Most American parenting magazines, websites and, indeed parents, would have you believe that you cannot survive the birth of a baby without a lot of stuff.

I'll tell you a secret. All you need are diapers, breasts (or an alternate milk supply) and a car seat so you can leave the house. But the thing youll want more than anything else, maybe even more than sleep, is an extra pair of hands.

Well, here they are. I couldn't have survived the first six months of motherhood without my sling. With it, I could simultaneously latch Cameron on, eat a sandwich and walk around the house, tsk tsking at the dust bunnies threatening to take it over. Even now, almost TEN years later, its still a godsend.

So take a load off with the Hotsling, the Ultimate Baby Wrap,  the Balboa Baby Sling and the Over the Shoulder Baby Holder.  We've road-tested all sorts of different carriers with our kids, and these are the ones we like the most.