myheartcreative - April 6, 2015

4 Slings 4 Moms

4 Unique Experiences

We love hearing feedback from real moms who are willing to share their thoughts on our slings. We've received two

medical reviews, a mom blogger review, and a review from a Babywearing Educator. Here's what they all had to say:

Hilary Knippers, MSN, APRN, FNPC ­

I have the privilege of being able to wear my baby in a myheartcreative Baby Ring Sling. As a mom, it has given me

the opportunity to bond with my baby by having her close to my chest while performing tasks around and outside of

the home. As a boardcertified family nurse practitioner, I also have the ability to see its benefits from a medical

standpoint.

Current guidelines recommend that babies sleep on their back for safety reasons. This has contributed to increased

incidence of plagiocephaly (flatheadedness). By carrying my baby in the myheartcreative Baby Ring Sling, I have

seen the degree of plagiocephaly is drastically reduced as it allows for my baby to be off of her back for more

extended periods of time.

Not only does the myheartcreative Baby Ring Sling provide physical benefits, but it also fosters psychosocial

development. The first stage of the renowned psychologist Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial stages is “Trust

versus Mistrust.” It is when a newborn and young baby has uncertainty of the world around him or her, and relies on

the primary caregiver for stability and consistency. I feel that the ring sling allows for the resolution of this stage

(which fosters the virtue of Hope), as there is more consistency by the primary caregiver with her young baby.

Another theorist, Maslow, created the theory of the hierarchy of needs. It can be realized that, as long as the baby’s

basic physiologic needs are met (food, shelter, warmth, etc.), the myheartcreative Baby Ring Sling helps to contribute

to higher levels of the hierarchy as described by Maslow including safety, and love and belongingness. By wearing

your baby in the myheartcreative Baby Ring Sling, it can be argued that your baby feels a greater amount of

protection and security which meets the second level of the hierarchy; and even more can promote love and

belongingness.

It can be realized that the myheartcreative Baby Ring Sling is providing more for my baby that just allowing me to be

close to her for extended periods of time. It is comforting to have such a wellmade product that is providing my baby

with essential and advanced needs required for physical and psychosocial development from the very beginning of

her life and beyond.

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Jamie Nevarez, Occupational Therapy Assistant ­

I've tried a few other slings and wraps but myheartcreative is my favorite. The material is very comfortable and

breathable. I can carry Ava for hours and my back feels great. I love that it keeps her hips in a good position. No

worrying about dangling legs pulling on the joints.

Ava loves being in it when we are out and about. She can see what's going on. She loves looking around!

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Sarah, Hot Mess Mommy Blogger ­

The day that the packages arrived, I immediately looked over the little pamphlets that were included in the box. I was

nervous because my child is no longer an infant, but a 23 month old toddler. Luckily, these ring slings go up to 48

months! I took it out of the package and spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to put it on correctly. I realized

after the second time that I had the sling over the wrong shoulder and the stitching facing backwards. This is why it’s

important to read the directions, but a little trial and error is to be expected before attempting to place your actual

child inside it. The first time I put AJ in it, I felt a lot of pressure on the base of my neck and then I realized that I had

the rings in the incorrect position and I hadn’t remembered to spread the fabric evenly out over my back. I took her

out, made my adjustments and placed her back inside the sling. Overall, figuring it out took me about ten minutes.

The first time she was placed in it, AJ told me, “No like, mom. No like.” I took her out, waited a while, and proceeded

to try again. After all, she hadn’t been in a sling in a very long time and I knew she wasn’t fond of changes to begin

with. This time, I wore her around the house in it for about five minutes while she started to loosen up. Again, I took

her out, waited a while and decided that we would try it outside this time. I grabbed both of my girls and we took a

long stroll around the neighborhood. Normally my stroller would take up the entire sidewalk, my six year old would

insist she could push it and almost veer off into the street or someones yard, and then when I asked her to stay off to

the side, she wouldn’t listen and I would run over her shoes with the stroller. Using the sling made things MUCH

simpler. I just placed AJ in (using the toddler positioning) and off we went!

