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.

The winter weather has started in Canberra, which means three months of non-stop snot in any household with children. When a toddler or pre-schooler has a lurgy, they’re more likely to want holding. And when all of them have lurgies, you might find yourself short of arms to hold them all. Hence slings are a good idea!

Can’t even tell she’s feeling sick, can you? The combination of cuddles from mum, plus a camera, cheered her up pretty quick.

I prefer a ring sling for situations like this - quick on/off with toddlers who are pick-up-put-down, or if you need a quick escape before they chuck down the front of your top (don’t laugh, I’ve had it happen to me!). Also very machine washable - just pop a sock over the rings to stop them clanking against the side of the washing machine. Also a nice cool sling (well, cooler than putting a feverish kid in a front-wrap-cross-carry in a thick wrap). Especially if you’ve got a mesh sling. And if you do get chuck down your front, just step into the shower - slingling and all - to clean up.

Today was the Inner North Community Fair in Canberra, celebrating the wetlands to be built on Hawdon Oval in Dickson. And it looked almost as much like Babywearer Central as the Homebirth Rally at Parliament House back in September 2009.

Most of what I spotted were SSCs in every colour they’ve ever been made in, one metal-frame backpack, and a few stretchy wraps. But I also saw a pretty woven wrap, a lesser-known SSC brand custom-made to impress the wearer’s teenage son, and a few very funky mei tais. Oh, and the prettiest green hemp silk ring sling in town, with a sleeping toddler boy in it. With the huge number of dogs, bikes, and walking adults, baby carriers were a very sensible choice for walking over the uneven ground, dodging unicorn poo (not your average pony rides), grooving to the funky free music, and checking out all things environmentally sustainable in our local community. Much easier than pushing a pram on the grass, and with built-in sun protection for kids who throw their hats overboard.

But… could babywearers outrun the Daleks? I reckon it’s much easier to run up stairs with your baby in an SSC than a pram, so that’s a yes!

Here’s the official Australian government notice about the Infantino Sling Rider and Wendy Bellissimo slings having been recalled by their Australian distributor.

This follows a US safety warning on slings - read all about it here. The important thing to note here is that the warning applies only to slings that make it difficult to keep a newborn’s airways clear while lying in a cradle hold position, or where it is difficult to monitor a newborn’s position in the sling (ie you can’t see the baby easily in the sling to make sure they’re still in a good position). Babies who are newborn, premature, or have health issues are at higher risk in these carriers.

Ring slings, pouches, and wraps are often used to carry newborns in a cradle carry position, and it’s quite safe to do. In fact, some babies prefer this position when they’re sleeping. It also makes it easy to breastfeed baby in the sling. But it is also important to make sure you use your sling properly. If in doubt, get advice from an experienced babywearer at a sling meet in your local area, use internet forums to find experienced babywearers near you who can give you some help, or drop by a shop that provides a professional fitting/demonstration service for the type of sling you’re using. You can also check out videos on YouTube, or get a copy of the Tummy2Tummy babywearing DVD to get help on newborn positioning, and there’s also a Newborn Correct Positioning article available here.

You might have heard that the US CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published a warning this week about the safety of infant slings. In particular, there have been a number of deaths reported when babies have been carried in bag-style slings where the baby’s face was not visible, or where the baby was able to get into a chin-on-chest position that blocked their airway. The CPSC warning included this useful example of right and wrong ways to position baby in a soft sling:

If you’ve been wondering whether it’s safe to use a baby sling at all with your newborn, don’t panic! Baby slings have been successfully used for thousands of years, in cultures all over the world. Babywearing can help newborn babies (especially premmies) regulate their temperature and breathing, increase milk supply for breastfeeding mothers with low supply, help parents or carers bond with their baby, and help settle babies (especially those with colic or reflux).

What we haven’t had in modern Western society is the knowledge passed on from our mothers and grandmothers about how to use a piece of cloth to carry our babies safely. It’s not enough just to rely on manufacturers to make a sling that is safe to use without instruction.

