Baby Wearing – where to begin with Rachael from Supportive Sloths NW

One of the most talked about topics in the Walking Mums 🔗Whatsapp chats over the last 18 months has been babywearing — carriers, slings, recommendations, fit checks, the dos and don’ts and where to even start 😅

So we’re incredibly excited to bring you exactly that from one of the best experts we could find ❤️ Rachael of Supportive Sloths North West.

Here are Rachael’s best buys – as a babywearing consultant who has been fitting carriers for 15 years as part of Supportive Sloths.

Please note, though, that these are all sweeping generalisations. What works for most people won’t necessarily work best for you, which is why the library exists so you can try things out before you splash your hard earned cash!

Best Buy for Newborns:

Ergobaby Embrace. (but only if you buy second hand!)

It’s been a few years since this carrier came out and honestly, it’s my top pick for newborn times as it’s fairly easy to use and quick to put on. The downsides are that it won’t last beyond about 6-9 months (don’t believe the marketing hype) and it’s very expensive to buy brand new (nearly £100), so we recommend looking on Vinted, or other second hand places as they’re generally half the price!

Runner up for Newborns

Joy And Joe Bamboo Stretchy Wrap, Hana Baby stretchy wrap, Izmi stretchy wrap, Lifft stretchy, there’s quite a few actually (but many many that would NOT make this list, feel free to check!).

I adore stretchy wraps for newborns, you tie them on and then pop the baby in and out as you need to. They’re snuggly and comfy and womb-like but the tying can sometimes feel a bridge too far for many people which is why they just miss the top spot. They’re a good budget friendly option as a good two way stretchy wrap (stick to the ones mentioned above) is about £40-£50 brand new, and the library gives four weeks free hire of a stretchy wrap to babies that are six weeks old or younger!

Best Buy for 3 m+

Tula Explore Mesh

This was a close race between the Tula Explore and Ergobaby Omni Breeze but the Tula wins by a distance largely because it can be bought safely second hand. Sadly there are many fake Ergobaby carriers on the market.

I love the Tula Explore and it’s our most popular carrier for hire as most people agree with us (but the ones who don’t, really don’t!). It’s easy to put on (especially with our “cheat’s method”) and comfortable too. It can be used on your front facing in, and facing out, and on your back too! Plus it comes in all kinds of prints and colours. Second hand the price is good too, I’d expect around £60-£100 for a V1 Explore, more popular prints like dinosaurs are more expensive. Tula have just updated the Explore and brought out the V2, we only recommend the Mesh version of this as it is much thicker than V1, but it’s still a superb carrier. A Brand new V2 Explore will set you back £189 though!

Best Buy 18m+

Our best buy for toddler carriers has to be the Lenny Lamb Preschool, it adjusts beautifully so can fit an age range of 1-5 years! It can be used on your front (facing in) and on your back. Plus it has some GORGEOUS prints. The price tag is very reasonable for what you get, it’s around £160 from our friendly UK supplier. And they hold their value second hand too, I’d expect to pay at least £100 for a second hand one, possibly more if it’s a desirable print. Almost everyone who has hired one from the library has gone on to buy one!

These are just my top picks, there are many others that I love for different reasons, the ‘best buy’ is not necessarily your best buy so it’s always worth trying a few out first – and you do that by making a visit to the Sloths ❤️

You can find our upcoming meets, here https://www.supportiveslothsnw.co.uk/book-online

We look forward to meeting you!

Rachael