We receive occasional emails from parents with brand new babies asking to post pictures of putting a newborn in a baby sling. It certainly isn’t hard to position a newborn in a pouch, but it can take a bit of practice, especially if you are a new parent not used to handling a floppy baby combined with the fact that many people have never seen a sling being used.

The main reason that we don’t have these pictures is because I haven’t had a newborn baby since we started our business. Our daughter Katie was almost 6 months old when we officially started Slinglings Baby Slings. She is in our original baby sling wearing instructions, she was 6 months old to the day in those pictures. So, I am using a doll in the following pictures. The doll is newborn sized (she is wearing one of Katie’s outfits from when she was first born!) and weighs about 10 lbs.

Fold and put on your sling. If you need help folding your sling, please see our “How to fold and put on your sling” wearing instructions. If you have a padded sling, put your sling on with the padding on the outer rail. I am holding the padding in between my hands in this photo:

If you are unsure of how to get the padding on the outer rail, please see the “how to flip the padding from inside to outside” entry.

Center the curved seam in front of you, lined up with your belly button. In this picture, I am holding the seam between my two hands:

The curved seam is the deepest part of the sling, this is where the baby’s bottom should almost always go in any wearing position. With the padding on the outer rail, the “Slinglings” label will be facing IN, toward your belly. The two edges of the sling will be together forming a pocket, you should be able to look down into the sling between the 2 layers of fabric.

When wearing a tiny newborn in the cradle carry, it can be helpful to pull the inner rail of the sling up high on your chest before putting the baby in the sling, as shown in the picture below. The seam is still centered right on my chest.

What this does is make the pouch shallower, and prevents the baby from getting “swallowed up” in the sling. It pulls the outer rail of the sling down lower. If your baby seems to be getting lost deep in the sling, but you think you have the correct size, be sure to pull that inner rail up high on your chest before picking the baby up.

Now pick your baby up. With the sling on your right shoulder, support the baby with your left arm. Baby should be facing away from your sling shoulder. Curl the baby into a “comma” shaped position. Baby’s weight should be tipped back toward your chest, the inner rail of the sling should be between your chest and the baby’s side. “Anchor” the inner rail on your chest with the baby’s weight. The baby’s bottom should be lower than her feet, in a seated position.

Locate the curved seam with your right hand. This will become automatic fairly quickly, you should always be aware of where the seam is. The padding helps you find the seam with your hands without needing to see the seam. There is an indentation between the 2 sections of padding, find that spot with your hand and pull the sling open.

Lower baby’s bottom between the two layers of fabric.

Holding on to the outer padded rail, give the baby a gentle bounce to settle her into the pouch. Lower her bottom and back in first, then support her head with the outer rail of the sling.

Baby should be in a semi reclined, SEATED position, not laying down horizontally. The lowest point of the baby’s bottom should be at about your belly button level. If the baby is much below your belly button then your sling is likely too big.

The following tips are used with permission from M’liss Stelzer’s article “CORRECT POSITIONING For the Safety & Comfort of your Newborn“, which appeared in the Jan 2007 issue of “Mothering” magazine:

When cradling a newborn in a carrier it is important to make sure the infant is positioned properly.
• Baby should not be curled tight chin to chest because this position partially closes
baby’s airway. (With correct positioning there should always be at least one
finger’s width of space under baby’s chin.)
• Sling fabric should not be draped across baby’s face.
• Baby should not be rolled so that his face is pressed tightly against the parent’s
body. Position baby’s face upward when he or she is not actively nursing and
when nursing ensure that baby’s nose is not blocked.
An infant should be repositioned if he is having any sign of respiratory difficulty.
Symptoms include: rapid or labored breathing, grunting or sighing with every breath and/or restlessness.