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Support and Information

Safety

The Basics

Do not take your hands off of your baby until you are sure that the sling is securely positioned to hold baby hands-free.
The sling should never take the place of a car seat or other safety restraint device.
Be aware of an infant’s breathing when bundled inside of sling.
Check circulation in child’s legs and arms, periodically, when in the sling.

Safety

The sling is meant to help you keep your baby close while living a full, active life. Your sling can be used safely in most situations with just a little thought and common sense. Our slings are not meant to be used as a car seat or other safety restraint device but I do wear my sling on the bus or train when a car seat is unavailable.

Please consider the great risk of injury to your baby when using the sling in highly active situations such as riding a bike or playing sports.

To safely wear your baby in the sling, please keep the following in mind:

Sling Condition

Make sure that the fabric of the sling is not ripping or coming undone. This will compromise the strength of the sling.
Our slings are constructed to be long lasting and durable. However, if your sling needs repairs, contact us so that we can help.

Gravity

When you put your baby in the sling, use gravity to help hold your baby against your body while positioning:

When putting the baby on your front - lean back.
When putting the baby on your hip - lean to the side.
When putting the baby on your back - lean forward.

Hands-Free

Make sure your baby is secure enough for you to be hands free before completely letting go.

Respiration

Make sure that your baby has enough breathing room and is in a position that will allow proper lung function. Avoid letting your infant's chin rest on her chest, especially in the cradle position as this can cause airway constriction. Don’t be alarmed. This is usually not even a concern unless your baby is curled up sleeping deep inside the sling. Just be aware and make occasional checks to their breathing.

Circulation

Make sure that your child’s limbs are getting enough circulation if folded under your baby’s bottom, against his body or dangling out of the sling.
If the limbs feel unusually cool to the touch or they hold a white mark when you press on them with a finger, they could be having trouble with circulation and need adjustment.
Sometimes babies settle into the sling in a weird way and you just need to make a small adjustment in the position to get the circulation going again.
Other times, especially with the legs dangling out of the sling, the fabric can be too tight across baby’s legs. This could happen in the Hip Carry or Tummy to Tummy positions. In these positions, make sure that the tightness in the sling fabric is more across and under your baby’s bottom and not across his legs. The fabric should form a little pouch for your baby’s bottom to rest in. This pouch should be snug and cause your baby’s hip joint to be at a right angle.

Prevent Toppling

Make sure that your baby is well enough inside the sling and/or that the fabric is high enough on your baby’s back to not topple out if you should bend over or if the baby should lean back.
Always place a hand on your baby when bending over for extra protection.

Prevent Slipping

Make sure that the bottom portion of the sling is well under and cupping your baby's bottom in any of the positions. This snug fit under and around the bottom will keep your little one from slipping.

Protecting the Head

Watch out for your baby’s head, especially in the hip carry position. Just be extra aware of their heads when bending over, going through a tight doorway or swinging/turning your body to avoid bumping.
Place a hand on the back of the head for extra support in these situations. You may have to think about this a little at first but soon this hand motion will become automatic.

Cooking

Most sling companies will tell you not to cook in the sling. We, at Nato Bello, think this is good advice but not very practical. While we do advise you not to cook in the sling, we would also like to tell you how you might make cooking with a baby on your hip safer.

Even if you are not doing heavy cooking in the sling, you will most likely check a pot on the stove from time to time. Plus little ones love to watch what’s going on in the kitchen. It’s very interesting and a good time to introduce them to new and different foods

So, when you are near the stove - Be Careful! It only takes a second for a little one to grab a pot handle or touch a hot pan. I am speaking from experience. Both of these things have happened to me.

If you do choose to cook in the sling, here are some tips to help you avoid danger:

Tuck sling tail completely out of the way by pushing up and under your baby’s bottom, between you and your baby. No portion of the tail should be showing. It should be entirely tucked in.
Make sure to put pots on back burners whenever possible.
Always hold baby far away from stove with one arm, while reaching to the pot with the other. Basically, instead of facing the stove with your body, you are turned side ways and holding the baby as far away as possible. Put your arm around the baby in the sling. You can usually tuck one of their hands under your arm and hold the other hand with your hand. This completely immobilizes them as you are attending to the stove with your other arm.
Watch out for little grabbing hands when preparing food - they’re fast! A knife or sharp object lying out on the counter can be snatched up in a second of distraction. If your baby is on you hip and near the counter, be aware of what objects are within reaching distance of the sling.

Our goal is for you to be hands-free in the sling but not care-free. Be thoughtful about your situation and environment and aware of your baby when using your sling. We wish you safe, happy sling wearing!