The Babywearing Thread

[Michele]

Which carrier do you have? Do you like it? What would you change? Which others have you tried? I attached the handout I give to new moms at my meetings.

Baby Bjorn


RingSling


Pouch


Mei Tai


Soft Structured


Wrap

[Michele]

I have 1 of each, being the babywearing nerd that I am. I do reach for the wrap and Ergo most though. The Ergo for Daegan because it's soooo easy to get him in quickly and he likes to get in/get out....and the wrap for Kai because it's sooo snuggly, comfortable and secure feeling.

[alison]

Thanks, Michele!

[Michele]

Alison: you asked about the Bjorn versus the Ergo. The Ergo is better suited for babies over about 4 months old...that have decent body control. Yes they make an infant insert for the Ergo but many people don't think it's that great. Some people find the Bjorn to be uncomfortable once the baby reaches about 15 pounds....which varies with baby (Kai is over 15 pounds at 3 months....Daegan was closer to 6 months old). The Ergo puts more of the weight of the baby on your hips...which many people find more comfortable that just weight on your back. The Ergo allows for the baby to be worn on your back, the Bjorn does not.

All carriers have their pluses and minuses...choosing the right one takes many factors into consideration. What activities do you plan to do while babywearing (housework, grocery/shopping, hiking)? Are mom and dad both going to wear the baby (share the carrier or different carriers)? How long do you anticipate wearing the baby (few months, few years)? How much are you able to spend? Would owning more than one carrier be acceptable?

[Tenacious_D]

We have the bjorn and the moby wrap. Love both. I used the moby a lot when DS was first born and now I find myself using the bjorn b/c DS can face forward and enjoy the world. The moby is great because there are about 10+ ways to carry a baby/toddler in it. I really wouldn't change much...the only problem is protecting from the sun in both carriers.

I've got a pouch, ring sling, bjorn and a mei tai. The mei tai is my favorite, hands-down. The ring sling is too much fabric and too 'hippy-dippy' for me to manage (remember, I live in KS -- I always get weird looks and "do you really have a baby in there?" when I wear the baby at ALL!). The pouch may end up being useful again once I'm trying to carry Mattie on my hip a lot again. It was good in the very newborn stage, but once I needed to be able to do anything but carry her cradle style, I fell out of love with it.

I'll probably add an ergo or becco at some point.

[Malpka]

With my first I had a Bjorn and a Maya ring sling. I mostly used the ring sling, and the Bjorn was more for outdoorsy things where he would be worn longer. With my second I was ring sling all the way, with Cecilia I got a Babyhawk and LOVED it. I used it forever.

Now I am expecting #4, and would love to try a wrap, but I am scared. It looks fancy and hard

[Tenacious_D]

Now I am expecting #4, and would love to try a wrap, but I am scared. It looks fancy and hard

Congrats on #4!!! I thought the moby wrap was intimidating too but when I tested it out, it was quite easy to use. The instructions are very plain and simple and there are tons of videos on Youtube now.

[alison]

I can't get over how dangerous the sling/pouch carriers look to me. They make me nervous! I'm sure they're fine, but sometimes it looks like the baby's just going to roll out!

[migirl]

Oops, I posted my opinion of Bjorn vs. Ergo in the other "Must-Haves" thread.

I love, LOVE, *LOVE* the Ergo.

I just wanted to chime in that I also have a pouch sling that DS#1 loved but DS#2 hated. So ... if you have a store near you that sells the different types of carriers, I think it's worth going and trying things on to see how you and baby like them.

