Testimonies

Hi!
I just wanted to send you this picture of Gladys, our housekeeper, wearing Sebastian, her month old baby. Gladys has been working for us for two years, and when she decided to start a family, she wanted to continue working as soon as possible. She is a Peruvian immigrant to Chile, and needs the work very much to send money home to her parents in Peru. I lent her my well worn baby holder so she could have the baby close by. Not only is she a happy baby, but Gladys finds her work so much easier to do! Her own mother wore her babies in slings while working in the farm!

Vicky Tanco
Santiago, Chile
Sling distributor since 1995

Hi Dee-Dee,
For starters I will send you our Santa Monica Beach scene from Winston's first day-long outing back in August. 'Love how the dress matches the sling and it is so fun to wear it and see peoples expression. They can't figure out if it one or two pieces or how exactly that baby stays in place. I have had people try to slyly look at me out of the corner of their eye and then admit that they need an explanation! Carry On!

Warm Regards,
Carla
Santa Monica, CA

I had to write and give my opinion of which baby carrier I think is the best. I have used many different kinds, and by far I have liked the Over-the-Shoulder Baby Holder the best. With my first baby I used a Snugli front carrier, but it was more difficult to use and nearly impossible to nurse in. I ended up using it only at home because it didn’t seem worth all the struggle to use it when going away. Also, my babies outgrew it after only a few months, so it doesn’t seem worth the cost. I also have a couple of friends whose baby’s legs have turned blue from using it.

We do have a backpack and it is very good for some things. We use it mostly for hiking or if we are going to be working outside a lot. Some disadvantages are that it can be hard on your back and the baby should be able to sit alone before using it.

We got our first baby sling when our oldest child was 14 months old and still needing to be held a lot. We loved it from the start. When baby number two came, he practically lived in it. Now we have four children six and under and I can’t imagine living without my sling. I wouldn’t get much of anything done without it. The baby sling can be used from birth to about three years or forty pounds in many different positions. You can front-carry facing you or facing out, hip-carry, even back-carry, and the baby can lie down in a couple of different positions to sleep or nurse discreetly. I can walk anywhere while nursing my babies and still have one hand free.

I have seen and used a few different kinds of slings, including one that I made from a pattern and I like the Over-the-Shoulder best. Nojo’s Original Baby Sling is also good (available at some Target Stores and Babies ‘R’ us) but it is a good bit smaller and doesn’t have the safety features of the Over-the-Shoulder. One feature of Over-the-Shoulder that I have especially liked is a nylon ring they have sewn in the tail to keep the sling from coming apart. Also, the Over-the-Shoulder comes in three sizes, so practically anyone can use it.

After using it for a couple of years, I became a distributor for Over-the-Shoulder Baby Holder. I will sell them to people who mention Keepers at Home for a reduced price. I also have choice of fabrics. I hope I’ve helped!

Adrienne Winsley
Zanesville, OH

Dear Dee-Dee,
I bought my first Over the Shoulder Baby Holder when my first baby was three weeks old and didn't take it off until I became too pregnant to carry her in it any more. (She's almost two now and the baby is due in a few weeks).

Just wanted to say that I really love that sling. It changed my life! the baby and I went everywhere with it-even weddings. What a wonderful parenting tool.

Rachel

Dear nurturing friends,
My Daughter Carolyn and I wanted to tell how much we LOVE our baby holder. We have been using our baby holder since she was three days old.

I purchased our baby holder at a La Leche meeting before Carolyn was born. I wear it everywhere! The friend that sold us our baby holder now has older children and does not use it as often as she used to. Lucky for me she passed on the opportunity of becoming a distributor. My husband and I enjoy the extra and Carolyn is a very cute "sale baby."

Thanks for the chance to help more families nurture their children in such a loving way.

Peace and Nurturing,
Elizabeth D. and Carolyn Hug
Joliet, IL

Thank you so much for my Over the Shoulder Baby Holder. It is simply wonderful! I am so grateful to you for allowing me to purchase one at a reduced rate. The color is beautiful. Purple is my husband's favorite color so he is happy to use it too and Rosie (our baby) has take to it immediately. I have told everyone in my natural childbirth classes ti get online and get one and I will recommend it to anyone who asks about it.

Many thanks for your generosity and kindness.

Regards,
Patricia

Dear OTSBH,
Years ago I was a distributor of slings for your company. It was beneficial to me as I had what Dr. Sears regarded a "High Need Baby". I could never put him down, nor could I trade off to daddy or grandparents. For nearly 18 months, we lived in one sling or other from your company. I sold slings at an open air flea market in Shipshewana, Indiana with a 6 month old model. Even during the hottest of summer months I could comfortably keep my "model" close to me to appease him. I sold more slings while I was wearing my son than any other time.

