When you have a child with physical issues that affect their mobility, or a child whose special needs mean they need extra emotional attachment, babywearing can help. No more safety worries for children with mobility issues, you can get things done faster, and the closeness of carrying means emotional needs are met more easily.

The question becomes, what carrier is best suited for babywearing when you’re not wearing a baby?

Most traditional-style baby slings and carriers are designed to carry babies and toddlers. This means they are usually only stress-tested (especially the seams and any rings, buckles, or clips) up to 16-20kg. When carrying an older child, you can expect their weight to be around 20-30kg before it becomes too much.

The best place to start your child carrier search is to look for a style of carrier that wil suit the way you will most often use it. For a child who needs to be carried for long blocks of time, you might want to consider a two-shoulder carrier (like a mei tai or soft structured carrier) and you might also want a padded waist band for extra support. A child who needs to be frequently picked up and put down, but is still quite heavy, might be better suited to a carrier that supports hip carrying positions, such as a ring sling or a specialised soft strucutred hip carrier.

You may also need to consider the sitting position your child prefers. A child in a brace or with low muscle tone may be more comfortable in a specific position when being held, so it’s best to find a carrier that naturally supports that position comfortably for wearer and child, rather than compromising what is most comfortable for the child.

No matter what style of carrier you choose, you’ll be looking for sturdy fabrics. Rather than a mesh or thin cotton sling, you’ll want a thicker cotton or hemp woven fabric, or multiple layers in a mei tai or soft structured carrier. Forget about anything stretchy - some “give” in a woven fabric helps with a good fit over your shoulders and hips, but stretch jersey will just sag and need constant adjusting with a heavy child. When looking at woven wraps, it is well worth investing in a long wrap with proper diagonal give in the weave, rather than just using cheaper woven fabric bought from a fabric supply shop. A long wrap also means you can get more layers of fabric where you most need support.

Once you’ve narrowed down the styles that might suit, start trying on. Contact a local babywearing group, join the Baby Carriers Downunder sling library program to borrow carriers, or visit a shop with a proper fitting service. You may also need to contact the manufacturer of your preferred carriers to check that the carrier construction is sturdy enough for your purpose. The manufacturer can advise what weight they have stress tested for, and how seams are constructed or buckles have been fastened. The members at your local sling group or shop staff may already have the answers to these questions, but it doesn’t hurt to ask the manufacturer as well in case things have changed in their product’s construction recently.

If you’re thinking about carrying a special needs child beyond the usual toddler walking age, I wish you luck and hope you both enjoy the ride. There is nothing quite as nice as being able to meet so many of a child’s needs simply by holding them.

You need to learn how to do a rebozo carry and then all sorts of items suddenly become baby carriers! Scarves, shawls,  sheets, tablecloths- the possibilities are endless.

An awesome, detailed tutorial on the rebozo and slip knot is here. Nat has put it together for you all and it’s definitely worth a look! Even if you’ve been short wrap challenged up until now, this is the tutorial that will make it for you. If Nat can teach me to rebozo carry, then she can teach anyone

Are you a fan of the rebozo? Leave a comment and let us know!

Oh how do I love thee, Size Three? Let me count the ways: seven, give or take a few.

Short wraps are versatile. They’re generally considered to be wraps size three and under (from about 2.1m to 3.2m in length or so). They’re much easier to use than most people think and you need one. Here’s why…

Rebozo Carries

Front, back and side (hip) carries: the classic one shoulder rebozo carries (instructions here) have all the functionality of a ringsling if you use a slipknot for adjusting the tension of the rails. I’ll freely admit to finding the slipknot more difficult to tighten than a ringsling, especially as the wearee gets larger, but I often use a square knot and treat the wrap as a pouch of sorts- it’s not adjustable, but it’s pretied and fast.

If you need to learn how to tie a slip knot, see the video here.

Rucksack Carries

This carry has so many variations, it’s hard to know where to start. Personally, I find them great for both big and little kids. Like rebozo carries, they’re fast to get on and have the advantage of being two shouldered. Variations include Ruck Under Bum (RUB), ruck with chestbelt (an excellent and fast alternative to ruck finished tibetan with a longer wrap), ruck Tied In Front (TIF), ruck with lexi twist, any combination of the above depending on your size and probably a few more.

An alternative to the ruck is the strap carry, excellent for toddlers and very cool in summer.

Kangaroo Carry

This is a great carry for tying around an already sleeping baby. It’s one that took me a while to learn, but it was definitely worth it. It has the material advantage of being a two-shouldered front carry which distributes the weight of even quite large children very evenly across the back. Really just a ruck tied with the baby in front, it has a number of the same variations.  Photographic instructions here.

But wait, there’s more…

So far, I’ve discussed the most common carries used with short wraps, but there are a number of lesser known carries that you really need to know about!

Torso carries with a short wrap. It’s sometimes very useful to have your shoulders free of your wearee’s weight. Whether that’s due to shoulder weakness from injury, a break for your shoulders or to hang washing, a torso carry is an excellent carry to have in your arsenal. Depending on your size and the length of your short wrap, it can be done in the kanga style, similar to the way it’s done with a beach towel, or using this method which ties at the waist and is very supportive without digging into the breasts.

The Short Cross Variation. As far as I’m concerned, this carry is the greatest thing invented since short wraps themselves. Similar to the Front Cross Carry (FCC), it’s a pretied, poppable, two-shouldered front carry. In other words, we have a poppable alternative to the kangaroo carry that’s much easier to tie. Wonderful for quick trips, if you are learning to use a short wrap, this is a must!

The Hip Cross Carry (HCC).Another pretied hip carry, this one is quick, poppable and easy to tie. Instructions are at Elly’s How-To Rebozo Page.

Other Reasons to Love Your Short Wraps

Wraps aren’t just wraps, they’re change mats, blankets, burp cloths, scarves, shawls, emergency toddler leashes, zombie garottes, swings, (short) hammocks and more. A short wrap folds down much smaller than, say, a size 6 wrap. As I’ve tried to show, they’re just as versatile as longer wraps.

Some of the carries listed above, however, are quite hard to learn- especially if you’re new to wrapping. If you’re thinking about getting a short wrap, my suggestion is to start with a length of ordinary cloth of the right width and length for you and learn a few of the carries - see how you like them. In my opinion, the easiest carries to learn with a short wrap are the rebozo carries (with square knot), the strap carry, HCC and the short cross carry variation. Once you’ve mastered these, venture into the realm of the ruck and kangaroo carries which are a little more complex to tie.

Do you own a short wrap? Would you like to? What carries do you use? Which variations? What are the best short wraps for you? Leave a comment and let us know!