padded sling for nursing, the tail is useful for privacy, and offers ease of adjustment of the sling. The fleece pouch is great for quick trips but I find it harder to nurse using this carrier.

Have you considered the Baby Trekker for your husband? This carrier gets the most use in my house and is great for walking long distances. It's also not too difficult to nurse in, provided you loosen the straps a little and practice. Overall, I find this carrier the best for me because it involves NO shoulder stress at all and works well as a front AND back carrier. Here's a link:

http://www.babytrekker.com/

HTH,
gina

[parkersmama]

I have recently purchased a KK fleece pouch to use with our new baby and I've tried it on but since I'm 9 months pregnant I can't really tell for certain how well it's going to work. I ended up getting a larger size with an extra row of snaps in hopes that dh can wear it as well.

I have used a Baby Bjorn (I know you weren't asking about these) and found it to only be comfortable for limited periods of time. In other words, by the end of a trip to the grocery store with a 14 lb. infant, my back was killing me! We used it a lot with ds #1 until the strain was just too great. I hardly even tried it with our 2nd ds (memories of a painful back kept me from it). My dh likes it pretty well, though, as his back muscles are stronger.

I also have a Over the Shoulder Baby Holder from Kangaroo Korner that I got when she first opened her store. It is extremely padded and I HATE it! The padding gets in the way, it is VERY hot, and the tail just drove me crazy. It is currently in my pile of stuff to give away to the local mission since I'm not even willing to give it another try.

All that being said, my experience in trying on the fleece pouch is that I believe it will work much better for me. I want a minimum of fabric and because the pouch is very wide across the back, I believe it will nicely distribute the baby's weight and not cause back strain. I'll try to let you know how I like it when the baby arrives but there are lots of folks here that use them and really love them. If you go with the sling, definitely get the least padding available! JMO!