Look...No Hands!

Do you remember when I said there are a few mommy items I have spent money on and never regretted it? Well I think this one might take the cake. I've always tried to follow the ideals of attachment parenting, but am a firm believer in the benefits of babywearing. With Peanut I struggled with finding the perfect carrier for us and eventually settled on a Babyhawk mei tai carrier. It was cute, comfy & even Hubby could use it if he wanted. When I became pregnant with Sprout, carrying Peanut became difficult. I found a gently used Ergo baby carrier for Hubby so he could take over babywearing duties for awhile...well, okay...toddler-wearing duties. I think he used it until Peanut was about 2 years old.

When Sprout was born I had a little stash of different carriers to try. I was convinced that this time around I'd be able to comfortably wear my newborn. Plus, I now had a toddler to chase after and needed a way to handle both kids without losing my mind. We still had the Ergo, plus my Babyhawk mei tai and a Moby wrap. But the 1st place winner coming out of the gate was my sweet, soft & cozy Hotslings fleece pouch. It fit like a glove, was nice and warm and Sprout would fall asleep in the pouch no matter where we were or what I was doing. Sometimes just seeing me come toward him with the pouch in my hand would calm him down. I was on maternity leave for just over three months, and I think I wore Peanut in the Hotslings pouch every single day during that time.

This is how much I loved that pouch sling...I had to borrow a stock photo because I couldn't take a photo of mine. Why? Well, my dear friend Donna made an adorable stuffed animal out of it as a 1st birthday for Sprout. I was so attached to it I couldn't bare to sell it or give the pouch away. So now we have Karter Kangaroo to remind me (and maybe Sprout) of those early babywearing days.

I haven't seen the fleece pouches on the Hotslings site for a long time, but I know you can find them on ebay. But, in my opinion, the best place to look for your perfect baby carrier is TheBabyWearer.com. There are wonderful forums there where you can ask questions and read some FAQs. You can also purchase gently used carriers from moms who are moving on from babywearing or want to get rid of something that just isn't working for them.

Next time I'll share my favorite toddler carrier!

Update from Hotslings via Twitter: "We do have the fleece slings back up on the site for now... They're under the sale category."