From the past couple of weeks, I have been trying to find a better option for a baby sling / baby carrier. The one that I had was store bought and served the purpose well up until few months back.
Chhavi turned 1 yr and the sling which was initially just enough for her, started becoming smaller and since Chhavi grew taller and heavier, it was proving to be quite difficult to carry her in that one. As it is, it was a strain on my shoulders and neck, and now it was even worse. It was a cross-belt on my back. So the cross-belt was pinching on my neck everytime, bcoz of Chhavi's weight.
I decided to do some alterations on the sling and when I went to Mangalore to my parents house, I got my mom to attach some cloth to the sides and remove the cross belt and make it into a H shaped belt in the back. It served well for a short while and when Chhavi got bigger, the side seams seem to be strained too much and the H belt again started moving upper. Also now since the sling was bigger, Chhavi was able to move more in the space and she started jumping - which distracted me from riding my bike.
From the past few days, I was researching online on how to tie a baby wrap and found a lot of options or ways to do it. I was actually surprised that I dint do it earlier. I always thought that using a home made wrap would be tedious and not very safe and what not... the usual thoughts that a mom gets regd the safety of her baby. However, I decided to try it out once to see how it would feel and how tough it would be.
I was super surprised with the results. It almost took none of my time (2 mins or so). Was very comfortable on my neck and shoulders, gave Chhavi ample amount of moving space - yet kept her confined. And best of all, it was super super easy to do. Also, the best part is that you can carry a newborn to even as big a baby as 3 yrs. The most important development from this is that baby can sit in an ergonomic position, not putting any strain on his / her pelvic joints (as opposed to how a baby is carried in a store bought sling). Essentially baby sits in a frog like position.
Instructions to come soon - in next post - with photos.
