As a nearly six month old baby, I am still unable to walk on my own. That's why I need mom, gramma and my nanny mbak Muthi'ah to carry me over whenever I need to move from one place to another.
Mom and gramma used to carry me using a sling (Indonesian, selendang).
They need a baby sling because they used to carry me long enough and baby sling surely help them to reduce the burden of carrying a 7 kg baby like me all along.
Gramma tends to use a traditional baby sling. She more used to the tradtional one while mom prefer using the modern one (see picture)
For more about baby sling, here's useful info from Wikipedia:
"A "baby sling" is a piece of cloth that supports an infant or other small child from a carer's body. The use of a baby sling is called babywearing.
Types of baby slings
Ring Slings: These are baby carriers that use dynamic tension, a length of cloth and metal (such as aluminum) or nylon rings. One end of the cloth is sewn to two rings. The cloth wraps around the wearer's body from shoulder to opposite hip and back up to the shoulder, and the end is threaded through the rings to create a buckle effect. The baby sits or lies in the resulting pocket. Once a sling is threaded, it can be taken off and put back on without rethreading. A threaded sling forms a loop of cloth. The wearer can put one arm and the head through the loop of cloth to put the sling back on.
Pouch slings: Sometimes called "tube", "pocket" or "ringless" slings, these are generally formed by a wide piece of fabric sewn into a tubular shape.[5] Simple, or fitted pouches do not have rings or other hardware. Adjustable pouches may adjust with a wide variety of methods, including zippers, snaps, buckles, clips, rings (these are usually considered hybrids), drawstrings or velcro.
Wraps: (sometimes called "wraparounds" or "wraparound slings") are lengths of fabric (usually between 2 metres and 6 metres, or 2.5-7 yards long, and 15-30 inches wide), which are wrapped around both the baby and the wearer and then tied. There are many different carrying positions possible with a wrap, depending on the length of the fabric. A baby or toddler can be carried on the wearer's front, back or hip.
Simple Pieces of Cloth (SPOC: )Pieces of cloth can be turned into slings by wrapping the fabric around the carer and the baby and either tying it with knots or using a twist and tuck method to secure the ends."
Is it OK to use baby sling?
Yes and no.
The Yes,
#Freedom to use hands
# Eases back and shoulder pain if worn correctly
# Allows view for child
# May allow hands-free breastfeeding or "nursing on the go"
# Helps parents meet the needs of babies and older children simultaneously
# Reduces arm pain for parents who carry heavy babies
Not OK
# Danger of dropping the baby if baby carrier is not used correctly
# Danger of bumping or falling onto the infant (similar danger to carrying in-arms)
# Risk of burning when drinking hot beverages (same danger as when carrying or holding)
