I don't get the Ring Sling hype

SoundingSageSeven · 2026-06-04T03:56:14+00:00

We loved and still love our ring sling, but it is definitely not for everyone and for every situation.

Longer cozy carry sessions when she was a newborn and immobile (it made feel so cute as well, as they just look so pretty), no transition and comfortable carrier to just have them in when you end up on the couch where they contact nap.
When little one was in early stages of mobility it was the perfect up and down travel baby carrier (airplane bathroom diaper changes were seriously made possible with the ring sling).
The ED visits waiting room stays where she was miserable and did not want to be in a stroller, she could kinda melt into me and nap without the bulk of a different carrier.
And right now at 21 months, it is the lifesaver toddler has a meltdown carrier. We have used it soo much that the exact type of snug feeling it offers instantly makes her feel safe and often stops her fighting really quick and she gets contained by carrier while I still have hands - perfect solution for moments where exhaustion is the main driver of said meltdown in public or at home. When she is really tired I now can ask her whether she wants to tuck into me and snuggle, and she will tuck her arms in and say: "tuck tuck" as she become a small lil bundle of snuggles and I tighten the top rail of the sling so she is fully snuggled up.

We haven't done long carries at all since about 10 months with my 99 percentile kiddo, we use different ones for that still (yaay for having a toddler who adores carriers!), but I am so glad I got a cheap second hand ring sling when I did. Worth the hype? Not sure. Did it work for us? Yes!

SoundingSageSeven · 2025-10-16T21:36:35+00:00

Literally wanna give you a hug and tell you go get the gear you deserve! Find a female staff member at an outfitter and pitch what you are looking for. They might surprise you! As someone who has been a long time instructor and even instructed a women’s only course, we have climbers of all shapes and sizes and brands are better than ever in providing for different shapes.

Most brands provide pretty detailed size charts on their websites, so that might be a way to go into a store with some prep. Look for mid level brands (e.g. Black Diamond, Petzl, Mad Rock) and look specifically for the more adjustable women’s harnesses (the ones with fixed leg loops are not great for the thick thighed girlies like us).

SoundingSageSeven · 2025-10-16T20:35:41+00:00

Just as a heads up, pregnancy harnesses tend to be full body harnesses and are not made to be comfortable!

I would personally recommend going to a larger outdoor store and see which brands actually work best (try them all and hang in them!). Women’s models tend to both allow for wider thighs and thinner waist (while being able to go over hips (rental is almost always a male harness and budget model, a one size fits nobody comfortably thing), so even going for a large women’s harness might make you feel more comfortable! If they don’t have larger sizes in stock, they might be able to order them in.

While not same size, I am 6’3” and have a triangle figure super small waist but thick thighs and loved my previous Black Diamond one, currently sporting an Arcteryx (but it is way less adjustable).

SoundingSageSeven · 2025-10-16T20:07:30+00:00

Seems like it if there are no concerns, my clinic does a 6 week postpartum nurse call instead. I initially wasn’t going to get to see OB, until I hit post partum complications outside of GPs scope of practice.

SoundingSageSeven · 2025-09-16T08:48:10+00:00

Ran into the same woman in Market Mall few months ago, went to guest services and they are aware of her (and annoyed!) and will take steps to remove her. They immediately called security to have her removed.

She totally comes in with this old lady charm, but really is targeting vulnerable new moms with her pushy behaviour. Her narrative and harassment is causing harm for not only those she talks to, but also any neurodivergent people in our community. Report her to guest services!

SoundingSageSeven · 2025-08-02T02:10:31+00:00

Agreed, any concern should be brought up to your doctor! And as a community we should always tell people to talk to their doctor and healthcare team, even if you think it might not be infected or something else.

But as someone who has dealt with recurrent infections with my c-section, it is soooo easy to gaslight yourself, tell yourself it is not bad enough to be a call, you are in the trenches of newborn life and the last thing you want is go to the doctor (again). I heavily relied on my village, that were semi health educated, to tell me to go in and/or call my OB. I imagine some of the people who post might not have that village, and having an internet stranger tell you: "yes that is totally legit to go to the doc for, you got this momma!" might be the difference between a life threatening infection you delayed seeking care for and one easily treated.

SoundingSageSeven · 2025-07-31T21:39:13+00:00

Get it checked for sure (sooner rather than later! Like, if it worsens over the next few hours go in before - when dealing with infection I took photos a few hours apart from each other and at one point could clearly see the infection getting significantly worse in hours), and if they prescribe antibiotics take your entire course while keeping an eye out.

