How long will my stretchy wrap last?

“How long will my stretchy wrap last?”I get asked that a lot and that’s a very good question!

The short answer is “it depends”! Stretchy wraps are fantastic slings that are suitable for tiny babies (and even twins!) and fit everybody. They are a long piece of stretchy jersey fabric that you tie and pop your baby in and out (check out my demo video in the comments). Different brands offer different amount of stretch, thickness, length and use different materials (spandex, bamboo, cotton amongst others). Some stretch 1-way, some 2 ways (a lot easier to work with), lengthwise and widthwise .Different brands have different upper weight limits, ranging somewhere between 9 and 15kgs (but this varies a lot).

So when will my baby be too big for it? You should always respect the upper weight limit of your wrap as you risk the wrap ripping under too much weight pressure (this upper weight limit will come quicker if you are carrying twins). Having said that, for a lot of babies, you will feel there’s a point when your baby just feels too heavy in the stretchy wrap before you hit the upper weight limit: the gentle bounce that the wrap offers at the beginning (a calming effect on babies as it re-creates the movements felt in the uterine environment) is just too much bounce, you feel the weight is pulling on your shoulders, your baby is getting very curious, moves around a lot, wants arms out and you just feel you need a more ‘supportive’ sling that doesn’t offer as much bounce.

You can try to tighten your wrap a bit more or try to tie it in a Front Wrap Cross Carry so you can control the tension better. Woven wraps are a natural progression to stretchy wraps if you want to keep wrapping and have a more long-lasting, supportive option as they don’t offer stretch. This ‘point’ happens at different ages and weights. For instance, my 3 year old is still under the upper weight limit of a Boba wrap but I stopped using it before he was he was 1 year old. I got to carry him in a Je Porte Mon Bebe (now Love Radius) until he was about 14 months because it was a supportive wrap for his weight then. So it could be 5 months, 8 months, 1 year… I simply can’t tell you when your baby will grow out of the stretchy, so just enjoy it while it lasts

And for a cheap option, you can hire from me for just £5/month for as long as you need the wrap for, so drop us a message!

Love, Mel

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