Product Spotlight: Baby Carriers

Avrilmai

This week’s spotlight is on Baby Carriers. Ring sling? Soft Structured Carrier? Classic Baby Bjorn? Modal/stretchy wrap? 

What do you like/dislike and why? What would you recommend?

Best for newborn? Infant? Toddlers? 

Recommendations for best for breast feeding while carrying, back carry, front carry, tandem carry, etc. 

share your wisdom and your “I wish I had known”

Link to spreadsheet with schedule and links to past posts: Product Spotlight April 2022 

bluecampanula

If you live in a city you might be able to find a baby wearing group who love to help people find the best carriers. At least pre-covid

Wraps are really snuggly for newborns, but I’ve only used a moby and it was too stretchy and my newborns are so big (8+, 9+) that I never felt all that secure in it. If I were to start over I’d look into woven ones. It was still nice, but for a very short time for me. You can pre wrap it and wear it in the car, popping baby in when you arrive at your destination.

I used a Mai tai carrier for my first two babies, it was cheap and easy to use. My first baby hated being worn until he was older. Then he liked being on my back while I vacuumed, because he was otherwise scared of the vacuum cleaner (that’s a workout).

I got a beco 360 for my 3rd baby. I found baby wearing became more and more important the 2nd+ time(s) around because your hands are more full keeping up with the others. But that time I was also still recovering from a car accident and having a structured carrier was so, so helpful for my back. I used it a lot, the last time we used it was a year ago, we went hiking in the mountains and I wore it empty like a backpack on our way out, then when my youngest got tired he could ride part of the way back. He was nearly 3 then.

I’ve done both front and back carry with my mai tai and beco, and a side carry with the mai tai. I’ve never found nursing in a carrier to be that great, possible in all three of these, but not my first choice of position.

doxiemoxie212

HAPPY BABY CARRIERS do or die 

doxiemoxie212

No but really, my entire bmb is obsessed with HBCs, and I really think they're superior. They fold up the size of a ring sling, but they're more comfortable to wear. They're very lightweight. They're very stylish. They're easy for dads to figure out how to use. There's no metal so you can use them to wear babies/toddlers through airport security. They're easy to BF in. 

miss_lynn9

For newborn I used a wrap. The brand was beluga baby and I loved it. They have a FB group to sell used or new in box wraps. 

Once she was able to hold up her head I used the baby Bjorn one carrier. Something that is always important for me is to stick to natural fabrics. This one was pretty much all cotton. It was so helpful for when she was couple months old and wanted to look around. 

Hiking and long walks, we use the Osprey Poco plus. This one is our favorite by far for her now. If your looking for a hiking pack I highly recommend it. I'm quite short 5' 1" and it's slightly too big for me though but DH loves it. I'll still wear it but only on shorter hikes and walks. It's one of the most comfortable packs for the lid and the wearer. Deuter is the other brand that is highly recommended in the hiking community. 

doxiemoxie212

@miss_lynn9 beluga baby is soooo soft 

zamoraspin

I had one of each major category of baby wearing device I think - a ring sling, a wrap (katan), and an ergo-baby 360 (a more structured style). I definitely used the ergo baby the most as I was never totally confident the sling and wraps felt secure. Like another poster mentioned this may have been because of size - DS2 was a 10 pound newborn, was over 20 pounds at 6 months, and was nearly 30 at a year. For this reason too I didn’t wear him much after a year, he just was so heavy it was easier to use a stroller for out of the house activities. All that said it’s nice to be able to wear your baby at home especially to get stuff done around the house while they nap or hang out.

hoosiermamajayden

@doxiemoxie212 I will definitely check those out!!

I’ve tried a lot of different carriers, a lot of them great, but kind of for different uses. With my second and third I did the stretchy wrap while they were newborns, but my newborns are on the bigger side, so I got like 6-8 weeks out of those. Still worth it overall, especially if you can find a used one. I second pre-wrapping before getting in the car so you can just pop baby in at your location.

As far as soft structured carriers I’ve had Boba and Tula and honestly can’t tell which is superior. Loved and used them both many, many times. I was able to loosen one shoulder when the littles were hungry to nurse discretely. Made life a million times easier. I was able to tandem carry my youngest two (21 months apart) with these— one on front and one on back. 

I did splurge with my youngest and bought a Sakura bloom onbuhimo. You guys, it is *such* a cool carrier! Definitely a learning curve but soft, stylish, and comfortable carry. The only downside is the max is 35 pounds and around 30 it was uncomfortable after about an hour. I’m hoping to try the scout this time around. When the twins are sitting I should be able to do a scout on the front and the onbuhimo in the back.

And finally I’ve tried a mesh ring sling for the pool. It was ok. Probably because it was the mesh material or whatever but I felt like I always needed to fiddle with it. 

Blondesweety444

I used the baby k’tan wrap with my first when he was a newborn. He always hated getting situated but once he was comfortably in, I used it a lot. He was pretty small so we used it for quite a while. 

I had the Lilybaby carrier and it was ok. I tried a Tula carrier and liked it much more. It was a lot easier to get on and a lot comfier. We got the one with the mesh back so it was cooler to carry him in the summer. I used this once he was older for back carry as well. 

monstera13

I was gifted one of the stretchy wraps (can’t remember the brand) and a Baby Bjorn with DS3. I used the wrap a couple times when he was a newborn, but it was a pain to tie and he got too sweaty in it. The Baby Bjorn was great though! We used it a ton, and it was easy to transition between my husband’s size and mine. 

aloha_mama

DD6 lived in a Balboa Baby sling. She was a preemie and had pretty bad reflux for a while so she needed to be on one of us for like 22 hours a day. As she got bigger we were able to discreetly breastfeed in the sling while I was doing things around the house or grocery shopping. DH loved it, too, because it was super easy and comfortable to wear and he was able to wear her around when I was at work or they needed bonding time.

