When it comes to babies shit literally can happen! As can milky sick, serious quantities of drool and various dropped foodstuffs of all kind! Correspondingly, all the slings in the library collection are ones that are easy peasy to wash! There are some absolutely lovely wool, silk and other slings out there and available to those who want them, they are just not in my library! I am all about making lives easier, and having something that can be washed easily is really a big part of that!
So whether your borrowing one of my carriers or have bought a new carrier of your own… what do you need to know about washing it? Here are my top tips for washing organised by carrier type:
Buckle carriers
Generally you want to wash these as little a possible. A first wash can really help soften stiff webbing and make the carrier feel more snuggly but after that the more you wash it the quicker it will fade and start to look worn. So my rule of thumb is if it’s really dirty (as in poonami or been on holiday all week and got various suncream/ icecream/ mud miscellane all over it) definitely do wash it! And do so at 30 degrees and air dry overnight. But if its just got the odd mark or odd bit of drool just spot clean but daubing the affected area with a damp cloth and this will save your carrier getting unnecessarily worn looking from over washing. Never tumble dry a buckle carrier, because the heat can adversely affect the webbing, so always line or air dry overnight. Another tip to protect your carrier is to use “suck pads” – little cloth squares that attach to the straps covering the area where babies most commonly like to suck and chew! That way you can have a few pairs of suck pads that get washed regularly and are lovely and soft against baby, and your save your carrier all that extra drool!!
Stretchy Wraps
The good news with these is they can be washed as much as you like, and most can be tumble dried too if you need a fast turn around. In general most cotton or bamboo based stretchy wraps can be washed at 40 degrees and tumble dried on low. A few of the more fancier materials (modal, tencel, etc) do suggest 30 degrees and avoiding the tumble drier although I frequently forget and wash a whole bunch together and never found any adverse effects! With a lot of washing some have bobbled slightly overtime but nothing that affects use.
Woven Wraps
Woven wraps are the one type of carrier where washing actually improves the carrier!! Wovens get softer and softer over time with successive use and washing. Washing helps to soften the fibres and make the wrap both softer against sling and more able to mold over you and babies bodies. And they are so durable they can withstand years and years and year of washing and continuous use which means they just get better and better with time. Which is why of all the carrier types this is the one type I often recommend purchasing second hand rather than new! Washing temperature depends on the type of yarn used to make the wrap but most cotton wraps can be washed at 40-60 degrees and tumble dried on low. If you have a wrap that is a blend of fibres you might need to be a little more careful, I have variously owned linen and hemp blends because again these are easy to wash and very strong! For these I wash at 30 or 40 (according to manufacturer’s directions) and tumble dry only part of the way (to iron dry on my machine) because it is possible to over dry hemp in particular… then I allow them to air to dry the rest of the way. The key with these are to use liquid detergent (rather than powder), and detergent free from optical brighteners to avoid particles becoming trapped in the fibres of the wrap which could cause it to harden and become crunchy over time!
Ring Slings
As most ring slings are made from woven wrap material I wash these exactly as I would a woven wrap. For the ring, if the carrier is not dirty but the rings I sometimes leave these threaded, but more often I will first unthread and then I will either pop a sock over the rings (and secure with an elastic hair band) or I will pop the whole thing in a laundry bag. I will do this not for the carrier but for my machines!!! And for the noise!! The sound of the ring clattering around can be hugely alarming otherwise, particularly in the tumble dryer!!
Likewise I use the same sock or laundry bag trick for washing Close Parent Caboo carriers.
Meh Dai and Half Buckles
For these how I wash them depends a bit on individual brands, if there is any webbing or plastic buckles on them I wash them as if a buckle carrier. If they are made largely from woven material I treat as if a wrap. Generally most can be washed easily at 30 degrees and often best to let air dry overnight or tumble on low if it doesn’t have any webbing or plastic buckles.
Any questions please do leave a comment below…. Happy Washing!!
