Baby wearing” as it’s called nowadays, can grant you full use of both arms while settling your child into a deep sleep almost magically. When I was shopping for baby it never occurred to me that a sling is actually less wasteful than other products on the market, but I’m now convinced. Slings often have less plastic parts than other types of baby carriers such as front packs and backpacks––and thankfully they can also be much easier to use. Also they can be a substitute for a stroller, bouncy chair, play gym, and countless other doo-dads.

When I was pregnant, I purchased a used Baby Bjorn thinking it was a standard piece of equipment. I did not realize at the time that sleep deprivation would make me incapable of understanding complicated directions for a front pack. At one point I found myself trapped with Roscoe strapped to my chest asleep. I was exhausted but instead of flopping into bed, I sat on the couch for an hour until my husband got home from work–––afraid that I’d roll over on my baby and smother him while he was in Baby Bjorn bondage. Important disclaimer! Many a mother has found the Baby Bjorn to be a wonderful piece of equipment, so don’t let my ineptitude derail you from considering this perfectly legitimate option for baby wearing.

Finding a sling for Roscoe was actually a happy accident. My husband and I had resigned ourselves to the side effects of Roscoe’s colic––a constant ringing in our ears and the tendency to bounce up and down automatically at the sound of a squeal, even if it came from a fire truck. Then we visited a friend who convinced me to try her ring sling, a Maya Wrap. She whipped it over my head, tucked Roscoe inside, and had him sleeping in a matter of seconds.

Maya Wraps consist of a long strip of hand woven cloth made by a cooperative of Guatemalan women and looped through two large rings that cinch the baby in place. You can buy the fabric in colorful striped patterns but we were happy to be borrowing a solid cream-colored sling that blended with whatever we wore. The Maya Wrap also comes with an instructional video which greatly helps sleep deprived minds cope with the simple operating instructions.

After I started using the sling it occurred to me that during the nearly four months I spent living in Guatemala a decade ago, I saw countless babes tucked into slings on buses and soundly asleep while their parents bartered for mangos in the local street market. Its simple brilliance is now making it a hit with several American moms.

For Roscoe snoozing in the sling seemed to remind him of the womb. As a result, I could vacuum, write, shop, and even use the bathroom with him happily tucked against my chest. I brought him to work at just a few months old and was able to do most of my regular tasks with him snugly nestling. When my husband completed the Portland Marathon, Roscoe was nursing deep within the sling and I could take a finish line picture without worrying about flashing the unsuspecting spectators.

As Roscoe grew a bit and fall turned into winter, another dedicated friend let us use an adjustable fleece pouch sling. Once we had determined the size we wanted it at, it was snapped into place and was extremely easy to take on and off. They purchased the sling at Kangaroo Corner, which has several varieties of slings and recommendations on what to use for each age.

Another type of sling is a wrap—a very long piece of fabric that can be used to tie the baby on in all sorts of ways. After much research, Rebecca bought an Ellaroo wrap from this website, which sells many other types of wraps and slings and contains helpful pictures and detailed baby wearing instructions. Unfortunately, her squirmy baby did not enjoy being worn in this type of wrap for more than ten or fifteen minutes, so it was probably not the best use of money.

Here she enjoys a rare non-squirmy moment in the Ellaroo.

Since these slings can each be very expensive, it might be good to see whether baby likes them before purchasing. Rebecca sewed her own tube-style sling for only five dollars using the directions from this website. For her first few months of life, Audrey would settle down instantly once she was nestled into the sling. 

After that ten-week period, the magical sling lost its powers and Rebecca’s baby refused to ever be worn again, so the calming results aren’t universal. The greenest, cheapest option is to find lots of kind friends and hope that they’ll let you borrow their baby slings, thereby saving the planet, saving a buck, and (hopefully) saving you some hours of screaming.