Where we live it is extremely hot like 360 days of the year, so I have an Ergo but couldn’t wear it because it was too thick. DD6 and I would just sweat the whole time. I got a Boba Air which was a lifesaver. After she outgrew the sling she would just hang out in the Boba all day long. It’s super lightweight, breathable, folds into a little attached zippered pouch that easily fit in our diaper bag, and I could breastfeed in that one eventually, as well. It was also excellent for back carrying once she was big enough. 

This time I’m hoping to splurge on a Sakura Bloom Onbuhimo, but we kept the other carriers to use again.

ETA: We used the Boba Air for hikes for a while but when she was around a year old we went to an Osprey Poco Plus, which we adore. I can’t really wear it like @miss_lynn9, I’m 5’0” so it doesn’t sit on my hips right, but DH would tote her all over the place in that thing. 

Avrilmai

@hoosiermamajayden happy baby carriers has an Onbuhimo as well. There is no waist strap in this style so it takes some getting used to, but overall it is my favorite. I can still comfortably back carry my toddler in the HBC Onbuhimo since it goes up to 40lbs and DS is small.  I also like that the HBC is linen and cooler. 

I tried a ring sling, but I wasn't confident with and DS just cried every time I put him in it. I think he could sense my anxiety. I had a tula free to grow and once he was 2 months with better head control I used that and we did okay. but it was bulky and kind of hot. I used it more around the house. 

DH got himself and ego bc he wanted to wear DS facing out and he seems happy with it. 

aukeev

@doxiemoxie212 are we in the same other BMB?  Quite a few of us in my A19 group are Happy Baby fanatics. Glad to meet another HBC Mom!

Like @Avrilmai I am also still using my HBC for my DS2. He's still comfortable in the Original, but we have the toddler we will move up to soon and also loved the Onbuhimo when he was younger. Several have already pointed out their pros, so I'll just say YOU NEED ONE! Just truly fantastic. 

Also love ring slings. We've used WildBird and Sakura Bloom and they seem pretty equal in terms of quality and function. I love WildBird's Modal blend slings for the newborn stage - so soft and snuggly. For 9 months and up I like solid linen since it's a bit more supportive. 

I'm an avid babywearer but have never figured out how to comfortably breastfeed while wearing. We've done it in our HBC, but I feel like I had to position DS2 so low that wearing him wasn't comfortable at all. 

doxiemoxie212

@aukeev I think one of my friends from TTGP might be in your bmb, and I pushed them onto her lolol 

SmashJam

We used the boba wrap for newborns, but after 15lbs its so uncomfortable. I just wrapped myself at home and popped the baby in when we got there, as others have mentioned.

For everyday wear and hiking up to like, 18 months we used Ergo 360. I got pretty good at throwing the kids on my back by myself!

We bought a used Kelty hiking backpack and I do enjoy it, but didn't start using it with DS3 until he was 2 and it was a lot to get used to on my shoulders. I can do it, but IMO its much harder for me to scramble while wearing it than it was with my Ergo. 

queenklau

I used the Sakura bloom first, as some of the ladies above, with my first. It works great as soon as you get the hang of it (YouTube tutorials). It’s great for newborn babies. Once they get heavier (5+ months) a structure carrier is best. I used the all season Lilebaby (it had like 10+ positions I think). But this was 4 years ago.

With my second, in 2020, I tried the Kony (IG ad) and really liked it. Didn’t use it as much, just due to life-COVID etc. Then she got too heavy and I reused the same Lile as above, which kept extremely well. 

Also side note, every baby likes different positions/carriers/being carried. So see if you can borrow from a friend/group (especially ones you can wash) and see which one you and the baby likes first before purchasing, if possible. I borrowed the Sakura bloom from my BFF.

aukeev

@doxiemoxie212 well now I"m just curious who we overlap with lol.

@queenklau YES to trying/borrowing carriers first! Most major cities have babywearing groups that you can rent carriers from (or at least go try them on) before deciding what works for you! We can still use ring slings with DS2 but I know a lot of people are over them once baby gets bigger. 

Ivorytower2

I am a Ergo Baby devotee. My kids like to be worn until they are 2 and it’s the only carrier I’ve tried that really provides back support.

I could see wraps being good for newborns but I’ve never tried one- I always get a little intimidated and it brings back my swaddling anxiety.  If anyone has a recco for a fool-proof wrap I would love to hear it!

doula-mama

I love the soft stretchy wrap for the first couple of months, and have a Beluga Baby that I'll break out again. I also like my ring sling, but don't love it when they are super small, so tend to wait until they outgrow the Beluga.

We also have a Lillebaby complete, and the Lillebaby toddler. They are both so comfortable, and we use them all the time. We have done a fair amount of hiking with them, and like that they don't add weight (looked at some proper hiking ones with frames, and they seemed so heavy). It's also nice that they can get thrown in a bag/stroller basket easily. 

The other one we got was a hip carrier (like a little seat) - it's super helpful when they go through a phase where they want up for a few minutes, then down, then up, or if they are being really shy when someone comes over. It was really cheap on Amazon, and although we only use it around the house, it's quick and easy and saves the effort of holding them!

loveanddatadriven

We could not get carriers to work with our newborn. We tried multiple wraps, and she would settle into a posture where her airway access looked concerning... Possibly new mom anxiety, but I think it might have just been our baby.

When she was just a little bit bigger, maybe a month old, the Ergo Omni 360 and Baby K'tan were both perfect. Ergo was more comfortable (H's fave) and K'tan packed up really small, which was important to me for traveling.