ring sling with overlapping pleat shoulder

Today's message: I will be closing the store starting on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 25, since I won't be sewing or shipping over the US Thanksgiving weekend (25th-29th) as we will be visiting with family. Please plan accordingly and order earlier, or be prepared to wait a few days to order, if you will need a sling around those times. (Closing the store basically means I will be marking all the fabrics as "out of stock" -- they won't actually be out of stock, but I don't wish to take orders duing that time because I hate having a backlog. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.)

If you're looking at a product and can't see any swatches, click on the color selector for that product, pull down until you see the color you're interested in, and then let go of the mouse button. The photo at left will change to reflect the chosen color. If this doesn't work on your browser, please send me an email and let me know.

wearing your sling:

The safe use of any baby carrier depends on the wearer. Please read the following directions and be sure that you understand them before attempting to use your sling.

Please note: If you have come to my site for directions on how to use a sling made by someone else, be aware that sleeping baby productions is not responsible for the quality/safety of the sling you have purchased. I would recommend reading my fabric faq to double-check that your sling has been sewn out of appropriate materials, and that you contact the manufacturer if you feel that it has not.

contents:

1. Precautions and warnings (PLEASE READ FOR THE SAFETY OF YOUR CHILD)
2. Threading the sling
3. Putting the sling on
4. Positions:
   1. Cradle hold and Nursing in the cradle hold
   2. "Football" hold for nursing
   3. Tummy-to-tummy hold and Nursing in the t2t hold
   4. Kangaroo/front-facing
   5. Back carry
   6. Hip carry
5. Other usage suggestions
6. Troubleshooting
7. Folding your sling for storage/travel

New! Printable directions in PDF format (1 Mb). Please note that these directions took many hours to create and are copyright to me. If you intend to include them with slings that you have made yourself for sale, you must keep my contact and copyright information intact, and contact me before doing so! The directions are meant to be printed duplex (double-sided) to make a booklet, which is why the pages are in the odd order you'll find. If you print the first and second pages on one sheet and the third and fourth pages on another sheet, you should then be able to staple them in the middle to make a booklet.

useful offsite links:

• Common sling-wearing problems at The Babywearer
• Safe Babywearing at The Babywearer

For a truly comprehensive look at babywearing and the difference it can make in your life, I highly recommend Rebecca Wolf's e-book, "Thriving Babies". Having read through it, I think it's one of the best book purchases a new parent can make. She reviews the various different styles of carriers, give great photographed directions for using all of them, and the book is full of helpful tips. If you're new to babywearing, go get it! (This is not a paid endorsement -- I really think it's great.)