With Baby A, I didn’t do a lot of baby-wearing. Actually, that’s not really true. I wore him. We wore him. For the first six weeks at least he was really mostly in our arms. But I didn’t use a shawl/sling-type carrier at all with him as a newborn.

We bought a classic Baby Björn carrier before Alec was born but we didn’t actually use it a whole lot. I tried it out several times over the first few months but felt that it was too jiggly to do any real walking when he was that little, and I was so anxious about hip dysplasia that I never really felt confident about using a carrier. And then when it all felt stable enough, Little A was heavy enough that it wasn’t super comfortable. We did use the Baby Björn a lot when traveling and it was a lifesaver. And I think I would’ve gotten more use out of it if I had actually needed to carry him hands-free more often.

With Baby #2, I expect to need to do a lot more hands-free carrying. A lot more. Little A will be just almost 20 months old when his little brother or sister arrives, so caring for him will still require a lot of hands-on attention. I don’t want that to mean that Baby #2 will spend all his/her time lying in a bassinet instead of being close to me. So I decided that I will need a more newborn-friendly carrying option.

I have asked around to see what friends would recommend but haven’t really got any wonderful recommendations – a lot of friends who have used slings have felt that they were a little difficult to get the hang of, and difficult to get on and off. And I know that I will need something that I can get in and out of quickly and easily.

Then my husband mentioned that he had read an article a while back in a business magazine about a new company called Dreamy Dot and their “Shawl Carrier” – a sort of hybrid between a sling/shawl type carrier and a proper baby carrier.

The Dreamy Dot carrier is suitable from Day 1 and up to 15 kg. You can carry your baby in six positions on your front or hip (for larger children). It’s meant to be ergonomic and comfortable for the baby and carrier and breastfeeding-friendly. I definitely like the look and sound of it.

Have you tried a Dreamy Dot? Did you like it? Or do you have another sling or carrier that you would recommend?