I was a little confused by the sizing. When going by height and weight and all other criteria, the sling size would have been a 3. But, when going by the shoulder to hip measurement, I would have been a sling size 5. When I tried contacting a representative, I was told to go with the 3, so I did.
They do have a wonderful selection of colors and designs and I found it hard to choose which design I liked best. I ended up going with the Supernova. It is a great purple color with white design. The slings regularly retail at $48, but have been marked down lately to $39. I do have to say that they may have the most expensive shipping for such a small product. Over $11! Since I wasn't paying for the sling, the shipping still made it cheaper than the other wraps I had purchased.
It took a while to receive the sling, possibly due to being shipped by USPS, but I have received other items from USPS quickly, so, who knows. When I first opened the sling, it had a strong smell, from the dyes and the chemicals. I was really torn between trying it on with Sweet Pea or washing it. Since I had spoken with someone at the company who had told me which size to get, plus the fact that I did not want any of the chemicals from the dyes touching Sweet Peas skin, I went ahead and washed according to the directions.
After getting it all clean, I looked at the instructions on how to use the wrap. They can be slightly confusing at first, but, since it is obvious how the sling should work, you eventually figure it out. Since Sweet Pea is almost 4 months, we went with the front carry. It requires that her legs be crossed the entire time. I found it really hard to get her situated in the sling. After some finagling, I finally got her situated. She really seemed to enjoy it, but the sling was uncomfortable for me. I looked on the back and realized that she was not sitting in the sling in the "ideal zone". Meaning that the representative should have had me go with the bigger sling. The sling kept digging into my neck and shoulder. I wore it around for a while to see if it would get any better. Again, Sweet Pea loved it. We went outside to push Wild Man on the swing and enjoy the sun. The only reason we cut the use of the sling short was due to me being uncomfortable.
I went back to the website to see if I could return the product, but since it had been opened, I could not. That was a shocker because, how is someone going to know if the sling is the correct size if they don't open it and try it on with the baby? I can see not wanting to have a product returned that had been washed, but I also think it is unprofessional to send a product that smells of chemicals and expect people to try using it with a baby without washing it first. The only way the company does returns is that they will credit back to the card for the purchase price minus shipping and handling. Since I only paid shipping and handling, it doesn't do me much good.
So, I do believe this product would work really well for someone that it was correctly sized for. I think I will even have to look for a different product like this so that Sweet Pea can use it because she really did like this sling.
Here is what I am willing to do, go to www.sevenslings.com and look at the sizing chart. Again, mine is a size 3, but I would recommend basing your size off of the shoulder to waist measurement, assuming that all other measurements fit into that sling size or a lower one. Then, come back to this page and let me know if you would fit this sling. I will give this one away to those who would be interested in trying it. If more than one person is interested, then I will use http://www.random.org/ to select someone.
I'm a size 3!
ReplyDeleteDusti, I am going to give it one more day and if there are no other responses by 10 pm CST on Fri, April 1st, it is yours!
ReplyDeleteDusti, you are the lucky new owner of a Seven Slings sling. If you can e-mail me at minteemama@gmail.com then I can get that mailed out to you at the beginning of next week. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteOf course, I find this review like 2 days later, and I am also a size 3, possibly 4. One thing I will say is that they offer a $3.50 "Return" option, so that if your sling doesn't fit, you can exchange it, postage paid. Thanks so much for your review, guess I'll go with the 4, due to the shoulder/hip measurement!!
ReplyDeleteI ran into the same problem with Seven Slings. I measured three times! I have found various blogs online of women complaining that these things run too small and are constantly having problems returning them. They are willing to give me another one a size larger with the "shipping costs.” I said if I’m willing to pay for shipping to and from my house but with a pre-addressed return box, would they be willing to exchange? She said no because I opened the package. WHAT – How do we check if it fits without opening the package? I checked what it would cost to ship it the same way they did and was quoted around $4 max. I've decided not to order again. It's clear that they are marking up the shipping charges. The product is made in China. My husband is a broker for garments and works with China. He said it costs about $1.00 – 1.50 at the most to make the product. So you can see they are making at the minimum $5-$6 per sling. They give coupons out in hospitals and list codes on the internet. We are talking 1000's of these being given away for "Free" for $11 shipping - with a $5 profit. I'm giving mine away, but cutting off the tag with the logo. I feel if they truly wanted to give away a sling for free then the shipping should be appropriate and the exchange policy should be adjusted - another $3.50 they make. By the way it's automatically charged to you if you don’t unclick the tiny box to remove it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the comments. I too got a promotional code for a free product, "just" pay $11 shipping. I ordered one for my daughter in a size 4, that was way too small. A friend also ordered one, she is 4'10", & weighs 90#, she ordered a 3, since I'd had trouble with ours being too small, the 3 could be worn by a 5 yr old! I ended up getting another one in a 5, that fits my daughter ok, but works well for me, 5', & 130#, which is no where near what the package advises. I gave my friend the 4 & will use the 3 for the kids when they play with dolls, because as you have all commented, the return policy is worthless. Unless someone wants it, I will ship it to you for free, just to have someone be able to use it. I would not recommend giving one as a gift, sizing is inconsistant. I too found the smell overwhelming. Someone made one in the same style, for my daughter, it is sturdier, more comfortable & little man loves it.
ReplyDeleteOOPS, the size I have is a 1, not a 3. If someone wants it, e-mail me mamabarnes4@aol.com
ReplyDeleteI have one and I love it. I must have gotten lucky with the sizing but my 3 week old loves it.
ReplyDeleteI had the same problem! I ordered one for my best friend when she wasn't even showing yet. She is a little smaller than me, so I thought for sure my measurements would work perfectly for her. I didn't even bother to take it out of the package when it arrived because I trusted it was the correct size, considering it was marked size 2. Months later, it is about 4 inches shorter than it's supposed to be! Her little 8 lb son can't fit at all. And because it was opened, we can't return it. What a disappointment! I suggest spending the money for a quality sling that doesn't smell like chemicals and can be exchanged or returned.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping that I don't have any problems with the one I just ordered yesterday! The measurements I got were at the ends of the size ranges putting me in a predicament of what to get, so I got the smaller size which falls into the correct height/weight. I'll let you know when it comes in!
ReplyDeleteI just came across your blog when I googled Seven Sling reviews..you were the first! Thank you so much for your post about the sizing problem.. I too have recieved a promo code for a free sling just pay shipping (which for myself is almost $16! yikes) But I thought it was still a great deal, my only concern was it's credibility. So now that I know it's not a scam I'm going to measure twice and order once! LoL Thanks again! From one SAHM to another!! :)
ReplyDeleteUse the code "FREE" and you only have to pay S&H so it ends up being 15.xx dollars.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review.
I just got a coupon for a free Seven Sling and found your review listed when I googled it. Based on what you said I decided to pay the "sizing insurance". Crossing my fingers it works out!
ReplyDeletehttp://lillovestories.blogspot.com/
I also ordered a size 3 and it is sooo small! Its like a sling for my boobs, there is no way my baby would be able to fit in there! I'm considering giving it to my 4 year old cousin to carry her baby dolls around in...thats how small it seems. I couldnt imagine what the size 1 would be like....a necklace I'm sure!
ReplyDelete