9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
My favorite piece of baby equipment
Date of Review: Jan 15, 2008
The Bottom Line: For babies up to 6 months old, this is one of the easiest and beautiful slings on the market for carrying and nursing.
Easy to use, compact for packing, durable, and beautiful! Every time I went out with my baby, I received compliments about my sling or about how happy my baby was.
I never needed a stroller because I had this sling. Strollers are heavy and take up a lot of room in the car, in the store, in the elevator. This sling made my baby an extension of myself. I never had to worry about where I left my baby or what my baby was getting into because he was right next to me. (Well, once he picked up a cookie in the checkout line at subway...)
Take this sling anywhere -- just throw it in your purse and off you go! Once you get used to how to put it on, it is SO fast to adjust so you and the baby are comfortable.
My husband refused to wear it (too feminine). He got a Snuggli instead and loved it. However, it took about 5 minutes every time he put it on to get my son settled and all the buckles buckled and so on. Not such a big deal if you do that only a couple times a week, but 10 times a day... I'd never leave the house.
Adjusting this sling is SUPER EASY! Just pull or loosen the fabric or one side of the fabric and it's a custom fit every time! Getting the baby out -- just loosen the fabric!
Wearing this sling allowed me 2 hands to do things with -- grocery shop, find my keys in my purse, etc. I never had to worry about setting my child down in strange, dirty places. And going to the bathroom in public restrooms -- my child never touched a single surface and I still had 2 hands to take care of things!
Taylor Made makes their sling in an array of beautiful fabrics. I got the blue batik and I love it. It washes in the laundry with the rest of your clothes. I actually have 2 -- 1 to wear in case the second is in the laundry.
The fabric is super durable. I used it daily with my first son for 13 months (it's rated to 40 lbs, which is likely going to be at 3 years of age), with my second son for 7 months (I switched to a Mei Tai sling after he got big enough). I washed the sling on a weekly or biweekly basis, as needed. So, after nearly 2 years of heavy-duty use, there are a few small holes smaller than a pencil eraser in the end. That's pretty durable fabric.
The other thing I LOVED about this sling is it provides great coverage for nursing. I nurse in public frequently and 99% of the time no one even notices that I am nursing, and sometimes (when my second child was a few weeks - 2 months) people didn't even know that I had a baby in there! The sling has a "tail" that is long enough to fan out and drape up and over whatever you need to cover. Just make sure you get the right size (S, M, L, etc) for your height and weight. TaylorMade has a great size chart on their website that helps you choose the right size.
The only drawback about this product is that it CAN pull to one side -- it hurt my shoulders and back a little bit when he was older (heavier), but it helps to spread out the fabric on the shoulder to better distribute the weight. In general, I don't have back problems, so for someone with back problems there may be a better sling suited to your body type as the child gets bigger. For the first 6 months, this is not really an issue since the baby is so light.
If you have back problems, perhaps a Snuggli or a BabyBjorn might be better for you. I also recommend a Mei Tai style carrier that ties. They hold the baby similar to a Snuggli or BabyBjorn, but they give more flexibility to holding the baby in the right position FOR YOU and they often have extra fabric you might be able to use for a nursing coverup. I have a Mei Tai that I use now my second son is older (and heavier), but it's homemade, so I don't have any experience with any particular brand of Mei Tai.
