Stretchy wraps, in my opinion, are IDEAL for newborns. They are so soft and keep a newborn baby so close and snuggled with its wearer – it’s such a great way to transition a newborn from the womb.
All stretchy wraps are made different, depending on the fabric used, the length (although this won’t vary TOO much), and how much stretch it actually has. It’s basically a very long piece of fabric that you tie on to yourself and pop your baby in.
The main carry is called a “pocket wrap cross carry” (or PWCC for short), although some brands will give this carry their own name, it’s all the same. In the past there have been tutorials given by the companies or on youtube on how to do back carries, forward facing carries, and cradle carries with a stretchy wrap – but generally none of those are recommended anymore. Cradle carrying in ANY carrier puts a newborn at risk of suffocation due to their chin going to their chest and compromising their airways. Forward facing carries are not recommended for the reasons I put in the SSC article. Back carries are especially not recommended in a stretchy wrap because of how easy it is for a child to throw itself backwards out of it, and the wearer may not be able to catch them in that moment.
Pros:
- Ideal for newborns: cozy, snug, allows newborn to feel as though it’s back in the womb and can hear it’s mothers heartbeat.
- One size fits all
- Easy to find in many baby stores
- Can pre-tie, meaning you can pop the baby in, take the baby out, and be able to pop the baby in again without untying or retying
- Because the wrap goes over both shoulders of the wearer, it will remain comfortable for long use
- Able to breastfeed in (although it’s recommended that you are established at breastfeeding and babywearing separately before you try to combine the two)
- A small learning curve, but as there’s only really one carry you can do with a stretchy, once you have it it’s like second nature.
Cons:
- Because of its stretch many people find that it loses its supportiveness as the baby reaches the 12 lb mark (having said this, others will say they were able to comfortably wear their children up to 12 months in a stretchy)
- Can only carry in one position: front facing in. NO back carrying in a stretchy.
- The length of fabric can be intimidating at first
- This wrap requires three passes of fabric over the baby, which means it can get quite warm in hot months
I have attached a helpful video below.
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If you haven’t already, check out the previous articles in the series:
An Introduction to Babywearing (links to the rest of the series there)
Originally posted 2014-10-13 22:12:03.