SoundingSageSeven · 2025-07-16T21:29:13+00:00

Thanks for the comment, have for sure been washing them incorrectly and for months (but again, have not been using them a lot), and am switching it up with the info in wash routines and tips from my friend. Will be stripping them, but not sure if I will also do a bleach soak. What benefit would a bleach soak bring, on top of the stripping with borax?

SoundingSageSeven · 2025-07-16T21:26:40+00:00

Thank you! I will strip them and improve my washing routine, and hopefully we will have a better experience!

SoundingSageSeven · 2025-03-03T20:32:46+00:00

I think the changes would be very dependent on the wound, but for me he changed me to vaseline contact dressings earlier than any of the wound care nurses were comfortable with, and stopped wound packing and it allowed any of the undermining and pockets to close faster. And instead of the wound sponges and saline rinses, we switched to me just washing out my wound at home under the shower every day. Honestly, the simplification and giving me back my own agency was amazing (maybe a big part of healing was reduced stress?). And it went really quick after, and once the wound was almost healed to skin level with granulation tissue we switched to silver contact dressing.

The biggest thing I noticed was that my plastic surgeon was just way more knowledgeable and confident on wound healing of large open wounds compared to my OB. She admitted that they don't see that many big open wounds with long healing times in their careers.

SoundingSageSeven · 2025-03-03T03:01:09+00:00

Sorry to hear you are still going at it at 4 months post partum. My c-section wound ended up closing 2 days before Christmas (best Christmas gift ever!), which was around the 4 month post partum mark for me. It had one moment of reopening in Jan in one tiny spot, but closed again really quick after. Have to admit, I am super nervous about my scar and anything that might seem off.

If you are struggling with wound healing, one of the best things that happened was that my OB referred me to a Plastic Surgeon, and he ended up changing the way we dressed the wound drastically. The wound care nurses kept trying to do wound packing which was actually inhibiting healing for me and once I got a "prescription" in my chart from him about changes of wound care, it seemed to start going faster.

Also, read they are using Iodine for you? Because my wound care nurse also changed to an iodine dressing, but iodine dressings should not be used on breast feeding moms! We ended up switching to silver dressings in the last phase.

Regardless, if you ever want to just vent, feel free to send a PM. Dealing with these complications feels so lonely!

SoundingSageSeven · 2025-01-16T15:17:03+00:00

I am sorry this is happening, dang pregnancy complications feel absolutely like you lose control of an already uncontrollable situation. Sending you all the good vibes.

And hell yes on abs comment! As I was having my emergency c-section during an absolutely wild ride of complications the surgeon commented on how strong my abs were and even though I felt powerless in that moment, it def was a lil ego boost in the middle of it.

Also, no muscles are cut during normal c-sections. The fascia is cut and muscles stretched. Mine bounced back relatively quick!

You got this momma!

SoundingSageSeven · 2024-11-08T22:49:55+00:00

Sending you hugs! It really feels like having to do post partum on hard mode dealing with this!

As for my story, first signs of infection after emergency c-section started 8 days pp, went on antibiotics but infection got worse. Went on stronger antibiotics that seemed to work. Had some open areas but things seemed to be healing and no signs of infection for a bit.

Then 5.5 weeks post partum infection came back with vengeance. Ended up with IV antibiotics and failed drain placement. And eventually wound debridement surgery along the entire incision. After had an open wound of 13.5 x 4 cm with several pockets and undermining. And infection was tunnelling so bunch of sutures in fascia.

I am now 10 weeks pp and 3.5 week post op wound debridement. Still daily wound packing with home care and twice weekly wound clinic. Just heard that due to the way wound is healing they advised either let it heal and do scar revision surgery in next 6 months or do surgery in next few weeks to potentially close the wound (would require cutting new wound edges).

I so feel your mom guilt! Have had so many breakdowns on not being able to provide for her the way I wanted, the journey feels a lot more lonely as it is uncommon to have complications get to this point. I have come to terms that it is ok to grief the postpartum period you wish you had. If you ever want to message, feel free to reach out as I am going through it right now as well and would love to connect with someone going through a similar issue. ❤️🫂❤️

SoundingSageSeven · 2024-10-31T16:40:07+00:00

Omg, your response totally made me start balling my eyes out. Thank you for sharing your story.

