Using Woven Wraps
How to carry a newborn in a woven wrap
Looking after a newborn can be simultaneously the most wonderful and also the hardest thing you’ve ever done!
Learning how to carry your newborn in a woven wrap can be a massive help in those early days. Babies find comfort in closeness; hearing the heartbeat of their parent is calming, your body warmth is soothing, and your natural movement rocks them to sleep. They are where they instinctively want to be so they cry less.
Learning to carry a newborn in a woven wrap is really simple. We’ll run through some simple and common sense safety information then show you how to get started!
what do i need to know before I start?
If you’ve never really see a woven wrap before then here is a quick introduction.
The image below is the correct position for your baby, regardless of which carry you’ve tied.
- Keep your baby in a good position with a clear airway. Newborns have low muscle strength and are unable to move themselves out of a potentially dangerous or life threatening position.
- Observe your baby’s temperature. Newborns can’t regulate their temperature as easily as we can and overheating is more dangerous than being too cold. Treat each layer of cloth of your wrap like a layer of clothing on your baby.
- Take it easy! Wrapping your baby can give you lots of freedom back but don’t get giddy with it. Limit yourself to only doing activities that you would do with your baby in your arms.
- If you feel you need to hold your baby then your sling isn’t tight enough and needs adjusting. A position that mimics the position that you hold your baby ‘in arms’ is what you are trying to replicate with a sling.
- Here is some more sling safety information
what carry should i use with my newborn?
Front carries hold your newborn where you can best observe and enjoy them. Symmetrical carries like the front wrap cross carry are supportive for your body, especially is you are in postpartum recovery. It also secures your baby against your body within the first few steps of tying so they quickly feel supported.
The front double hammock has slightly more complicated steps to follow but offers lots of layered support. The kangaroo carry is a lovely newborn carry for warm weather, but doesn’t take your baby’s weight until the later stages of the carry and can be harder to tighten.
Have a look at these demonstration videos then follow the links to our indepth tutorials.
What wrap should I choose?
You need a wrap that is long enough to tie round both of you, so the size you need will be personal to you. The length of wrap you need to tie a basic front wrap cross carry is called your base size. You can use our base size calculator to work out your perfect size.
Any of our wraps will be suitable to use from newborn, but synergy wraps will feel bulkier to use compared with Alchemy wraps. Pick something you love the look of, because newborns need a lot of carrying! Email us at contact@firespiralslings.co.uk if you want personalised advice, we love chatting about wraps…
What about ring slings?
Ring slings can be great with newborns. They are a single shoulder carry which means that weight isn’t distributed evenly through your body, but newborns are pretty light! If you have existing hip, back or shoulder discomfort you might find that a 2 shouldered carry with a woven wrap is better for you. Newborns need to be carried on your front not your hip.
