UKC

Does anyone have any advice or experience of jackets to go over a baby sling. We have a 4 week old kid and want to put him in a sling on the front and have a jacket which fits over the top for short days hill walking.

Is it a case of just buy a big waterproof jacket and zip it up if the weather craps out, or are the specialist baby carrier jackets worth getting?

In reply to ablackett:

Hiya, I used a sling in this way for winter hill walking and ski touring and it worked really well. The best thing I found to wear was a big belay jacket I had already. I tried on some xxxxl jackets but the increased size was mostly round the belly rather than round your clavical area where its needed. Didnt know there were specialist jackets available.

Good luck, Im sure your son will love it, Ross.

In reply to ablackett:

You can get specialist jackets - I used to have one. It had a zip out panel which would either go on front, for maternity wear, or putting a sling on the front, or go on the back if you were wearing a baby on your back.

My one was called a MamCoat and I think it came from Scandinavia somewhere although I got it from a UK online shop. Try googling baby wearing coat. There should be loads of options. FWIW mine was great, if a bit heavy, it was very, very warm and windproof. Not marketed as waterproof but kept me dry in everything except really serious downpours. It was fairly expensive but I sold it on for about 2/3 of what I paid for it after wearing as my main outdoor coat for a couple of years.

In reply to ablackett:

We've got one, bought online, the brand is "go future". It has a zip in panel and a little head hole and I think hood where the head comes out, really cool. We had one which broke but they replaced it straight away and this one has been used loads without a problem.

In reply to ross:

I used a large square of fabric tied in a knot over my shoulder like an armsling. This tended to sit meaning that it was possible to fit everything inside my existing XXL jacket.

In reply to ablackett:

I used my belay jacket, with baby on the front. I'm a size small but have a medium belay jacket and it worked well. I think this is better than the 'backpack' type things as you know that they are the same temperature as you - and i was usually very warm carrying him up hill! A lightweight zip-up fleece jacket can be useful for the uphills, then belay jacket on top or when it gets windy/cold. We used a kangawrap, https://kangawrap.co.uk - i think these are better than more 'structured' slings such as babybjorn ones as they hold the baby close to your body so they share all your body heat and you have a good idea about how warm/cold they are. When they're small they fit right inside your jacket for short periods if needs be, although I would only ever zip the jacket up to level with their face/head and would be conscious of over-heating/that they can breathe ok. There's lots of stuff on safe baby wearing online that's worth looking at if you've not already, e.g. http://babyslingsafety.co.uk

I reckon if you need a waterproof jacket then the weather is too bad for carrying the baby up hills. I also wouldn't want to put them totally inside a waterproof jacket, even for short periods of time, as i'm not sure they are breathable enough. In the rain with a baby in a sling an umbrella is the way to go! That said I carried our little boy at 3months old in the kangawrap on my front up lakeland hills in winter, snow and cold conditions included but never when needing axe or crampons. I'd be interested to hear the ski-touring stories mentioned above! Would only go if weather was good/not too windy and no rain forecast. Dressed him in a fleece all in one so he had some base warmth when we had to take him out for a feed, but avoided putting him in a full snowsuit type thing as i didn't want him to overheat.

A bothy bag is good for feed stops, if you are breast feeding two of you can get in the bag and it's comfortable enough for as long as you need assuming weather isn't bad. We were never forced to do a nappy change high up, but expect bothy bag would be essential then! Another good thing to take is walking poles, as front carrying puts you off balance, restricts your view of your feet, and makes using hands to clamber over/down stuff difficult. We would also ration stuff so that person carrying the baby carried nothing else.

Obviously don't fall over! An inured baby and parent on the hill would be a nightmare, especially in bad weather, so we were always careful with route choice and weather. I 've carried him up hills this summer too but now he's 1 he only wants to be in there about an hour at a time, so enjoy the freedom of them being small. Plus he's heavy now at 10kg! And congratulations!

In reply to somethingelse:

Thanks for that reply, lots to think about. Umbrella and walking poles, that would be a strong look but both great ideas.

Like the bothy bag idea also, thanks.

I reckon we will have to give it a go before the weather gets too bad.