Choosing A Sling For Your New Baby
Our Woven wraps and Ring Slings are suitable from birth, for babies weighing 8lbs, and can be used with even smaller babies after seeking the advice of a healthcare professional.
By being able to adjust each millimetre of fabric, to mould around you and your baby, you can ensure they're safe, comfortable and secure in their natural newborn position, and you can experience all the benefits of that closeness while being hand's free too.
Our Cairis is also suitable for newborns. If you'd prefer something with a little more structure and less tying, it would be the perfect choice for you.
Which Blend?
One of the things we're frequently asked about is which blend is best. Each wrap consists of a different blend of fabrics such as cotton, silk, bamboo, wool, hemp, linen, Tencel, and each fabric has different properties.
In terms of what to pick – there are many options and no singular 'best sling' for a newborn, but hopefully, this table will help you know what's perfect for you, your baby and your lifestyle.
Once you've narrowed down your fabric choices you can use our search filters on our website to see what options fit your preferences.
When choosing your newborn wrap, look for descriptions that say malleable, soft, cush and glide.
Choose Patterns You Love
Being a new parent is both demanding and rewarding at the same time. A wrap will bring peace and calm to your household, and allow you to adventure out together as a family. Adding a wrap that you love will make you feel calm, in control and beautiful. You'll create memories with this fabric that you'll hold onto forever.
Length
While Ring Slings come in one length, wraps come in several, and are named in sizes from 2-8. A 6 is what most people choose initially, as that's the size that suits the majority for the first carry you'd usually learn - a Front Wrap Cross Carry. You can learn more about sizing here and how to tie a Front Wrap Cross Carry here.
GSM
You'll see this little abbreviation mentioned often and it refers to the weight of the fabric. For an Oscha sling the GSM is likely to be between 180 and 330gsm. For newborns and people new to wrapping we'd recommend a medium to low GSM (250 or lower) but this isn't essential.
Follow our videos showing you how you can safely carry your newborn in a woven sling.
Written by Jess Hippey
Jess is a mum to two boys and a Baby Carrying Consultant based in Aberdeen, Scotland.