If you’re looking at getting a sling for your newborn, check out these newborn babywearing videos and instructions to start with; go along to a babywearing meet in your local area; get active on forums like Baby Carriers Downunder, The Babywearer, Intuitive Parenting, or Natural Parenting where there are experienced babywearers to answer your questions; or visit a shop where the staff have been trained in how to position newborns safely in soft slings. Generic Viagra 100 Mg
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This is the first in a series of posts aimed at helping parents with special needs. Here, we look at babywearing with a shoulder injury.

You’d like to wear your baby or older child, but red-hot pain is holding you back. Depending on the extent of your injury, it may be possible for you to wear your child while supporting the healing of the afflicted area. In this post, I’ll take you through babywearing with an injured shoulder(s). It’s an area of personal experience for me. My right shoulder has had (at various times) bursitis, tendonitis, a thinned distal portion of the rotator cuff, dense calcifcation in the tendons, possible cartilage damage and “changes to the tendonopathy of the region”, whatever that means. I didn’t understand much of the preceding, but my GP summed it up nicely when she looked at the xrays: “this shoulder is stuffed“.

If you have any injury, shoulder or otherwise, it’s important to define exactly what the problem is. I’m going to divide the possible problems into two areas: reduced range of movement and reduced ability to weight-bear. Each of these can occur independently or together, but the consequences for babywearing are quite diffferent.

Reduced Range of Movement

A reduced range of movement can occur for many reasons, but the main consequence for babywearing is difficulty in getting the child into the carrier in the first place. In this case, the simpler the better. In my experience with shoulder injuries, long wraps were disastrous- passing fabric to and fro was very painful and practically impossible. Simpler carries and carriers like short wraps, mei tais or SSCs were easier to get on with less pain. Ring slings and pouches may also be an option if only one shoulder is injured and you can bear weight on the uninjured shoulder.

When wrapping, your strategy depends on what portions of your range of movement are affected. Carries starting with a chestbelt may provide support while you wrap through your available range of movement. Alternatively, back carries tied under the wearees bottom may be impossible.

Lifting a child onto your back may be difficult in itself. It may be worthwhile reviewing other options if your regular method doesn’t work. Superman tossing is my usual method of initiating a back carry, but when lifting my arm above my head was intensely painful, lifting 9kg of baby didn’t seem sensible. The hip scooting method proved to be an acceptable compromise.

Reduced ability to bear weight on the affected shoulder

Let me be very clear: if it’s painful to wear your child, it may be wise not to do so if you want the affected area to heal. However, if wearing is important to you, there may be ways to get around the problem if you are unable to bear weight on the affected area. There are several options:

1. Avoid the area altogether. If you have two injured shoulders, it may be well worth looking into torso carries and carriers, which will eliminate any weight on your shoulder. These include torso carries with long, short wraps and straight-strapped podaegi. If you have a single injured shoulder, you have the additional option of one-shoulder carries in a short wrap, ring sling or pouch and modifying certain wrap carries (such as the BWCC with chestbelt) to avoid the affected shoulder (this was my personal favourite for extended carries. If anyone wants to know how it’s done, hit me up in the comments section!).

2. Reduce the weight on the affected area by distributing it to other parts of your body. Depending on the extent of your injury, you may still choose to bear weight on the affected shoulder(s). Carriers such as SSCs, chunei and mei tais tied tibetan or with straps crossed in front will distribute weight to your hips and across your chest, reducing the weight on your shoulders. Wrap carries with chest belts, tied tibetan or tied at the waist will do the same.

3. Teach your partner to babywear, put your feet up and wait to get better. More seriously, you may need to re-evaluate your babywearing goals. In my case, it became apparent that attempting to tandem wear 20kg+ of children at once was no longer the best option. I bought a better stroller and put babywearing on the needs-only list for awhile. It doesn’t make me a bad person! And, as a result, I’m now able to lift a coffee cup without wincing.  It was one of my better decisions!

Hopefully, this post gave you some ideas for babywearing with a shoulder injury. Look out for our next installment on babywearing with a back injury.

Have you continued to babywear with an injury or disability? What were the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Leave a comment and let us know!