-Madeleine
We brought along our sling ring to try out and agreed that, while it was a lovely idea, it didn’t really suit either of us so we quickly moved in to stretchy wraps and caboos. I have to admit that I thought we’d end up going with a caboo, especially as the stretchy wrap looked like some sort of origami torture, but we both fell in love with stretchy wraps on first try. There was something very special about the way the baby sat in the stretchy wrap and since neither of us struggled to get it on, we decided that would be the way forward. All credit to Madeleine who got us both to try several different textured wraps and made sure we were comfortable with tying it in before we left. My other half fell in love with a bright red 
Our little one was born on 8th July and by 10th July his dad had already tied on the wrap and taken William to meet his aunty Jacky for lunch at the local pub; it was great for daddy and baby to have some skin to skin time so easily. It has been a lifesaver for us both – when my other half went back to work it gave me the freedom to get things done while he slept on me. When the baby has been inconsolable and I’ve not slept, his dad had been able to put him in the sling and get on with work while he and I both slept. In fact, I’m writing this post right now with William in the sling as I sit on the bench on Twickenham riverside. It’s safe to say we use our sling nearly every single day and I would definitely recommend looking into getting one.
It’s also been interesting for me as a number of the other mums & dads from my 
Cat and I have been friends for over 12 years, we met while rowing for Son’s of the Thames Rowing Club and became fast friends as we are both natural organisers! We hate faffing around wasting time and so would organise our other rowing friends and just ensure whatever needed to get done got done. Then over the years we’ve had children, and our friends have had children… and we’ve supported each other over and over again at different times. When I moved to Mortlake Cat immediately sent me a list of playgroups and local activities, and introduced me to almost every local person who had a similar aged son to mine! Through Sheen Slings I met many amazing people who support pregnant parents and new parents and I was able to pass these contacts onto Cat as and when she needed them. And likewise Cat, made contacts and passed on to me… And of course both of us found we are the ones our friends come to to ask if we know something or someone who can help with x because over the years we’ve both become “nexi” or “hubs” of information and contacts.
But the biggest thing Cat and I did for one another was simply to listen, to be there, to be present! Present with a understanding listening ear, a cup of tea and a slice of cake. Really this more than anything is the absolute key to thriving rather than just surviving parenthood!
I love that babywearing has grown in popularity over the last few years! I see so many parents absolutely loving snuggling their little ones while getting stuff done… and it’s fabulous. But one of the downsides of this growing popularity is baby carriers are now on almost all must have lists of things to buy before the baby arrives. And here is a the catch: carriers (particularly buckle carriers) fit a bit like jeans – different brands and different styles fit different bodies. In fact it’s worse than jeans because as well as needing to fit the parent it must also fit the baby, and fit how you want to use it, fit your lifestyle and fit the personal preferences of your little one! All of which is almost impossible to tell before baby is born because it’s very difficult to try a carrier on when you have a bump in the way and how can you know how you are going to use it or what your baby’s preference is going to be before they’ve even entered the world?
But 
Only the second Vatanai wrap I have ever tried, what struck me most about Opportunity Heartbeat is that it is completely and utterly different to 
As you might expect the thickness of this wrap means it is really well suited to carrying toddlers and older children. It absolutely shines in a single layer back carry – even with my 22kg 6 year old! Likewise it’s plenty strong enough on the front or the back with my growing toddler, and supports her weight effortlessly. It probably would not be my pick with a young baby, I think I would find both the thickness and the 70cm width a bit all encompassing with a young baby… but if you’re looking for a so called “toddler worthy” wrap… Heartbeat would certainly fit the bill.
Colours wise this wrap is a lovely deep red against a very soft grey. It makes for a beautiful colour combination, although not really my colours. This, the overall weight and thickness of this wrap (it weighs over 1.2kg in a size 6!!) combined with my general fear of washing wool are probably all reasons why this wrap isn’t really something I personally would go for. And certainly hasn’t stolen my heart the way the beautiful green of 