For the first few minutes, AJ clung to me like she was unsure that the sling would hold her, but once she let go, she

loved it. She changed her stance on things and said, “Wee mama! I like. I like.” Before long, she was waving her

hands and dancing around in the sling. With each person we passed, rather than acting shy and turning into her

stroller, she waved to them and shouted “Hi.” Perhaps the comfort of being so close to mom made her feel safe and

confident enough to come out of her shell a little bit. Since I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just the baby who was

comfortable in the sling, I opted to go for a nice long walk. After a while, I did need to adjust the rings a little bit, but it

was really simple. I only stopped walking for maybe less than a minute and I found later you could adjust them while

walking if you felt comfortable enough to do so! Once we got back home and I took the baby off, she was in a good

mood and I wasn’t feeling the back pain that I had felt with my other carriers. As she rode more on my hip with my

arm resting underneath her helping to support her weight within the carrier, it was much easier on my arm and my

back than I’d anticipated. Best of all, the slings themselves are so versatile, I can simply keep it in her diaper bag, my

purse, or the trunk of my car for outings and I don’t have to deal with a huge bulky stroller. I particularly like it for

when she is feeling under the weather, because she gets that snuggly mom feeling and I can still get the things that I

need to done throughout the day! Not to mention that because they are washable, if she does happen to get snot or

other baby related fluids on it, I don’t have to go through a huge ordeal just to get it cleaned up. That’s the practicality

all baby related items should have and I’m sure any parent out there would agree with me!

Now that I have had the sling for a while and used it a few times, I am very confident in its abilities. Of the three slings

I have owned, it has by far the sturdiest fabric, the most secure stitching, and it makes the most sense in the

durability department as well. Once I realized that the tail of the sling had a deep pocket I could use on my walks, I

was sold. We have already taken a few strolls where I simply threw in my wallet, keys, and cell phone and was left

with two free hands! (As a parent, I’m sure you know how rare it is with more than one child to actually have a “free”

hand at any point in time!) It’s so nice that I don’t have to worry about digging through my pockets or carrying a purse

on a walk or lugging around any additional baggage. I can just grab the baby, the sling, throw a few things in, and I’m

ready to go! When it comes to baby/toddler wearing, practicality is what it’s all about!

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Sarah Hester, Babywearing Educator trained by the Babywearing

Institute ­

Carrier Type: Ring sling with gathered shoulder and ring sling with pleated shoulder

Length: 81 inches from shoulder to center of tail

Width: 26 inches

Age/size of wrappee: 8 months and 21lbs, 2 years and 28lbs

Fiber Blend: 100% linen

Pros: Amazing support for bigger babies, the pocket is a generous size and great for storing anything you might

need, comfortable shoulder options, the pointed tail is so awesome and will be soft when broken in.

Cons: Will require some breaking in, may not be enough length for a plus size wearer, width may be a bit narrow for

toddlers who like fabric to the neck.

Wrapping qualities: I had the pleasure of testing two myheartcreative Baby Ring Slings. I’m a huge fan of linen ring

slings in particular because they breathe well and offer amazing support. I was able to wear my 8 month old, 21.5 lb

baby in this ring sling for more than an hour without any discomfort. Heavy babies are no challenge for the

myheartcreative Baby Ring Sling. I did find that the width of the sling was a bit narrow for my 2 year old. She likes to

have her arms tucked in and we didn’t quite have enough width to do so.

The pointed tail design on the slings is SO AWESOME! I really like that you don’t have a short tapered rail and that

the fabric falls evenly. It also allows the wearer to use the tail to cover while nursing and not have to worry about the

short taper. There is a large pocket on the tail of the sling where you can store toys, pacifiers, wallets, keys or just

about anything. I was able to throw my wallet and keys in the pocket and not have to lug around a huge bag to run

into the store. The pocket may interfere for wearers who are plus size.

I am typically not a fan of pleated shoulder slings, but I found that the design of the myheartcreative shoulder very

comfortable. It’s a bit wider than other pleated shoulders I have used and has a boxy look. The width of the pleats

allows the sling to cup the shoulder nicely. The gathered shoulder sling was an absolute dream! I was able to spread

the fabric over my shoulder nicely to get great weight distribution. The look of a gathered shoulder is a bit less sleek

than the pleated, but offers wonderful comfort.

You can tell that the design of the sling has been well thought out. The hems are wide and really allow the wearer to

be able to find their rails without searching. The colors that are offered are vibrant and very pretty. I absolutely fell in

love with the cardinal red! Linen will always need some breaking in, but I have found that these slings soften up

nicely. Wearers may find them a bit hard to adjust before they are broken in. Without much effort the sling becomes

soft and floppy.

myheartcreative Baby Ring Slings would be wonderful for anyone looking for a sling to use from birth to toddlerhood.

They are sleek and have wonderful features that set them apart from other linen slings in the same price range.

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