Wilkinet
The Wilkinet is a soft structured carrier that ties on using long straps, so there are no buckles to deal with. It can be used for front, back or hip carries.
We have a Wilkinet carrier in our Sling Library which was kindly donated by Claire Wright.
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I have used a wilkinet carrier with my second son from a few days old to 6 months (currently). I had previously used a basic tomy carrier with my first son which always pulled on my shoulders. The wilkinet is so much more comfortable than this, it has padded shoulder straps which I found spread the weight really well.
You have to lie the baby on the carrier and tie him into it which means you need somewhere to lie the baby, I find this is a pain if you are out and about or getting out of the car as there isn’t always somewhere clean and dry to lie the carrier and baby.
It is fairly easy to tie this sling on and the straps are long so you can adjust to get a really close fit.
One thing I would say is you need to tie the straps tighter (ie pull the baby really close to you) than you might think and also have them high on your chest. This will make carrying them comfortable and as the slip down a little once you start walking. You often see people out and about with babies in slings dangling down quite low and this will quickly give you back ache!
My baby always seems really comfy in this sling, I have only used it facing in, but you can also use facing out and on your back rucksack style.
To get the baby out you need to totally remove the sling and untie the strap that holds the baby in. This sling is therefore great for longer periods as once the baby is in it is comfy to wear for ages. It is not a great sling for quickly popping baby in and out.
I don’t know if it is possible to breastfeed in this sling – I couldn’t figure out a way to do it!
The one I have was kindly given to me by a friend and has already been used by several other babies but is still in great shape as it is a hard wearing cord fabric and is over 6 years old but hasn’t dated (I doubt this will be the same for some of the patterned slings about at the moment which look great now but will date quickly).
I also meant to say my other half likes this carrier too and one size fits all so good if you are both quite different sizes. I know some dads maybe find the wrap / ring slings a bit “hippy-ish” (if you know what I mean) but I think this one doesn’t fall into that category.