For my third child, I decided to try using a sling to carry her around. With my previous two children, I'd used the NoJo with no good results, so resorted to carrying them in my arms or lugging them around in the car seat bucket. This time around, I had access to an Attachment Parenting (AP) website, whose members sang the praises of slings, and in particular, the New Native. Before my daughter was born, I ordered the New Native in organic cotton (natural color) from their website.

While the price seemed a bit steep, at $48, the online service, the speed of shipment, the directions that came with the carrier, and the use we've gotten out of the (excellent and sturdy) sling has more than justified what we paid for it.

I was apprehensive about putting my baby - my squishy, slumpy little newborn - into the sling, and though we might have benefitted some from having more support for her, like a small pillow or a folded-up receiving blanket, the instructions that came with the sling and a little practice helped us get used to popping her into the sling and slinging her around.

At three months, she still fits in the sling, and actually seems to like it better because we can position her to be able to look out. We take it everywhere, and I'm tempted to buy another to keep in the car so we can have one in the car and one in the house. Of course, it's so small and compact that transferring it from car to house is a simple, hassle-free matter.

Construction

The sling is made of organic cotton flannel and is very securely sewn. Because it is one piece of cloth sewn together, and it has no rings or adjustments to make (you adjust the baby, not the sling), it fits closely and feels very secure when you're wearing the baby - something I had major issues with for the NoJo.

Our sling has withstood numerous washings and lots of use, and the fabric still looks good, feels good, and feels secure. Because the New Native comes in neutral, solid colors, my husband feels good about wearing this sling. The New Native is very soft, and frequently, when we're wearing the baby around the house and she's nodded off to sleep, we'll simply slip off the sling with her in it, and the sling pulls double duty as a blanket.

Using the sling

I enjoy not having the padding or any rings or trappings to adjust. While I've learned to use a NoJo in a pinch (if the New Native is in the wash), it's bulky, and it's somewhat confusing to get situated. There is less fabric and less adjustment wiggle-room on the New Native than on the NoJo, which means that the baby has less room. But it means the baby has less room to swing free from your body, which makes me feel a lot better about carrying her. (Sometimes the NoJo makes me feel like I've hung a free-swinging hammock from my neck and have put my baby in it.) The New Native fits closely, which makes me feel better, and I like to think it makes my daughter feel good, too.

The fact that there are no rings or adjustments to make means that when adjustments are made, they're made to the way you position the baby, not the way the sling fits. Because my husband and I can both comfortably wear this sling, this works for us, and we've had no problem getting the baby situated comfortably both for her and for us. I like the simplicity of slipping it over my head and going, without having to fiddle with rings or velcro or snaps or what-have-you.

Even though my baby is probably topping fifteen pounds now, I still find it pretty comfortable to carry her in this sling despite the lack of padding. (I like the lack of bulk that comes with the lack of padding.) The fabric width is broad enough that you can spread out the load a bit on your shoulder and back. Occasionally, I find the baby heavy and my back starts hurting, but this is generally either because I've been carrying her around for a long time (several hours) or because I've positioned the sling badly on my shoulder/back. A quick (and easy) adjustment to sling or to the baby - rarely necessitating that I even take the baby out of the sling - usually helps alleviate the problem.

While I'm not a mama who feels the need to cover up entirely when I'm nursing, even in public, this sling makes it easy to nurse discreetly and with a minimum of fuss. Wearing my baby around the library, for instance, is a breeze even if she's a bit on the fussy side, because I can nurse her and still have a hand free for library browsing.

Overall

I love how trim this sling is - it folds up neatly into a small little bundle, whereas the NoJo is bulky and something like a heavy coat to the New Native's easily-packed lightweight shirt.

I anticipate being able to use this sling long enough, and I use it often enough, to more than justify the $48 price tag (it costs less - about $40, I think - if you don't get the organic cotton sling). I love the way the New Native frees up my arms and keeps my baby close to my body, but still feels secure. Its simplicity ensures that it's relatively easy to use (especially once you really get the hang of it) - it doesn't require a video to show you how; just practice a couple of times, and you'll have it down pat. It also affords a number of positioning options - snuggle, kangaroo, facing out, hip carry, etc. I always wind up with a slightly different carry each time I use it, and it's kind of fun experimenting with what my baby likes best and what works best for me.

I think every new parent should be given a sling for her/his baby, and this is the sling I'd choose. It beats lugging around a car seat wherever you go, and carrying a baby without sling support can get tiring. An additional bonus: because my baby is out and visible (as opposed to being stowed away in the car seat) when we run errands, she gets noticed way more than my other kids did when they were babies. While she is an exceptional baby, of course, I'm convinced that a lot of why she gets noticed is because we're using this handy, albeit somewhat unusual, carrying method, and she's visible to people. The sling allows me to keep her close (and away from other people's germs, to an extent - the sling's closeness tends to discourage people from trying to touch her) while keeping her out enough that I can bask in people's compliments of her.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 48
Age Range of Child: 0 to 12 Months