When I had my daughter I knew that I didn’t want to have to deal with a stroller. “Baby Cadillacs” is what I called them. Strollers for infants are so big and bulky, most are hard to unfold while carrying a newborn at the same time, and they take up a lot of room. That is why I decided that I wanted to use an infant carrier instead. Infant carriers have been used for thousands of years. The use of them dates back to tribal times when women had to work while having their babies alongside them.
At my baby shower I was given a Snugli Infant Carrier by Evenflo. It was one of the requested items on my wish list. When my baby arrived, I was so happy that I had it. My daughter was very needy and always wanted to be held and cuddled. I found it impossible to get things done around the house or even go the bathroom without her screaming and protesting. Thankfully I had my Snugli Infant Carrier to rely on…or so I thought. I pulled the carrier out of the box and was immediately confused. There were so many strings and pieces. I had to read the directions in order to assemble the carrier.
After snapping all the right buttons and getting the carrier set to fit my back comfortably, I tried putting my daughter inside. This was another hassle. It was hard to figure out, even when I followed the diagrams on the instructions. I finally figured out how to put my daughter in and set her into the carrier facing me. I discovered that there were two positions for infants in the carrier-facing in and facing out.
I decided that I would try and get some things done around the house, and I did find the Snugli Infant Carrier to be helpful-in fact my daughter feel asleep in it and I was able to lay her down and get some much needed time to myself.
The Snugli Infant Carrier did have a drawback though. I found it difficult to use the carrier and breastfeed at the same time. I do not think the carrier was built for nursing, although it says that it is. Whenever I needed to nurse my daughter in public, I had to take her out of the carrier and use a blanket to conceal myself.
After about a month, my daughter was too heavy for the carrier. At that point to she weighed about 15 pounds, and even though the Snugli Infant Carrier’s suggested use is up to 26 pounds, it was too much of a strain on my back. I was really disappointed because I wanted continue using a carrier and not have to deal with a stroller. I mentioned my frustration to my midwife at a follow-up appointment and she suggested that I try the Maya Wrap Sling.
The Maya Wrap Sling is an infant carrier that is made from Guatemalan fabric. In fact, it is modeled after the way that women in Guatemala carry their babies. I was fortunate to find that there was a distributor near my home and I made an appointment to go to her home and chose out a sling. I was amazed by the variety of colors and styles that the Maya Wrap Sling came in. I chose a multi-colored fabric that I thought was very ethnic looking and beautiful. I was given a DVD and basic instructions on how to use the sling.
When I got home I watched the DVD-which had very detailed instructions on how to carry my child in it. The Maya Wrap Sling is for infants and toddlers and can be used in variety of ways to hold your child. You can use the front carry position, back carry, hip, kangaroo, nursing, and probably even more if you get creative.
After watching the DVD I decided to try the sling out on my newborn. I have to admit; it felt really awkward at first. My main concern was that my daughter would slip out of the material. It was also hard to find the right adjustment. But surprisingly, after about 30 minutes of messing around with the sling, I figured out an adjustment that made us both comfortable.
One of the first things I noticed was that the Maya Wrap Sling was very comfortable on my back and shoulders. It didn’t have a bunch of pads or strings and was very easy to put on. The material was also very breathable, and my daughter loved to be bundled up in it. Sometimes I would lay her down inside the sling while I did housework and she would fall asleep...I think it reminded her of being in the womb.
I found it much easier to nurse my daughter using the Maya Wrap Sling, especially in public. The sling has a tail, which is about a foot or two of extra fabric that you can use to cover yourself when you nurse. I found that if I just adjusted my daughter’s position in the sling, I was able to be very discreet. In fact, there were many times that I was nursing in public and people would not know and ask if they could see my baby. Other times people did not even know that I was carrying a baby…they thought I was carrying a purse!
Now that my daughter is 11 months, we still use the Maya Wrap Sling regularly. I find it very helpful to use when I am trying to get things done around the house, going in and out of the car while running errands, or even just wearing her in it to put her to sleep. It is still comfortable and easy to use.
