The BabaSling Review

Posted on 9 Oct 2009 | 1 comment

I tried a couple of baby carriers with my first son, but found the first (a ‘harness’ style) hot, uncomfortable and impractical (also, the first time I took Harry out in it, he pooed so extravagantly that he burst his nappy and filled the sling, which put me off it a bit) and the second (a wrap) impossible to use with only two hands, so while I was intrigued by the Babasling, I can’t say I had particularly high hopes.

But rather than being tricky to ‘fit’, the Babasling literally just goes over your head and under one arm like a sash. And then you stick the baby in it. That’s it. Oh there are different positions for the baby – lying down, sitting up, facing forward and more – but the gist is still put it over your head, stick the baby in it. Easy.

The first time I used it I found it a little bit tricky manoevring Joe over my shoulder and then pulling the fabric of the sling over him and positioning the bottom part behind his knees, but that was just because he was small and I felt like I needed more hands. Once he was in – curled up against me, his hot breath against my neck – we were both happy and, within minutes, Joe was asleep.

This has happened pretty much every time I’ve used it. I still haven’t tried out the other positions because he likes to be against my shoulder and I like it when he’s asleep. (I like it when he’s awake too, incidentally, but asleep’s so much easier.)

I use the sling on the school run and it’s so much quicker and easier than getting the pram in and out of the car. I wouldn’t want to wear it (and the baby) for hours on end (I think about half an hour is probably my limit), but for short walks I think it’s brilliant.

Plus it’s easy to wash and dry, folds up into its own little bag and will last until Joe’s two. An excellent piece of kit.

There’s a fabulous rainbow of colour options available from the Babasling website, and all are the same snip at £40.