Ring slings
Posted by quikeye - 02-24-2005
Ring slings are just that, a carrier that uses a ring to adjust itself. Basically a ring sling is a long swatch of fabric, doubled over and whose end is threaded thru a set of rings (metal, plastic). This closes the pouch off, tightens it against the body, and makes the entire sling adjustable.
Both the front rail (the piece of fabric AWAY from you, that holds babe IN) and the back rail (the piece of fabric against yor body) are adjustable by using the rings. This means a VERY good fit for any size baby or mami. Also, by being able to independently adjust the back rail on a sling, it makes nursing inside easier (you are able to pull down the inside rail while keeping the outer rail pulled up for privacy).
There is extra fabric that hangs from the rings after you've adjusted them, which is called a "tail". A tail is great as it can serve as an extra coverup for nursing, and some slings come with a built in zippered pocket here where you could store keys, an extra dipe, etc. Also great for peekaboo sessions.
The adjustability of the ring sling means that different sized people can easily use the same sling, and that baby can be worn from newborn to toddler with very little hassle.
Slings are often judged on their comfort by the TYPE of shoulder they purport to have. There are 2 types of shoulders on a ring sling: fanned and pleated. A fanned shoulder will spread the fabric more evenly across the shoulder than a non fanned shoulder. A pleated shoulder will look trimmer and not as spread as the fanned shoulder. Do a little reading on the differences-- many have opinions on the best types of shoulder for ring slings.
Slings can be made from lots of fabrics-- cotton, silk brocade, etc. I can't think of a fleece RS off the top of my head...
Please feel free to add anything about RING SLINGS by replying to this post! Thanks
Missy
Mom to DD1 '03 and DD2 '05