Baby slings: Up close and comfortable with your baby

EVERY parent knows the feeling of dread when faced with trying to negotiate a stroller around the tables and chairs in a restaurant or up and down the stairs at a train station.

But while a pram is a necessary evil when it comes to transporting children, there are a few months in their young lives when they can relax, happily and snugly, next to your chest, leaving adult arms free to navigate even the tightest corner shop.

Mothers in particular have been strapping their babies to their bodies for centuries and in recent years, using a sling or papoose has become popular again with everyone from Angelina Jolie and Sarah Jessica Parker, to Jessica Alba and Gisele Bundchen choosing to keep their babies close.