Baby Slings, Wraps, and Pouches- what to buy

[jamie]

My husband and I are expecting boy/girl twins this October and we are going to be first time parents. We just took a multiples birthing class at our hospital and the instructor suggested purchasing a carrier-either a sling or a wrap instead of a baby bjorn. I am only 5'2" and already know I am having a c-section. I would be interested in hearing suggestions on what to buy, what is the most comfortable for mom and baby, easy to use, etc. Thanks for the help!

[mamaoftwins]

Yeah, I second the "don't get a Bjorn". Not worth the money, IME. We got two as gifts and used them maybe 3 times.

Sorry, I can't help you on what wrap or sling to buy b/c I didn't use one. I checked into the ones that can hold both babies at once, but it didn't seem to be worth the money since the kids would grow out of them so fast. So, I decided that if I wasn't getting a sling or wrap that could hold two babies, I wouldn't get one at all.

That's all the help I have for you! *If* we decide to have another baby, I probably would go for a Beco or Ergo. They look to be much more worth the money than the Bjorn.

Maybe one of the other experienced BBB multiple parents has some thoughts on what to get ...

[gatorsmom]

I don't have a lot of experience with carriers, but I have tried a couple. With my first child I bought a Maya wrap which is the kind with the 2 rings. Essentially, you pull on this long tail of fabric that hangs down in front of you to tighten it. Many people love this kind for various reasons. I didn't. It felt very unstable to me. I've since heard- 5 years later- that some parents of multiples use 2 of these to carry both babies for quite a while and loved that. I never tried this.

My post partum doula suggested trying a Moby Wrap for our twins. It is basically a very long piece of cloth that you wrap around you in various ways. With small twins or preemies you can carry both of them in it for about a month post partum. I bought this and loved it. i did use it a couple of times for carrying both babies but even when they were small it was just too much baby strapped to me! I used it nearly every day for the first 4 months after Ibought it. When Greenbean was colicky, it was one of the only things I could do to stop him from crying. also, it is very comfortable and it was very easy to learn to use. The manual says it can be used til the child is about 2 yo.

We did get a baby bjorn as a gift and whenever we took the babies somewhere I'd wear one in the Moby wrap and DH would use the Baby bjorn. He really liked it. Of course, he never tried anything else.

hth

[novmber]

I have the ergo but I only carried one of the twins in it at a time. I love my ergo though.

[cjcolorado]

Congratulations! I managed to wear my twins about as much as I did my daughter. There are a lot of great resources for wearing two online, too. Check out www.thebabywearer.com (they have a forum for 'wearing two or more') and www.mothering.com ' s "parenting multiples" page usually has several threads relating to wearing two.
Early on it was fairly easy to wear two at once on the front. Lots of moms prefer to use a Moby wrap or Baby K'tan. I used two pouch slings, one over each shoulder, with one being a bit longer than the other. As soon as I could put one on my back, I did. I used a BabyHawk mei tai, and later a Beco or Angelpack LX. Then I could either hold one in front, wear one in pouch on the front, or use another Beco for the front. Even to this day (my boys are now two), I still wear one in a Beco on my back if I'm running errands. Those have been true lifesavers!
Best wishes for finding a system that works well for you!
- Cindi
(Hannah 7/16/04)
(Eli & Sam 6/24/06)

[LaCostaMom]

I've not carried them together since trying them in my Moby. When I had one home from NICU, she loved being in the Moby. When my son got home, he didn't like it so much and they hated being in it together. I ended up selling both my Moby's because, for me, it was just too time-consuming and I ended up getting frazzled with their crying as I was tying it all together.

I have 2 ring slings - an Oopa and one my friend made. I really like those - but again, I can only wear 1 baby at a time.

I used the Bjorns (air carrier & original) but DD hated it. I used it with my son up until about a month ago when he was just getting too heavy & I started worrying about all the weight sitting on his groin. My back & shoulders hurt like crazy, too.

I now have an Ergo which I love. Our twins are 6 mos old but DS is 20lbs. Wearing him is much more comfy in the Ergo than anything else I've tried.

Good luck & congratulations!

[mom22]

There are many babies that do not like the Baby Bjorn's but my girls LOVE them! They are 5.5 months old and we still are using them. We started using them around 1 month. (Before that we had help, so no need to "wear" them.) They HATED facing in, but had great head control already at that age, so we just faced them out and it made life soooo much easier.


FYI, I am also 5'2" and had a c-section as well. My insicion was so low that the carrier and/or girls never came near it!

HTH!

[bubbaray]

Um, anything but a Bjorn?

Love my Ergo.

[Kindra178]

I can't seem to "get" slings - maybe cause I am always between sizes? I have tried the hotsling and peanut shell. However, just invested in the ERGO after using the bjorn with my first. Each twin loves the Ergo.