Slings for All

I got to try out a Wildbird ring sling recently while I was teaching at a babywearing meeting. I was super excited when the meeting attendee brought it over because I was dying to try it out since I heard that our group added it to our library. Usually when teaching in person, I thread the ring sling on so that I can make sure that it does not twist on my back. When I attempted to thread the Wildbird sling, I could not get it back through the rings because there was not enough fabric. Without skipping a beat, I took off the sling and put it on the meeting attendee to  get her situated. What I wanted to do was cry. I was panicking on the inside. I felt so angry and embarrassed that  yet again, a ring sling did not fit me.

Later, I checked the Wildbird website and found that the slings are only 74-77 inches long. That is about a size small/medium. I am a fat* woman with broad shoulders.  My sling size is an extra large (XL). I can work with a long large. I prefer to use a 2XL.  Short one size slings are not  inclusive to the wide range of babywearers in the community.

I did write to Wildbird on their Facebook page and they stated “Hey Brittany! So glad you wrote us, we actually have longer slings in the works. Watch for news soon!” Soon. They do not currently have any longer slings in stock.  In their chatter group, the owner expanded on this statement and blamed growing pains on their inability to make longer slings right away. When asked what length the longer slings would be (after suggestions as well) Wildbird only stated that they would give everyone details soon.  Once again, fat babywearers are an afterthought.

Really, I should have known that their slings would not fit me. Their social media and marketing are filled with thin people wearing their slings. I am sure that some fat wearers can wear Wildbird slings since  not everyone is the same shape, but myself and several other wearers cannot. I truly hope that they do make good on their statement.

There are several companies that do offer long or sized slings. Sleeping Baby Productions, True North Ring Slings, Soul, and Maya Wrap are just a few of the many companies that offer long slings.

Fat me and baby Minerva comfortably in an XL Maya Wrap ring sling

*Fat is the term I use to describe myself because I am fat. I describe fat people as fat. It is not a dirty word. If you are uncomfortable with that, I don’t know what to tell you.

Wearing in Pajamas

One of the most common comments I see in babywearing groups on pictures of kids being worn in footie pajamas is “You’re not supposed to do that! You’re hurting your baby’s feet!”

Well that’s not exactly true. You CAN wear your baby in footie pajamas. Here are a few tips to make you successful in this endeavor.

1. Size up the pajamas if you can.
2. Make sure that there’s extra room in the foot area before you start the carry. This is achieved by pulling the fabric at the feet.
3. Make sure the toes are not bunched in the foot area once settled into the carrier.

When the pajamas don’t have enough extra room, not only will it make things more uncomfortable for the wearee, the wearer may have difficulty getting a good seat when wrapping or using a ring sling. When I tried this out, I could not get the fabric in the back of the knee to form the seat. I could only get the fabric as far as the pajamas let me.

If the footie pajamas are snug on the child’s feet when in sitting position before putting them into the carrier, I’d skip wearing in those pajamas. Who am I kidding–I’d probably cut the feet off of the pajamas so we could use them longer!

Happy Babywearing!

Tutorial: Ring Sling Front/Hip Carry

Ring slings are so quick and easy to use! I keep one in my diaper bag and one in my car at all times because I never know when I will need it. In fact, one of my slings came in handy a couple weeks ago when I rushed my kids to a last minute doctor’s appointment and forgot Max’s shoes!

Today, I will be using a Bibetts pure linen ring sling in bamboo yellow to demonstrate a front/hip carry in a ring sling. I say front/hip because I wear my sling kinda off to the side–not exactly front or hip but in between. This is because when I wear directly on my hip, my back hurts and when I wear on the front, there is usually a head in my face after a certain size.

Tutorial: No-Sew Ring Sling

Sometimes this question will pop up: Ring sling or wrap? My answer to that question is BOTH. You can use two sling rings to turn your short wrap (size 2 or 3 for me…my base is an 8) to make a no-sew ring sling! Long explanation not needed here–a no-sew ring sling is just a ring sling  that isn’t sewn together. It is secured the same way that a regular ring sling is secured, with sling rings!

This photo tutorial is going to show how to make the no-sew, but not how to put the child in the sling. The video at the bottom will show how to put the baby in! The photo ring sling tutorial is right here-ring sling tutorial.

Here is how to make the no-sew ring sling:

First, get your two sling rings (I am using size large) and your wrap (I am using a size 3 Bijou Wear Blast Firecracker).

Measure out how long you want your tail to be by wrapping the wrap around you with one side over your shoulder and the other across the front to meet the shoulder.

Gather the fabric at your shoulder by your collarbone and that spot is where you want your rings to be.

Pull the fabric through the rings.

Once you pull the fabric through both of the rings, pull the short end back through one of the rings (just like regularly threading a ring sling). Here’s a gif to show what I mean:

Click here

 

Hopefully that helped explain what I meant!

Put the sling on your shoulder now with the short fabric tail under the long tail that you will be working with. Make sure that the top ring is further back than the bottom one. I’m pointing to it in that picture up there.

Now to thread the sling just like you normally do a ring sling! Gather the fabric in front of you (I pleat it). 

Pull the fabric through both rings.

Very pretty right? At this point I let it all hang down to make sure my fabric is not twisted.

Thread the fabric through the bottom ring.

Take your fingers through the threaded fabric to make sure that it is not twisted.

It should make a cute looking puff of untwisted fabric.

Pull the fabric back the same direction that it came from to get the sling all secured.

Tada! Sling!

Tuck the extra hanging fabric from the beginning of the no-sew part of the sling in the spread back pass and you are done! Now you are ready to put your baby in the sling!

Maxine always loves going uppy front.

Here is the video: