A tale of two slings...

Both boys have always preferred being 'slung' to being 'pushed' so I've had good reason to test all the slings we sell (and a few we don't!) over the past 4 years and I've pretty much settled into a couple of old favourites that suit most occasions. My absolute, take it everywhere, use it anywhere, sling is my Ellaroo. It's a big scarf, it trails in the mud, it's certainly a conversation starter (and I keep threatening to 'upgrade' it to a Didymos but that would be cruel!). I also adore my Cwtshi for it's ease of use and funky fabric (chocolate flowers) and wouldn't be without a fleecy pouch sling for the first couple of months with a newborn...

However, on a recent short break I chose to use a Hug-a-bub to carry Jesse around a particularly busy Peak District market town. And having hauled his 25lb, monster 13 month old butt around for a good couple of hours I can safely report back that I feel that the Hug-a-bub is definitely a sling best suited to younger, less wriggly, less weighty models!

The fundamental difference between this and the Ellaroo is stretch. And while the stretch is a godsend when you want to pop a newborn in and out of the sling for endless nappy changes and feeds etc. it can be just a bit too stretchy to support the weight of a fully formed toddler without some pretty achey shoulders being the net result!

Not to say there aren't thousands of mums out there who happily cart two year olds around for hours on end in faithful Hug-a-bubs but I know now that I'm not one of them and I'll be stashing the Hug-a-bub back where it belongs... in waiting for another newborn, 'cos the HAB is just perfect for those!