[madeintaiwan]

I have:

bjorn
ring sling
pouch
ella roo mei tai
babyhawk mei tai
becco butterfly 2

I HATED the ring sling. J never really liked the bjorn or ring sling. He was huge anyhow-- 10.5 lbs at birth. I didn't bother to try others with him. I used the bjorn with A and it was great but once she got about 5 months, it really killed my back. With Eó, the pouch was awesome for the first two months but then he didn't really like it and it began to feel awkward. I HATED the Ella Roo Mei Tai. I DO NOT like how it is made. The craftsmanship seems crappy to me and I do not like the magnet head rest thingy. I however LOVE LOVE LOVE the Babyhawk Mei Tai. That thing was great and I love all the colors. I had mine custom made and lined with minkee. I was able to find an internet coupon too. I recently got a Becco Butterfly 2 and that carrier is AWESOME. It was great to have while on our Newport Beach trip. Eó loves riding on my back and so far it has given me great support. He's almost 10 months now.

[Auspicious]

I have:

Moby wrap: Wish I had gotten this before she was born. Snuggly and secure for a newborn. Worth its (inexpensive) price. Cons are that even with practice I find putting it on me to be a PITA, and I didn't find it useful beyond the newborn phase.

Bjorn: Was a gift. I wouldn't pay full price for it. Advantage is that the baby can face forward, but other than that I suspect it's fully redundant with our Beco but not nearly as comfortable.

Beco: my favorite, though we didn't get it until she was 9 months old. We have the Butterfly I, and basically got it because the price dropped when they came out with the Butterfly II. It is very comfortable, which I attribute to the hip belt--hip belt makes all the difference, IMO. We've used this for carrying her inside my winter coat, getting work done around the house, hiking, running to the store, fitting us both under the same umbrella in the rain--love it. It does have a sewn-in infant harness for tiny babies, but I haven't tried that yet. I chose it over the ergo because I think it's cuter and it was on sale, but the advantage I can see of the ergo is that it does hip carries whereas the beco does not.

If we're blessed with another I'll probably try and get some kind of strechy pouch. I feel like there's a gap in my collection that needs something snuggly but "poppable." If I loved that I could see it replacing the moby.

[Michele]

If you use a pretied PWCC the moby will be almost as poppable as the pouch.

Wrapping has the biggest learning curve but if you want to do it and you stick with it, you'll never go back! . Of course that's just my opinion!!

[Auspicious]

If you use a pretied PWCC the moby will be almost as poppable as the pouch.

Hmm, tell me more--like what PWCC stands for.

I have:

A Bjorn - type carrier
which I hate, used about three times and didn't like the way he just "hung" there. I now people love the Bjorn and mine is not an "actual" Bjorn so that is all I will say!

A pouch - Hotsling
This was what I thought I would use for the newborn stage but J hated being in the cradle hold. And he was so long that he looked so squished in there. We use it occasionally now though for hip carries.

A wrap - Moby stretchy wrap
Love my Moby. This is what worked best for us for the newborn stage. He was so comfortable in there. If we lived in a cooler climate I would have been good with this one only for the first few months! Once I figured it out (YouTube) it was really easy to get on. The stretchy wraps are not as supportive as the woven or gauze wraps but are easier to put on. I tried out some woven wraps but was never patient enough to stick with it, especially when I loved my mei tei so much:

A mei tei - Babyhawk
This is my favorite carrier and the one I used for grocery shopping, walks etc from about a month old until about eight months. So easy to put on and so pretty and he was always so comfortable in there. Once he hit 20 pounds I felt that we needed a little more support for longer carries. But if I had to save one carrier in a fire, this would be it!

A SSC - Beco Butterfly II
This is the one I use mostly now. I chose the Beco over the Ergo as it is easier to move the baby from front to back when you are learning the hip scoot. I use this for longer carries (we go hiking several times a week) and it is nice to be able to change positions easily. It is comfortable for both of us. If I could trade it in for an Ergo now, I would though. The hip scoot is second nature to me now, and I would like the pocket that the Ergo offers.

We also have a frame backpack carrier that feels so uncomfortable and heavy to me, but DH loves it and Jack gets a much better view than when he is on my back in the Beco.

I would highly recommend seeing if their is any kind of babywearing group in your area that does demonstrations and even lends out carriers. There is a great one here that helped me a lot. If you are purely interested in the Bjorn or Ergo though, they are in several stores.