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Before you get swayed by lovely patterns and designs:

Consider the age of your baby and whether you think you want something for the first 6 mths or so, or for longer.

Stretchy wraps are truly lovely for newborns up to about 6-8 months, and the Tricotti for up to about 15 months.
Hip carriers are fantastic from about 5 months.
All the others are suitable from birth until about 2 and a half to 3 years. (Mei Tais can be used right through, but there is a tricky age around 4 months when the baby is often in-between carrying positions)

Decide what type of activity or time of day you may need the sling for the most.

If you want a sling that you can pop your baby in and out of, look at pouches, ring slings, tricotti,
hip carriers and stretchy wraps.

If you want something for longer carries, such as walking, for a baby that needs to be held for longer periods of time (e.g colicky or higher need babies), you need something that will distribute the weight all around your torso more evenly such as a Wrap, Mei Tai or Buckle carrier.

Decide if you are going to want to do back carrying

Carriers most suitable for back carrying include Mei Tais, Buckle Carriers and Woven Wraps.

Decide if you will be sharing the carrier with another person
Pouches, Ring Slings and the Tricotti carriers are all sized to the adult (NOT the baby!). The sizing on a Pouch needs to be particularly accurate to the adult, although there is more range in the sizing for ring slings and the Tricotti.

Decide if you really want something that does front facing outwards.

Few carriers do front carry positions facing outwards as it is believed by many not to be an optimum position for the baby's comfort, or yours as they get heavier. It is also thought that babies can become overstimulated without being able to turn away from the world. However if you know your baby will enjoy this for short periods of time (as mine does!) - the Beco Gemini and the Moby wrap offer these positions.

Decide (finally!) what kind of look you like
If you want to look like you have a 'high street' style carrier, go for the brands with plainer styling. If you want something that will be a great talking point, have a look around the site for the brighter patterns. This sounds obvious, but you need to be sure that you will love your sling!

ATTENTION ALL WOMEN ............
We have lost count of the amount of people who have said that they bought a plain or neutral looking sling because they thought their partner would use it but then regretted it for years ! If your partner really wants one ........... they can always get their own!