To get to the point. After about 18 months, my son protested about being in the sling so much so we put it away for a while. Last weekend, though, it was a lifesaver. He is now nearly 4 years old and weighs pretty close to the 40 lb. mark. We happened to be at a baseball tournament for my oldest son. It was hot and dusty and the "baby" was in dire need of a nap. He wouldn’t sit still, stay close or anything else and his mood was none too happy. I found one of my slings in the back of my vehicle and thought that I’d give it a try.

Within 5 minutes of climbing into the sling, he assumed what had been his favorite position nearly 2 years ago, without any direction from me!, and tucked himself into my chest and fell straight to sleep!! The only difference between last weekend and 2 years ago is that he has gained nearly 20 lbs. He still fit perfectly, he was perfectly content and happy to be so snuggled and he slept for nearly 2 1/2 hours like that.

The amazing thing about this is that 4 months ago I had shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff. Wearing him for this amount of time had absolutely no negative impact on my shoulder and caused no pain or discomfort. I was astounded. If I didn’t believe before, this would have convinced me that even a 4 year old has plenty of room and fits comfortably for wearer and baby in the slings. I would never have tried this with any other sling on the market. My inventory is pretty much depleted by now, as I give the remainder of my slings to friends and family for baby gifts. But I’ll never give away at least one of my slings! I’ll always keep a spare handy for friends or the unexpected. Thanks OTSBH for a great product!

Sincerely,
Christie Zimmerman

Hi Dee-Dee,
One quick "love-that-sling" story...
We've started hiking quite a bit this summer. My just-turned two year old doesn't particularly think that climbing up mountains is fun... I cannot carry the baby backpack for very long because my sciatic nerve is "still" sensitive after my last baby was born, six months ago. Anyhow, for the past few hikes, I've put the two year old on my back (piggy-back style, with with one leg out to either side) in the sling and she adores it!! Best of all–it's comfortable for me!!! ...the video (which I haven't watched in two years, so I might be remembering in correctly) shows a toddler slung to the back...but still off to one side... That's where I got the idea to try the sling as a "back pack"...it's fabulous!

Maybe other parents with toddlers would find this use good too? (or maybe everyone else does it already and I'm clueless?!)

Have a fabulous day!
Carrie Valentine Blake
kidwraps@yahoo.com

Nothing I’ve ever done in my life has attracted this much attention. Nothing spins heads or elicits questions and comments the way my baby sling does.

Although my daughter Julianna turned 1 a few weeks ago, I seldom use a stroller for outings, Instead, she stays close to me, kangaroolike, suspended from my shoulders in a cloth carrier called a sling. True to its proponents’ claims, Julianna is more content, more alert and lust more pleasant to be around when I "wear" her in the sling.

Whether we’re racing through a busy airport terminal or dropping her elder sister off at nursery school, she’s often so quiet I’ve forgotten she’s there. Better yet, my hands are free, there’s no cumbersome stroller to lug down stairs, park or push over Ocean Grove’s woefully uneven streets and sidewalks.

I’d seen ads for baby slings a few years ago in alternative parenting magazines and catalogs, but unfortunately not in time for my newborn. With the second child, I was determined to try this offbeat child carrier and found it to be a virtual lifesaver.

Julianna is the type of baby that experts charitably describe as "active" or high need. She doesn’t like to snuggle. She won’t sit still for an instant and is quite vehemently expressing her displeasure. As an infant, she’d often wail inconsolably when I placed her down or vanished from the room. She’d also panic in crowded gatherings, like a holiday get-together for family.

Placing her in the sling was an instant opiate, She’d magically quiet down, seemingly transfixed by her surroundings. Sometimes she’d even doze off. Wearing her as I went about my daily business became a habit.

To sling advocates, this transformation is not a surprise. As Dr. William Sears, a nationally known California pediatrician and father of eight, explains it, babies in slings cry considerably less perhaps because being carried reminds them of the womb.

"Motion, not stillness, is the normal state for a newborn," he writes. "A mother’s walk and heartbeat are familiar reminders of the calming rhythms the fetus experienced."

In addition, babies in slings seem to be more quietly alert, "a state in which they are most receptive to new experiences. During these periods, a baby’s eyes are wide open and attentive, her body is still and she seems involved in what she is watching."

Diehard sling advocates recommend wearing babies ALL DAY, beginning in the newborn stage. When Mom needs to leave; she just passes the baby, sling and all, to Dad or a caregiver. While I haven’t gone this far, I will admit the Julianna has seen much of the world from the sling,. We’ve toured area museums, walked on the beach and shopped at the mall.

The most frequent questions we’re asked are: "Where are the baby’s feet?" and "Doesn’t that thing hurt your back?"

For the record, Julianna sits cross-legged when I use the sling in the forward-facing position. When I hold her on my hip, her little legs dangle below. As for my back - it’s just fine.

