I have an awful lot of slings
Our most used one is a connecta as that is OH's carrier, he doesn't like having to tie things, he prefers buckles. I bought it when she was 6 weeks old so it is definately suitable from birth to toddler. We have a solarweave one for summer and it folds down so small! Our friends all bought the Tomy or Bjorn or other types that Mothercare had in stock and by 6 or 7 months couldn't use them any more as they pull on your back and are sore for you to use. Even though I have a dodgy pelvis I could use the connecta to very comfortably carry our nephew who is 20 months and very tall.
My favourite is a mei tai made by Ocah. The one I have is called a hybrid. As I said, I have a dodgy pelvis so I really feel when I am carrying if a carrier is not supportive enough and I can't carry my daughter in my arms for more than a couple of minutes. I can carry her in this for hours! I think it may have been a bit big for her as a baby, she may have been drowned in it (though perfectly safe). We got it when she was 6 months old.
I barely used stretchy wraps because I bought a Moby and it is really thick. DD was born in May so by the time it was cool enough to use the Moby I had bought woven wraps and preferred the support. I leant slings to a friend and she had a stretchy wrap that she loved when her daughter was new but when she tried one of my woven ones when her DD was 3 months old she found that far more supportive. Woven wraps are so snuggly and great for learning on but like the bjorn they aren't supportive enough for your full comfort after 6 months.
Woven wraps have a learning curve but I just practised while baby was asleep. If you have a mirror you can practise in front of it's fine. I use woven wraps when I am going to be taking DD in and out of the carrier a lot as I find that easier with a wrap. They are very versatile and I love them! The Ocah is the only carrier I have tried that is more comfortable than a wrap. I haven't tried all the brands of mwi tai out there though but I won't be looking for any more.
I just looked back at your post and realised you wanted baby to be able to face out. It is up to you but I would really recommend against doing that. A lot of people elieve it is bad for baby's spine though I cannot find research that says this. However, there is research that it is bad for your spine as the weight is puller away from you. If you have your baby facing out they will be used to that and if you always do that by 6 months when they will be far too heavy for you to carry them facing out they may refuse to face inwards as they are not used to that. This has happened to a number of my friends. So if you are popping out to the shop for 5 minutes you have the hassle of the pushchair rather than quickly shoving on a carrier. Or when going somewhere crowded (sale shopping, Christmas lights being turned on....) baby has to be in a pushchair surrounded with legs while you can barely move trying to get around with a pushchair. And carrying them in your arms if you want them to see things. In the sling baby has a far far better view and it is a million times easier to get around. Hmm, I have warbled on at a tangent. Sorry. So, we always had DD facing in just in case someone did the research and found facing out was bad for them. So she loves to be cuddled up! When they are little they are happy just to see you and by 4 months they can look around for themselves and snuggle back in to you if they have enough of being nosy. Because she is used to facing in that is how she is happy. I really feel for our friends, especially OH's sister who is very outdoorsy but her daughter just won't tolerate facing in and at 7 months is too heavy to face out.
If you really want your baby to have the option of facing out 9after all you could sometimes have baby facing in and sometimes out so they weren't too used t faing out) and want a carrier you will get good value for money for the only carriers I would recommend would be Pikkolo by catbirdbaby which is a carrier with buckles or a woven wrap and have babies legs crossed inside the wrap buddha style. These will last until your child is 40lbs if my memory serves me correctly and genuinely will unlike ones that say they do but will pull at your back.
Buying 2nd hand would make the initial outlay smaller and then you can sell the sling on later. 99 out of 100 of the slings on ebay are not supportive enough and that is why there are so many there. I have bought and sold second hand on babywearing websites and these are also good places for more sling advice. For example, if you choose to get a woven wrap you will find there are an awful lot to choose from!
