The CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) is working to have a standard in place for slings and non-front pack baby carriers which is going to eventually make it almost impossible for work at home mothers and small businesses producing soft baby carriers to stay in business. The testing required to be approved by the CPSIA costs on average about $2,000, per product. This is really going to have a devastating affect on small business and the variety of baby carriers available.
Baby wearing is a subject near and dear to my heart. Once I found slings, being with V while going about my day, soothing her for naps, breastfeeding on the move, all of this and more became infinitely easier. I cannot brag about my joy of baby wearing, or my slings enough. My personal favorite, and an example of a well developed, and safely produced design, is a Sleeping Baby Production Sling. I am the proud owner of a gorgeous custom sling from Jan at Sleeping Baby Production and use it regularly. I also have a Sling Fling Sling, and an Over the Shoulder Baby Holder sling. I use them all although I have a feeling the Sling Fling sling will not last very long compared to the others. In the beginning of my mommy-hood I used a Moby Wrap Baby Carrier and really really wanted it to work for us. I loved the luxurious feel of the stretchy cotton jersey and the way it hugged V to my body, but I couldn't make it work for me. Eventually I found my way to rings slings and haven't looked back since.
I will admit that I did own and use an Infantino pouch sling. I bought it specifically because it matched the outfit I was wearing as a matron of honor in a friend's Halloween wedding. Terrible reason I know. At that time V was about 2 1/2-months-old and had excellent neck control, and she was a full term and very healthy baby. Even not knowing much about baby slings at the time, I felt that the sling rode much too low on my body and would shift her and the sling up past my navel and support her with my arm, all the time. I hated that the sides of the sling would occasionally inhibit my view of her face and that I could barely breastfeed her while she was in the sling without making major adjustments. V outgrew that Infantino monstrosity very quickly, inspiring me to look into other options.
A dear friend sent me the Over the Should Baby Holder that he had used with his children and I loved how sturdy and secure it was, how high I could place her on my body, and how completely comfortable she felt. It was however a bit too padded and bulky for what I was looking for when going out in the world. I found out about open tail ring slings on the internet, but had (and have) very limited resources. I went to eBay and bought the Sling Fling Sling for $20.00. This is not the best sling out there, but it definitely started me into finding out what are, and made me a die hard ring sling fan. It is made out of a single layer of light cotton that will wear out, so I make sure to check it every time I wear it to make sure it hasn't started to fray. V is at least 23 lbs and about 30" tall and I still sling her regularly. When the holidays rolled around and my baby girl was just about 4 1/2-months-old I asked for one thing only from my Mother-in-law, a Sleeping Baby Production sling, custom made for me. It was my favorite gift of the holidays and I get tons of compliments when I wear it. And I used Jan Andrea's instructions to make ring slings for my sister and have the supplies to make some for myself as well. Which I will when I get around to it to have some more variety.
Why am I going on and on about these slings? Because I do not want it to become impossible for mothers to find and purchase safe and affordable slings in the future. I do want the voluntary standard to help assure that slings and carriers are safe, but not at the expense of the vitality of the entire industry.
Baby wearing really helped me get through a very tough time after V came into my life. I have struggled with depression most of my life and was at an increased significant risk of PPD after her birth. I was home alone most of the time with her, for months debating whether or not I would go back to work for someone else, almost never seeing my husband, feeling more and more isolated and stressed. By the time V was six months old money had become a significant problem and the stressors just kept coming. Being able to hold V close, breastfeed her with ease, get out and about and not put her in a stroller, let her nap while being carried, these things became an oasis in a seemingly crazy world. Even as recently as our trip to the Bronx Zoo I carried her in the sling most of our time there, she even napped in the sling with her little head on my shoulder. I am carrying a child who is about half my hight in my slings, and I have no interest in stopping.
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