The chief advantage is that slings can be used in a variety of different positions - from a hammock like cradle for a newborn to a hip-straddle for a toddler up to 30 pounds, and a well-made, properly positioned sling distributes the baby’s weight on the hips and shoulders of the wearer.

And then there are those who insist I’m impeding my daughter’s motor development: "If you keep carrying that kid around, she’ll NEVER learn to walk."

Actually, Julianna took her first steps a few days after her first birthday and has been an aggressive crawler since she was 9 months old. Her gross motor skills are right on par, according to her pediatrician.

Actually, the concept of carrying one’s young is not new. Picture Native Americans with their offspring in papooses or South American mothers, their babies tightly wrapped around their backs in colorfully woven cloths.

Interestingly, not many Americans are familiar with slings, which accounts for the unprecedented attention Julianna and I have attracted.

"Major mainstream retailers don’t sell or promote slings," said Rebecca Darling, a Middletown Township massage therapist and mother of two young children. "The public is unaware of the physical and psychological benefits of ‘wearing’ your child."

She points to the constant contact pressure or the feeling of being snugly held, which makes them feel more secure. Unlike backpacks or carriers in which the baby faces the mother’s chest, slings don’t force a baby’s legs apart while the pelvis is soft and forming, which could promote bowleggedness. Nor does it cut off circulation to the legs.

And then there is the convenience factor.

"I can run probably 50 to 75 percent more errands when I carry my son Keir in the sling,' Darling said of her 6-month-old. "Even though strollers are the conventional way of ‘carrying’ babies, it’s not a stroller-friendly world. You’re always looking for the elevator, or trying to figure out whether a restaurant or shop is spacious enough to accommodate you."

In addition, she said strangers are less likely to reach out and touch a sling-held baby because they tend to respect the mother’s personal space. "If people want to admire my son, I can turn toward them," she said. "If they start to reach for him, I can just step hack a bit. It gives me a socially acceptable way of getting my point across."

Janet Mazur
OTSBH Distributor

Hi Dee-Dee,
Just thought you might want to read this note that was in the comments section of one of my orders. "This sling is a gift for a dear friend who has used your slings with many of the infants she has cared for. She is an employee at the Epiphany Center at Mt. St. Joseph's/St. Elizabeth's in San Francisco where you have kindly donated many slings. Thank you for your ongoing support of our work with drug exposed infants. Now one of our staff gets to use a sling for her own child."

Debi
OTSBH Distributor

Hi! I am a distributor from Ohio. I have been using your sling for nearly 4 years. It's still the best! My nearly 4 year old still loves to "get rides" in it. She snuggles way down, we love it. I have 3 slings for personal use. Two regular size (one for the car, one for the house) and a large, which I bought a couple of years ago, to have available for potential buyers to try on. I have found that the large is great. In the winter I can keep my heavy winter coat on, and keep my baby in her puffy snowsuit. It fits us both perfectly!

If you send me your e-mail, I would love to send you a terrific picture my husband took of the two of us in our puffy coats (her in the sling) while we were out greeting our Christmas tree this year. Your label is hanging in perfect view! Anyway, I don't know if it had ever been suggested before to buy the larger sling for this purpose. It works great for us, so we thought we'd pass the idea along to you

Alicia Leetch
OTSBH Distributor

I LOVE MY SLING!!!
I want to recommend it to all my friends. I firmly believe that my son is the happy kid he is today (at 8 months of age) because I carried him around and nursed him, and recently spent the night at the emergency room with him (for croup) while he slept peacefully in the sling (he seemed to get better as soon as we got to the emergency room). I also use it in the grocery store, holding him on my hip, while I go shopping.

Thank you for a wonderful product.

Angela Bandemehr

Thank you for saving my baby's life!!!
On December 21, 2002 I decided to get back in shape after my pregnancy and walked into town with my three month old daughter, Artemis Diana to visit friends. I put on my Over the Shoulder Baby Holder and off we went. On the way home, we were crossing the street (at a crosswalk with the light). I looked up just in time to see a Ford F-150 pickup truck make an illegal left turn right into us! We went flying through the air and landed hard on the street several feet away. I couldn't believe it.

Lucky for us, he truck was coming from a stop and was not traveling too fast. I was injured but mu daughter was still safe and snug in her sling. She cried for a few minutes from the shock and my reaciton, but then settled down even before the ambulance arrived on scene. She was checked at the emergency room and by her pediatrician. She was not hurt at all! I cannot imagine what would have happened if she had been in my arms or in a stroller.

I just want to thank you again. I know that my Over the Shoulder Baby Holder prevented her from sustaining any injuries. Thank you for a wonderful product.

Sincerely,

Maura Mitchell
Martinsburg, WV