My sling... and why you need one too

Ryann is hosting Toolin' Up Tuesday over at Life as MOM today. Be sure to head over there for some great tools and tricks!

When it grew apparent we'd be bringing C. home soon, I started thinking about what items might make my life easier. We already had a lot of baby gear- our son had been born less than eleven months before her! But I tried to take into account all the differences.

While A. weighed in at a fairly hefty eight pounds at birth, C. would be coming home at 6 1/2 pounds and almost four months old. She was also still on supplemental oxygen through a nasal cannula, an apnea monitor through leads attached to her chest, and a feeding tube that was threaded through her nose. Lots of extra stuff going on. Having to juggle equipment in addition to a tiny baby added a new challenge. Also, don't forget I still needed to have at least one hand free to juggle her not-yet-walking brother! I decided that I needed a sling.

I did a lot of online research before ordering my sling and finally decided that this type would work best for me:



(Obviously not me in that picture, but doesn't she look so sweet with that little newborn???)

This type of sling is essentially a big, long piece of knit fabric that you wrap around your body a few different directions and it forms a wonderful little supportive "pouch" in which you can snuggle your baby. What I loved about it: it was rated for 5-35 pounds, it kept C. very securely against my body, it folded up into almost nothing, and it was very soft and comfortable to wear. What I didn't like? There was a steep learning curve in getting handy at wrapping that thing.

Despite the complexity of wrapping, I absolutely adored this sling. I can't imagine how I would have carted everything (and everyone!) around without it. No doubt, this was a very important tool to have for parenting our tiny preemie. I recommend you do some research and find a good sling if you're going to be juggling gear like we were-- I truly think you'll be glad you did.