I’d give up on the Seven Slings and try something else. My baby hates all of them- but he occasionally will tolerate an Infantino one I have- I think it cost less than $20. Sometimes stores will have them on display and you can try them out right there, or they’d let you open a box and try it. You can always buy one and return it if it doesn’t work out.
Personally, my baby didn’t like being in a carrier and I didn’t like it either. I get really touched out and when I do housework I want to just be able to move. They work really well for some people, but it just didn’t for us. I had better luck getting him to sleep in his swing (and later on in his crib) for naps and just getting stuff done then, even if only for 20 minutes at a time. We also have the best toy ever invented- the Fisher Price Kick and Play Piano. The baby will happily play on that thing for 15 minutes at least, enough time to load the dishwasher or start dinner. So if your problem is finding a way to cook and clean, and you can’t find a carrier that works, trying to find a stationary activity that will keep him busy might help. I remember being at my wits’ end and so frustrated that I could never get anything done, but it does get better. It really does.
I also had to resign myself to the fact that the house might look like a disaster some days and that my husband would have to bring home food some days. It’s just how it is for awhile.
This. I used two carriers: the baby K’tan (think Moby but without all the fabric) and, later, Infantino’s version of the Ergo.
The K’tan worked well for church, but not so well otherwise. Like the poster quoted above, I get touched-out quickly. Also, in the various newborn carries, I couldn’t get DD, who is a
very tall baby, positioned in such a way that her chin wasn’t resting on her chest. That’s okay for an hour when I had a hand on her all the time and could be constantly repositioning her to keep her head up, but it wasn’t workable when I had other things I needed to be able to focus on.
Out of curiosity, is your kiddo tall, and/or are you short in comparison? DD is projected to end up about 8 inches taller than I am
, so we’re pretty disproportionate, making a lot of babywearing annoying for both of us as front carries mean that her face is right in my face, and that’s been the case for quite a while. ETA: also, I am somewhat bigger up top, which meant that non-structured carriers never seemed to work quite right, because I was taking up more space than they seemed to be sized for.
The Infantino worked well for travelling and going places where a stroller could be a nuisance, but I only used it once DD had head control. I think it has an available insert for newborns, though.
The
Fisher Price Rock-and-Play was great for us, in that I could set her in it and get some housework done, especially while playing music, which she’s always enjoyed. It’s angled up, so she could see around her, and the fact that it’s curved around her made her feel held and secure. She and I could “chat” while I filled the dishwasher/cooked/folded laundry, and I didn’t have to lug her everywhere.
For whatever it’s worth, I’ve been reading your posts and want you to know you’re pretty much exactly where I was a year ago when DD was a newborn. It gets better. I was frantic and frustrated most of the time and had little help, the house was a disaster (and mess causes me massive stress), meals were sporadic and not especially healthy, and it seemed like every time I dealt with one crisis, another one popped up. I’d be lying if I said it was easy, but it gets easy-er, and you get accustomed to some of it. I promise. :flowers: If you ever want to “talk” to another new-ish mom, feel free to PM me!
((hugs))
. They seem to like wrapping their legs around my body. But in a carrier, the carrier does the work my arm would do.