slings becoming more mainstream?

[cheri]

Maybe it's just in my area or at church or something, but I've been noticing more slings, and it's not just when I'm at Wild Oats. I've seen spankers wearing them, and people I wouldn't necessarily consider "AP" using them. Just this morning I got an email from a non-AP friend telling me about this great "new" sling she learned about called a Maya. She had never heard of it, but tried one and thought it was amazing. SHe thought that she was giving me new information and that I'd never heard of slings. That was pretty funny- but well meaning on her part, I'm sure.

So has anyone else noticed this?

[arwen_tiw]

Nope, not round here. :/ I've seen families in town with a carrier - the framed highstreet kind I could never get along with - but only occasionally. I get *very* funny looks in the supermarket. :giggle

[lavender mom]

Yes- I've noticed it. I don't get nearly as many looks with DD in the sling as I did w/DS 3 years ago. And, almost all of my girlfriends with babies DD age at least tried the sling with their newborn. No one had really heard of them when DS was born.

[MarynMunchkins]

I think baby carriers are becoming more mainstream, but I dunno about slings. :shrug I'm doing my part to promote them. :tu

[ChristineG]

We have bazillions of slingers around here. I think it is kind of a hippie town. I don't come across too many moms anywhere near where we live who don't know about/own a sling or two. :)

[BeckaBlue]

I've only ever knew 1 slinger, that was 6yrs ago, another friend slings too, but didnt use it past abou 9-10mo. i have seen maybe 3 since, and not many more using any type of carriers. at the gulfarium earlier this week i saw one person with her tiny one (a few wks maybe?) in a sling, shes the first ive seen as far back as i can remember, and i still felt out of place since my 'baby' in the sling is 2, lol!

[Senta]

i saw a Maya wrap sling in Parents magazine... right along with the mainstream carriers :P so maybe it is becoming more mainstream :)

[churchpunkmom]

There's a few Hollywood-ers that are using them these days. That's part of the increase in popularity. :rolleyes And, yeah, slings are certainly not just an AP thing. ;) They're much more common among us, but not exclusive to. Most people around here (Nor CA) still just use the ol' travel system and then the stroller. I know a few (I think 4-5) other moms at my church that are babyslingers, but don't know what type discipline they use or any of that. :shrug I know one of them happens to be one of very few that I know that "stuck it out" for at least the first year of breastfeeding. I'm just a regular freak in my church! :peace (Which has approx 3000 members and reg attenders!)

[mamaKristin]

Well, I've seen 2 women here in town using slings. One of them bought hers because she liked mine so much :tu. Other than that, most people seem to only have strollers...or some people carry their little ones on their backs (without carriers at all...now THAT seems like work!)

[ChristineG]

or some people carry their little ones on their backs (without carriers at all...now THAT seems like work!)


:-) So true!! I find this hilarious! Very occasionally, I hear comments from people like, "Doesn't that hurt your back?" Meanwhile, how many times do I see some sweet Mommy of a really young baby carrying the baby in her arms and pushing the stroller? "Doesn't that hurt your arms? And, doesn't that make it completely inconvenient to do anything?" :-)

[prov3v5-6]

Not in our area, at least in north metro Minneapolis. I've had a few strange looks wearing my sling, but I'm learning not to care! I was at a local city parade this past summer and a politician woman came up to me and said she used one when her kids were little too. At our state fair, I saw 2 other moms with slings, and we smiled and nodded to each other in passing. I look for them when I'm out, and it seems everyone is into carrying their tots in their car seat carriers or in a stroller. I hate the stroller, it is so bulky and I have to manage that THING through crowds, worrying about where to store it, the sling is much better. When people ask about it, they say they haven't seen it before. The only one in my family who knew anything about slings is my all-natural older sister, but she didn't use one when her kids were young either. :shrug

[ChristineG]

I hate the stroller, it is so bulky and I have to manage that THING through crowds, worrying about where to store it


And worrying about people swinging their cigarettes in the baby's face. :sad2

[arwen_tiw]

When I have people ask if it hurts my back I usually tell them that actually the stroller hurts my back *more*. :shrug I'm 6ft tall and no stroller we've seen has ever been tall enough for me. :giggle

[Aisling]

:sling I think I might be the only mom in our little TN town that sports a sling, although I've seen quite a few Snuglis and other front pack carriers. But generally, most people smile and point and say, "wow, that's a great idea!" Last night, however, dd wanted out of the sling in the middle of a store, which left me walking around with a nice empty pouch...I got a few funny looks for that one ;)

[purplerose]

Well, I still get strange looks from people all the time where I live. I'm in Southern California (northern San Diego County) and on occasion (except at LLL mtgs :giggle) I will see an occasional slinger. If I do see someone wearing their baby it's in the Snugli or Baby Bjorn. I was at the Naval Hospital yesterday for an appt for Jake and had him in the sling with my two others in tow and a lady was carrying her baby in the car seat and she looked at me and said "Oh, that looks 10x easier than this!" I said "Yes, it is"! People were giving me strange looks. I don't know if it was from the sling, or having a newborn, 3 and 2 yo old or a comibnation of both!!! :hunh :lol

[mom2jolakeil]

I see them around here more and more. I know my mainstream SIL used one years ago (because I use them ;) ). I encourage all the moms I know to use them. A lot of people see me using mine and comment. Sometimes it's things like, "doesn't that hurt your back" but sometimes it's nice things like, "that sure looks cozy".

[lavender mom]

So I know I said above that I do think slings are moving into the mainstream, but I was still suprised when the Office Depot clerk said to me today, "Wow, nice sling! Where'd you get it? I really need to get one of those!" A lot of people say, "nice baby carrier" but I've never had anyone call it a sling!

[churchpunkmom]

One of the few moms at my church who uses one (or used one I guess.. I never see her with it anymore) actually got one cause she saw me wearing Torrin as a newborn (and had seen me wear Kieran a lot too). When she was pg and I was slinging Torrin she'd say "I totally want to get one of those for my baby!" :mrgreen

I don't recall ever having any negative type questions, just positive comments like:
"Awe, that looks comfy!"
"Wow, I wish I had one of those!"
"He looks so cozy!"
"Now that's a great idea!"
"Boy, that must make your life a whole lot easier!"... you have no idea!

It's kind of surprising that I don't get wierd looks when I'm wearing Torrin... After all, I have a 5yo, a 3yo, I'm wearing a 1.5yo and I'm obviously pregnant! People must think I'm nuts! :hunh

Once I was slinging Torrin on my back (this summer) and one of the ladies on church staff said "The other day I saw the lady who invented those on Oprah." I was like "Uh... I don't think it was the lady who invented them..." :giggle I think she may have seen someone who made some kind of hip hammock type thing. ;)

[mommyTay]

I think they are getting more popular around here, or atleast I have gotten tons of positive comments and many asking where they can get one. I know of a few friends at church who will be slinging their new babies, probably influenced by Christa (Wake-me-up) and me slinging our little ones. It could also be because I started making them as baby shower gifts! :grin

I went to a baby shower yesterday, and before the new mommy got the paper totally off she said...

"Is this my sling? You KNOW I will be getting a lot of use out of this!" :clap