Sheffield Sling at Playtime
Sheffield Slings have joined us and have done a wonderful blog celebrating their love of slings, and OMG they REALLY do! Check out their website with some brilliant information and meet ups. And a great social group on facebook – v. active. Sheffield Slingers are often asked why they carry their babies in slings.
“That looks hard”, people say.
“Isn’t he heavy?” they enquire.
“But you must get hot?” they insist.
To us, using slings is the natural choice and we wanted to share why we love it. So we’ve asked our members to tell us why and this is what they said:
I love slinging my baby because my baby loves being slung!
Lizzie: My baby is always happy and never cries when he’s in the sling.
Lily: Slings are the perfect way to soothe my baby when she’s poorly.
Louise: The sling turns my tired/ grumpy/ upset/ ill one year old into a chilled out little dude.
Sarah: I can talk to my little girl about the things we do together and when she is tired she nuzzles her head into my chest and falls asleep.
Nafeesa: My sling lets me give my baby permanent cuddles!
I love slings cos it means i can comfort my poorly baby and still get on with things
Lily: I get to go to muddy festivals without getting stuck.
I found navigating a pushchair round a busy shop a nightmare!
Rosie: I love slings because it means I can climb mountains with my toddler while she sleeps.
I can flashmob and salsa dance with the best of them!
Sarah: I love slings because I can use my sewing machine whilst also kissing my baby’s head.
Lizzie: I love slings because I get to clamber through forests with my baby and talk about the trees.
I love my sling because I can easily pop to the loo without needing to wrestle with a pushchair. (too much information??) [we’re all friends here, Lizzie...]
- I love slings cos it means i can salsa dance with the best of them!
I love slinging because it helps me connect with others
Rosie: Slinging connects me with the wider world of babywearing in different cultures.
I love slings because they make people look at us, which means I can go and open a conversation.
Lily: I’ve made some amazing friends through Sheffield Slings.
Lizzie: It makes even grumpy old men smile and say ‘awww’
Sarah: I love my carrier because people talk to my baby and she gets lots of people telling her how beautiful she is.
Louise: It’s fun to scare the old ladies who go to toddler group when I throw him on my back!
I love slinging as its made me some great friends.
I love slinging because it fits in so well with my family
Rosie: It means my four year old can have a piggyback without making my arms tired.
Abi: I love slings because I can carry my baby easily and still give loads of hands on attention to my toddler!
Lily: It lets my mum and my partner be close to my baby and bond with her too.
Lizzie: I LOVE slings because I get to hear up close my babies first coos and words.
- I love slings cos it means I can keep my whole family close everywhere we go
I love slinging because… I LOVE SLINGS!
Rosie: I love slings as I enjoy the challenge of learning new things.
Sarah: I love slings because they are so pretty.
Lily: I love slings because they are the closest I get to fashion these days! [that’s pretty tragic Lily...]
So there you have it! Slings make getting on with our busy lives easy and hassle free. With our babies on our backs or fronts we can charge around a playground after our older children without running anyone over. We can nip into a cafe without sending tables flying, jump on a bus even if it’s busy and skip downstairs instead of waiting for the lift.
Slings are perfect for mobile children who love to run around but can’t manage a whole outing on their own little legs. We just fold up a sling and pop it in our bags, and have the perfect resting spot for our tired little ones.
But most of all, we know how happy our babies are when they’re close to us. They feel safe, they can be part of the conversation and they can watch the world go by, and that makes us happy too!
I love slings cos it means my four year old can get a comfortable piggy back when he’s tired
By Sheffield Slings, with special thanks to Rosie Knowles – photographs, and Lily Del Ruby – Editor of info 