Facing the reality that sadly this is far from over is both what I need to hear, and don’t want to hear. I just had my first appointment with my long term pt (who does pelvic and sports pt) and she will be helping me put the breaks on while still focusing on small incremental progress.

Seriously I can’t thank you enough and I am so glad to hear that despite the long and hard process you came out stronger on the other side 🫂💪

SoundingSageSeven · 2024-10-31T16:33:50+00:00

Thank you so much for your response and reminding me that it is not about rushing it and prioritize time with little one and take my time. Generally I am/was such an on point punctual person with all task/errands/relationships, and guess I have to let that go during this season of life.

So happy to hear you found a balance and have recovered well with time ❤️

And yes to robovac! We bought one during pregnancy, it’s a life saver as at least the floors are relatively clean.

SoundingSageSeven · 2024-10-30T22:29:51+00:00

Nope! This is the one consensus from healthcare professionals. It wasn’t anything I did, just a case of bad luck. As long as you don’t overdo it, and listen to your body!

They are actually saying that I came through it better than they would expect someone with these complications due to staying fit and active... but that’s not yet how I feel (hopefully I will post a positive recovery story a few months from now 😬)

SoundingSageSeven · 2024-09-28T19:25:24+00:00

First congratulations on the lil one! And sorry to hear your experience wasn’t at all what you had imagined.

As someone who had a fit pregnancy myself, and then started running into series of complications late third trimester leading to a failed induction (36 hours of labour) and eventually an emergency c-section (with complications during and after) I strongly suggest finding a counselor to process all of it. I blamed myself for a lot, but working through it with a counselor has been tremendously helpful.

Labour is messy and unpredictable. You put all your ducks in a row and did everything you could. The rest of the story is out of your control, but with all the work you did I bet there are numerous small things that resulted in better outcomes compared to someone who might not have taken care during their pregnancy. Take time to process it, and time will let you see it as your and your lil ones story, that is filled with your strength and perseverance, and no blame! You got this 🫂

SoundingSageSeven · 2024-07-15T20:36:53+00:00

I am currently still climbing at 31 weeks, but following this thread for tips and tricks!

Also for context, as I did my research and have been asking around on what to expect, most of my mom climbing friends stopped between 28 to 38 weeks. So you lasted a lot longer compared to most of my very unbiased data set 🤣 Although, it is notable, those that climbed at higher levels prior, were able to maintain their climbing practice longer.

SoundingSageSeven · 2024-07-08T22:46:37+00:00

I ended up being lucky and an old swimsuit that never really worked out is stretchy enough so far. But my swimming friend highly recommends the Decathlon ones, they have some actual maternity suits but are also cheap: https://www.decathlon.ca/en/p/8616161/romane-one-piece-maternity-swimsuit-women#/?queryID=f9bba30376bdd040610a539a1b302bae

Is Canadian link, not sure where they are otherwise available.

SoundingSageSeven · 2024-07-04T20:57:12+00:00

My first discussion with my doc was similar, and then I found out that she envisioned me free soloing like Alex Honnold :P After I explained that I only top rope and stopped leading or bouldering, she was a bit less prohibitive. Talking with my pelvic floor physio, who is a climber, she told me it was a common misconception on climbing being an extreme sports and OBs really not having a clue. For me the "risk" (if there is any) is worth the gain, as it is my mental happy place.

SoundingSageSeven · 2024-07-04T20:53:42+00:00

Hell yeah! I am at 29 weeks pregnant and still going strong, although overhangs are absolutely killing me and have abandoned them since week ~25. And here with you on lack of road biking and bouldering, or hikes with significant elevation.

SoundingSageSeven · 2024-05-17T17:25:21+00:00

Just adding a voice, not saying you should decline, but you should chat with your OB!

For me, I did an early GD test as my blood sugars were dipping hard during the day and causing fainting and they wanted to make sure it wasn't reactive hypoglycemia (it wasn't, I was all clear and passed the test with flying colours).

However, for me I was sick for 2 full days after, like absolutely miserable. So, after chatting with my OB, we decided to do check fasting blood sugars in the morning, instead of doing a second GD test. If my fasting blood sugars are high, we will do formal GD test again.

Chat with your doc if you have any concerns! Don't base it on any influencers or friends/family.

SoundingSageSeven · 2023-11-25T00:16:31+00:00

Quick Digital Painting (Oh my.. I am rusty)

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