We bought this second hand for $80 over 21 years ago, wow that was a huge expense for us then.
I never really was happy with the way the baby carried in it, even with the second little pouch that the baby sits in. The baby seemed floppy and I still had to hold the baby with my hand which effectively eliminated the hands free focus of the pouch.
When we had Arwen I really wanted to try a new sling style as everyone in the baby wearing department was so happy with them. Still being not very knowledgeable about them we purchased the one we have now.
She seemed to like it for a while but then I still had difficulty carrying it, I just couldn't get it right!
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| A Blurry photo of me, Arwen and the Pocket! |
I am actually enjoying wearing Trahaearn in 'the pocket' and can carry him for extended periods of time, even hours which I was never able to do with the Snuggli or even last time with Arwen in the pocket.
I can now appreciate the value of the pocket and what I can still do while having our precious dumpling right with me as I carry on with other tasks.
In fact there is a waiting list of those other children, who are old enough, who want a turn carrying Trahaearn in the pocket.
I am not sure what I will go to when he is older though.
Does anyone know how old before we need to transition to another type of 'pocket' and what would be the best sort for longer usage for an older baby/ toddler?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated ♥. Until then I will just enjoy carrying our treasure close to my heart in....... 'the pocket!'
Blessings to you and your homes,
This is what my sister used for my niece and was very happy with it. The only thing she cautioned about it is to make sure the baby's face is up and visible--my niece had turned her head towards my sister at one point and her breathing might have become obstructed. Luckily my sister was attentive and noticed right away.
ReplyDeleteI love wearing my babies. Gemma is two, and I still love to use my Ergo for her (I used a Moby-type wrap, handmade, when she was an infant).
Gae, have you heard of baby wrapping? You can buy long pieces of material premade as "wraps", but you can also just use long chunks of material on your own for it. If you google it lots of stuff will come up. :) We made our own with a long {few meters} or t-shirt style material when we climbed Mt Roland to carry Jayden {4 all most 5} in when he tired of walking. If we are blessed with another little one I'll be doing that route vs "pockets" .. We had the front facing one for a while too and it killed my back. Dh was okay with it though.. haha
ReplyDeleteThe sling carriers, like your "pocket", have had some serious warnings about them due to babies not having proper head positioning. Their little heads are tilted to where the chin rests on the chest and babies are dying because their airways are compromised. We used a carrier just like yours for babies 4 and 5 and loved it! After the warnings, we switched to a Moby wrap. It is appropriate for infants up to about 35lbs. I have fibromyalgia and the Moby is the only carrier that doesn't make me hurt. I can carry our 3 1/2 yr old with no problems.
ReplyDeleteOh, how funny, Gae! I had a snuglie exactly like that! I liked it except for the reason you mentioned, not entirely hands free. I recieved a 'pocket' to use instead and could never use it much as my children were always so big and quickly became too heavy for it (when they weighed too much it pulled on one shoulder and hurt my neck). So I, like you, ended up just carying my babies around all of the time and doing everything with one hand ;),untill I was expecting James, and I found this http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/ . I loved the design and versitility. I just had to have one! They even can carry like a rucksack/backpack, which I like for cooking and such. I couldn't afford one though and ended up getting out my sewing machine to make one of these... http://pumpkinpatchdesigns.blogspot.com/2009/08/mei-tai-tutorial-front-carry.html . James still loves it and he's over two ;)for us its 'The Pack" and we 'Go Packin' when we wear it LOL. I sure wish I'd have known about them 15 years ago; I'd have worn my babies much more often. Love the pic of Trehaearn in the pouch. My children like to 'pack' james around too :)
ReplyDeleteOh Gae....he looks all lovely and snuggly there! :-D
ReplyDeleteAs a sling/baby carrier junkie, I have had quite the collection over the years. I started out with the same one you are using. It has a plastic ring on straps which broke, so we just tied a big knot in it. Then I found out that they were taken off the shelves because babies have fallen and seriously been hurt, so if your's still has the plastic ring, you might want to replace it.
ReplyDeleteSince then, I started wearing a "Hot Sling" or "Peanut Shell" which is connected the whole way around. I like that it's nice and snug and doesn't hang off my body as much as the Snugglie did. Plus, you can wear it as a hip carrier when the baby is older.
Now that Jude is 7 months old, I usually go for the Beko Butterfly baby carrier. It's more comfortable for mommy and baby than the popular Baby Bjorn's. This carrier is for front or back.
God Bless!
Hi Gae,
ReplyDeleteWe use an Ergo (http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/) for Benedict and Elisabeth. Benedict has been in the Ergo since birth (with an infant insert until he was about 2-3 months old). After that, we removed the insert and he still rides in it! Greg and I used the Ergos to take both kids up a huge mountain yesterday. They almost weight the same and it was no stress on us (we had them on our backs). I can provide pictures, if you want.
We didn't pay full price for the Ergos, we called the company directly and asked for gently used/factory seconds. Shipped to us they were less than a new one.
I also have two woven wraps - both Storchenwieges (http://storchenwiege.de/). They. Are. Amazing. I can wrap E on my back in one and have no issues. The wovens are great because they do support toddlers quite nicely. And snuggly newborns, as well. We paid quite a good bit of money for one of the wraps, my cousin in Germany brought me one as a gift when he was over here a few years ago.
A website I like to poke around on is thebabywearer.com - there are PLENTY of ideas beyond wraps and Ergos, and there's even a DIY section.
Hope that helps! :-)
Hi Gae!
ReplyDeleteI personally am a big fan of the Maya wrap version of the baby sling. I actually prefer using it with my toddlers over my newborns on my hip. A lot of times I will grocery shop by pushing the newborn in their car seat in a shopping cart ahead of me and have the toddler on my hip in the Maya holder....then I drag a shopping cart behind me to put all the groceries in-it's my workout for the day:)! Now that some of my kids are older I have them to help push carts, but for the longest time I didn't have that luxury.
I know a lot of friends that rave about the Ergo baby carrier version of the baby holder type that you had previously.
Of course these baby carriers are expensive, but I am sure there are patterns out there for making your own maya sling. It seems pretty basic-fabric with a metal wring to thread it through. I'm just not much of a sewer!
God's blessings,
Stephanie@thesweetnessofhome.blogspot.com
I love baby wrapping - I have bought mine from an Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lilpeeperkeepers and have just loved them! I hope to buy one for my sister-in-law who is having a baby next month. :)
ReplyDeleteDear Ladies,
ReplyDeleteI am more than thankful for your comments here. I am currently looking into all your sugestions. I think I will try to make one forst Moby Style and then go with the Ego, but cost is a huge factor for me.
Thank you again
God Bless
Gae
Hi,
ReplyDeleteBaby wearing is great and benefits you and your babies but if you haven't already, have a read of this: http://www.babyworld.co.uk/news/Mar10/sling_baby_carriers.asp
http://www.thebabywearer.com/articles/HowTo/Positioning.pdf
http://www.babyslingsafe.com/
The bag slings you have pictured have been recalled as they pose a risk to the baby because they can cause newborns to bring their chin to the chest and block their airways or struggle to breath as the fabric covers their mouth.
Anyone with a bag sling should destroy it. Their are plenty of safe carriers to use instead.