- Make sure that you monitor your baby regularly when they are in the sling
- Ensure that the fabric of the sling is taut and not baggy or slack anywhere
- Position your baby upright, facing you and with the top of their head close enough for you to kiss.
- Make sure your baby’s chin is not on their chest so that their breathing is not restricted. You should be able to get two fingers under your baby’s chin and hear baby breathing normally. If you hear grunting or snoring sounds, this could be a sign that baby may be having trouble breathing so monitor airway carefully
- Ensure that your baby’s face is always visible and that it is not pressed up against the fabric or your body
- There should be a minimum of two layers of the wrap on your baby for basic safety, the third layer is ideal and provides optimal safety and support
- If you feel the need to support your child when they are in the sling, something is not quite right. Stop using the sling, retie it and try again
- If you are concerned, stop, seek some help and try again later
T.I.C.K.S. Guidelines
Our Safety Tips
Photo Instructions
These instructions, for a Snugiwraps stretchy, show the steps we would teach in a consultation for using a stretchy wrap
Tips for baby’s comfort
- When tying the wrap, ensure the material of the sling is all the way into the back of your baby’s knees so that their bottom and thighs are fully supported by fabric.
- Try to ensure all fabric on the baby’s body (particularly their spine) is smooth rather than twisted or bunched up.
- Allow baby to be in a natural seated squat position with their knees higher than their bottom. This position is sometimes called the M or J position.
Tips for your comfort
- Try to ensure the fabric is not twisted or bunched up across your back as this will create pressure points on your body which could irritate you.
- If you are intending to sit down for a while, you may prefer to tie the sling at the front or side rather than the back.
- Widen and smooth the fabric of the sling over your hips, shoulders and stomach as feels comfortable for you.
Supporting baby’s head
There are two easy ways to support a sleeping baby’s head, or provide extra head support for very young babies
You can tuck their head into one side of the cross pass that comes over your shoulder and pull the fabric away from the other side of the cross so that their face is visible and not covered.
If you feel your baby would benefit from extra support, you can roll a support into the stretchy. This works particularly well with very small babies. It is suitable for awake or asleep babies. You roll a muslin cloth or similar soft fabric into a sausage shape and then tuck it into the top of the stretchy wrap, to create a cushion for your baby’s neck.
Breastfeeding in a stretchy wrap
