Saturday, March 30, 2013

Slummin' the sling!

The 'sling' is one baby item that's both economical & absolutely necessary. Not that I've been a regular user, but whenever I've needed it, it has been a god sent!

Economical cuz I'm not talking about the elaborately wired ones with five different buckles and belts and where the baby just hangs over his crotch facing the world. I had one that was gifted to me, but I would take forever to get all the buckles in place and by the time it was all set ,baby would want to get off ! What I'm talking about is the simple single piece that goes around the neck, under one arm & diagnally over the chest ,so your babys semi-facing you and semi facing the task you're doing, with a round metallic ring on which you can adjust the length. Its akin to carrying your baby , while keeping your hands free.

these ones in Jakarta cost around 70,000 rupiah /$7 onwards. Have two of them so one can be used while the others gone for a wash. And yes they can be shoved in the washing machine without any thought! There are the fancy ultra expensive ones too like the Maya Wrap, but seriously? Splurge $75 on a piece of cloth?

I aint a regular user cuz I've got a fussy back (yeah blame all those years of slouching!) although my nanny would swear that you could carry babies in it for hours without feeling the weight- na ah, didn't work for me, it was just a shift of weight. BUT there are times when I NEED to shift weight off my hands in two specific situations:

(1) When he's sick ... Which has been only common cold so far but the biggest symptom is to cling on to me for his dear life...for hours together...!
 
(2) when I'm alone and I got to get on with chores! Manavs an extremely active kid who's ALWAYS up to something, so it's difficult to be engaged in say cooking a dish while keeping an eye on him. So the only way to do it would be to "sling it"... Cuz he would then be busy watching what I was doing while my hands were free to do it!

I used to be very pro - stroller & anti - sling in first few months when he was still a little baby and took plenty of day time naps, so if we carried him to a mall, daily walks etc he would eagerly watch the world or just snooze. But soon enough he explicitly expressed his dislike of being confined in it! When he started walking was finally the end of the era of cajoling him in the the stroller. We let the over eager fella walk whenever possible + slinged it when neeeded

So basically, stoller = expensive shit + not used beyond 8 months whereas Sling = cheap cheap cheap and extensively used for twice that period & counting !

1 comment:

  1. I loved my sling, and would love to be asked if there really was a baby in there! Unfortunately, I did overpay for mine and it wasn't adjustable, but I loved wearing both my babies! Now, they are both older, and when we go on trips, I have invested in another longer, adjustable sling and I can carry the 2 yr old in that sling and OHHH, it's so helpful! His legs don't get tired from walking and I don't hear the whining! It's a good workout (for your back) too!

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