About fabric durability and the lifespan of a sling
Mums often come to see me with slings they borrowed from friends or that they used for years with their previous baby. And I’m truly glad that you enjoy your Asteraki slings for so long! Sometimes, though, I worry about how much we overestimate the “durability” of a fabric!
Anything made of fabric and used every day will, at some point, reach its limits — whether it’s a favourite toy, a little blanket, a washable nappy or a carrier! The same, of course, is true for fabric baby carriers: they have no magical property that keeps the fabric from “ageing”! The fabrics they are made of are stressed, bear weight, are washed, dried and ironed many times over their lifetime, and eventually the moment will come when they can no longer take it! For thick, strong fabrics this takes many, many years, but for fabrics suitable for slings it may happen sooner, as the threads begin to weaken.
Every time you use a baby carrier — whether it’s brand new or handed down to you by another mum who used it with her baby — make sure you regularly inspect your sling over its entire surface, looking for “weak spots”. I understand that a well-used sling can hold great sentimental value (I often say that my babies “grew up inside certain slings”), but in the end, when the time comes, it may be better to use your beloved carrier as a little bedsheet if it starts showing you that it’s time to “retire”!
In the photo above, on the left I’m wearing my newborn son in a silk sling. My Vasilis was 17 days old then. On the right, the children are having fun with their dad, who is wearing Vasilis — now 4 years and 3 months old — in the very same silk sling we used back then! This baby carrier has endured a lot: it has been washed countless times, it has been through little spit-ups, nappy leaks, breast-milk stains that escaped from nursing pads, summers and winters… It “raised” my daughter too (now 2 years and 8 months old) and it still does us proud! Few things I own have as much value to me as this black silk sling, made in February 2006!