Is baby-wearing possible for plus-size mums?

When I was pregnant, I heard a lot about baby-wearing and I thought it sounded like a great idea.

But I wasn’t sure if it was even possible as a plus-size mum.

Living on the outskirts of London without a car means we rely on public transportation – but train and Tube stations are not always pram-friendly. Even when there is step-free access on the underground, you never know when a lift might be down.

Plus, baby-wearing is also believed to provide a variety of benefits to the baby – from promoting development to making her feel safe.

At around eight months, I was on a train into London and saw a woman wearing a very tiny baby. She seemed to move so lightly and without the hinderance of a pram. It was just her, her baby and a small bag. The baby looked so content too.

While the idea of flitting on and off trains so breezily was appealing, it also seemed like an impossible dream. After all, I’d only seen thin women wearing babies in slings. “They probably don’t even make them in my size,” I thought, and brushed the idea aside.

So, I forgot about baby-wearing. Pumpkin was born, we hibernated for a couple of weeks and eventually started going out with the pram.

Then, one day while she slept on me and I browsed my phone (because there was nothing else I could do – oh how I miss maternity leave!), I discovered that there was a “sling library” in Greenwich.

I had considered trying slings on in a shop, but I was afraid of standing in an over-lit shop and being told I was too fat for baby-wearing.

The sling library, on the other hand, was held in a private home. This seemed like a less humiliating option. Plus, the sling librarian’s Facebook page indicated she had a huge range of options – maybe at least one brand would have considered larger ladies like me.

So, off I went one Friday afternoon. It was one of my first trips out on my own with the baby and just getting to a London-bound train with the pram was complicated.

The journey helped to convince me that a sling was a good investment, but I was also so worried that there wouldn’t be anything to fit and I’d leave the library feeling horrible about myself and my flab.

It turns out I had nothing to worry about. When I got there, I wasn’t the only mum with extra poundage and when I broached the topic with Maggie, the sling librarian, she didn’t bat an eyelid.

She reassured me that almost every sling would fit. And she kindly pointed out that there were belt extenders available for most of them too.

I had expected to have to try on several slings before I found one I liked, but Maggie’s expertise meant she knew exactly what I needed. She grouped me and two other mums with newborns together and got us all tied up in Hana wraps.

These wraps are very simple. Just one very long piece of stretchy fabric made from bamboo.

The Hana Wrap (toddler for scale)

They take a bit of practice to get on right, but all three of us who were trying them on were immediately sold – and our babies all fell asleep on us in a matter of minutes.

One mum, who was also a larger lady, was still recovering from a c-section and she burst into tears. She was so overcome with emotion because it was the first time she’d held her baby without being in pain.

I was also amazed. The wrap was so comfortable – I barely felt like I was wearing anything at all and I was so surprised at how secure Pumpkin felt attached to me with just a strip of fabric. An extra bonus was that I didn’t feel like a too-tightly-wrapped sausage – there were no straps digging in anywhere.

I decided to borrow the wrap that I was wearing for two weeks to see how we got on with it.

On our way home from the sling library

So, we headed home. I was pushing an empty pram and wearing my baby. We got back home and Pumpkin was still asleep, so I tried doing a few chores. I loaded the dishwasher, tidied up the living room and then sat down on the sofa.

Then I fell asleep. This is not really recommended, and I didn’t mean to do it. But I slept so well. When Pumpkin woke up, so did I and I felt refreshed for the first time since in weeks.

Needless to say, when I returned to the sling library a fortnight later, I bought a Hana wrap of our own.

And when Pumpkin outgrew the Hana wrap, we returned to the sling library and decided on another item – a Manduca baby carrier.

The Manduca baby carrier

Both slings were incredibly useful – from giving me my hands when my newborn baby didn’t want to be put down, through to simplifying a long-haul flight with a toddler on my lap.

About to board a plane during an Icelandic snowstorm in December – but Pumpkin was comfortable and happy!

And they also came in useful several times when I had to make solo trips into London.

On a train heading into London.

If you’re a larger lady and like the idea of wearing a baby, but are worried that there isn’t a sling available for you, I definitely recommend heading to a sling library to try one out. There are libraries all over the UK (and, of course, the Greenwich & Lewisham sling library is fab).

Tomorrow, I’ll be posting a Curvy mum’s guide to baby-wearing, so be sure to come back and read that post too.

Pumpkin’s first trip to the beach!

Note: I’m not affiliated with Hana, Manduca or the Greenwich & Lewisham Sling Library in any way. I just think these things are all great and wanted to share them with my readers. 🙂

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