Before baby D was born I had images of using a sling virtually all the time. It seemed like a great idea for dealing with public transport, steps, shopping and so on. Anywhere the buggy would be unwieldy. I also thought it was a lovely idea for around the house; keeping the baby close while having hands free to get on with stuff. Here’s the reality of using a sling in a ski resort…
Which sling to take?
What I picked: the Close Caboo. These older models are hard to find new now because they have updated and changed the sling design. I picked this type of sling because it sounded easy to use. There were also many YouTube clips demonstrating how to use it correctly. It was important for me to get something that was simple to use because there are no sling libraries up a mountain! This seemed like a good compromise between a traditional sling and a carrier.
Another thing that was actually harder to find was a large warm waterproof jacket that would fit over me, sling and baby. Fortunately my maternity jacket still fitted once the baby was on the outside! This was a Bon Prix waterproof maternity jacket with a hood and removable fleece liner.
Drawbacks of using a sling in a ski resort
- Despite watching numerous videos, I was never convinced that I was doing it right. I was always worried about whether she was in the right position, could breathe properly, was too hot, was too cold, and so on. The proximity of a sling library would have been so useful for advice and reassurance.
- There were always lots of other parents out and about in the ski resort with slings or carriers. But about 90% of the time I was too worried about conditions underfoot to venture outside. To me it just wasn’t worth the risk of slipping over.
- The Caboo was way to hot to use indoors. Particularly with the Austrian tendency towards tropical levels of heating. I had to be ready to leave the house as soon as D was settled in the sling otherwise we were both hot and flustered. A sling library would have been invaluable here; giving the opportunity to try slings and find one to suit us.
So all this meant I did not use the Caboo as much as I was expecting. But it was still a great investment because of the…
…major advantage of using a sling in a ski resort
It lets you go where buggies will not! Our buggy, although great, is massive. So the Caboo was my first choice anytime we were headed somewhere short of space. Or with lots of steps. For example, getting to the top of Valluga involves a tiny cable car. Into which our monster buggy certainly wouldn’t fit. Followed by a set of exposed metal steps. Which you would not want to carry a buggy up.
Have you used one of the new Close Caboo sling range? How did you find it? How did it compare to the older models?
Gosh what a handy guide. We are just out of the sling stage, but this is a great look at the practicalities of using one when skiing- especially with all the bulky ski gear! Thank you for linking up to #familytraveltips
Thank you – it is handy when you can use a sling and save some packing space!
Really useful post. I was a huge fan of babywearing, my youngest has never been in a buggy, she’s nearly 3 now. I’ve never skied before either, and it’s something I really hope to do in the forseeable future. Thanks so much for linking up to #familytraveltips.
Nat.x
Babywearing can make getting out and about a bit easier; I hate lugging a buggy around on public transport especially.