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Baby Sling
Small babies often like the feel of being carried about in a sling or carrier and will often happily go to sleep in them. Baby slings are useful any time you would be carrying your baby in your arms for an extended period of time. They can substitute for a stroller, bouncy seat, playpen, plastic carrier and (outside of the car) the infant car seats many parents use as a carrier. They are useful when you are up and moving or sitting and feeding. Using a baby sling can make life easier for you and is good for your baby. The advantages: • It's convenient. You can breastfeed discretely in a sling while working, getting things done around the house, shopping or eating in a restaurant. If you have a baby who wants to be held all the time, this is an easy way to meet her needs while doing other things. • It helps moms care for older siblings. Carrying your baby in a sling can give you the mobility to care for your older children. • It helps some babies to breastfeed better. Some babies, particularly those who are tense or tend to arch their backs, breastfeed better while moving. Also, babies who are slow to gain weight (for no apparent reason) have been known to gain better if carried in a sling for several hours a day, since proximity to mom encourages babies to eat more frequently. • It reduces crying and colic. A 1986 study of 99 mother-infant pairs (reported in Pediatrics) showed that carrying babies at least three hours a day reduces crying and fussing 43% during the day and 51% at night. Babies are happier because they have less need to cry, and parents enjoy their babies more as a result. • It enhances learning. Carried babies have enhanced visual and auditory alertness, and increased "quiet alertness" times. Carrying a baby promotes cognitive development and speech development, since babies are exposed to more experiences and conversations. • Carried babies are involved in their parents' world. They participate in life, rather than see it as a spectator. • Carrying your baby promotes bonding and enhances parents' feelings of competence. A higher frequency of feeding and touching stimulates mothering hormones, and frequent carrying encourages and speeds the development of a mutual reading of each other's cues. Most slings can be used in similar ways. Any sling that is worn "sash style" from the shoulder to the opposite hip can be used in a variety of ways. In general, think about how you would hold a baby "in arms." This can usually be duplicated with a sling. First, put your sling on. This usually involves putting one arm and your head through the sling, resting it on your shoulder and smoothing out the fabric. For a newborn, you can use a cradle hold or a "snuggle" hold. There are many different positions for baby in a sling - lying down in the cradle hold is NOT the only option: she can sit up and face the front, sit up and face you, lie down with head toward or away from the rings, sit on your hip, or even ride on your back. Types of Slings: There are many, many different kinds of slings, ranging from a simple strip of fabric tied at the hip or shoulder to highly constructed, formed baby carriers, front packs and backpacks. The best sling is the sling that fits your budget, lifestyle and needs. Try and find a sling that will suit you and your baby. Do you need padding? Is it more important that the sling be compact and something you can wear without a baby in it, or is it more important that you have lots of padding and structure? Do you have back problems? Are you breastfeeding? Do you want something you can fold up and put in your diaper bag easily? How much can you afford to spend? Are you willing to pay extra for organic fabric? If you want something simple, comfortable and compact, the tube sling is a great way to go. You trade adjustability for ease of use, but other than that, you can use it for almost anything you can use a "constructed" sling for. If it seems to hang down around your bellybutton or bangs your thighs, it's probably too long. If you can get it on and just fit your baby in comfortably, it's just right. If you want something very adjustable, comfortable and versatile, the constructed sling is the way to go. Fabric slings vary widely. Most front packs work only until baby weighs about 20 pounds. Backpacks are another option many parents like. Front Carriers vs. Slings
Types of Holding in a Sling The Snuggle Hold Bring baby up to your shoulder as if you were going to pat for a burp. Hold the baby there with one hand supporting the baby's back. If the sling is over your right shoulder, put baby on your left shoulder and hold baby with your left hand and use your opposite hand to pull the top edge of the front of the sling away from your body. Make sure baby's feet are inside the sling, and slowly slide baby down your chest until baby is right where you would normally hold her. If the sling is adjustable, you should use your free hand (the one that is not holding the baby) to tighten the sling by pulling on the tail. Do this until the sling holds your baby securely in position. If the sling is not adjustable, keep lowering baby until the sling supports all of her weight. If your sling is not small enough to support the baby relatively high and upright on your chest, you may prefer the cradle hold. The Cradle Hold Bring baby up to your left shoulder (with the sling resting on the right shoulder, crossing to the left hip). Support baby with your left hand and arm-your hand will be cupping the back of baby's head and your arm will be along baby's back, with baby's legs straddling your arm. Use your right hand to open the sling. Lean forward a little and lower baby across your body so that baby and your arm are in the sling. If baby is very tiny, you may want to pad the sling first with a rolled up towel. Let the baby's weight be supported by the sling and gently withdraw your arm. Holds for Older Babies When baby is sitting up better and supporting her head fully, you may want to sit her in the sling cross-legged, facing sideways or outward. For any baby big enough to sit on your hip (including toddlers and preschoolers) the sling can be used as a "substitute arm." Simply pick your child up, help her get her feet into the sling and through, and sit her on your hip as usual, with the sling supporting her bottom and back. Tighten to fit comfortably. From this hip-sitting position, your child can be shifted behind your arm so that she's sitting on the back of your hip. This is a more convenient position for cooking and cleaning. Simply grab the shoulder of the sling and give a firm hoist forward. This will tend to move your baby back. Some More Useful Facts to Know About Slings Babywearing Organizes and Regulates Baby. During the first nine months, the womb environment regulates baby's systems automatically. Birth temporarily disrupts this organization. By extending the womb experience, the babywearing mother (and father) provide an external regulating system that balances the irregular and disorganized tendencies of the baby. Babywearing Reduces Crying and Colic. In 1986 a team of researchers in Montreal reported a study of ninety-nine mother-infant pairs, half of which were assigned to a group that was asked to carry their babies in their arms or in a carrier for at least three hours a day. The other group studied was asked to position their babies facing a mobile or pictures of a face when placed in a crib but not to try to calm the baby by increased carrying. The infants who received supplemental carrying cried and fussed 43% less than the noncarried group. Babywearing Enhances Learning. If infants spend less time crying and fussing, what do they do with their extra time and energy? Researchers have reported the following effects of babywearing and quiet alertness: carried babies show enhanced visual and auditory alertness. The behavioral state of quiet alertness also gives parents a better opportunity to interact with baby. When worn in a cradle position mom and baby are positioned face to face and researchers have found that human face, especially in this position, is a potent stimulator for interpersonal bonding.
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