I didn't register for a baby carrier because I think they are so ridiculously overpriced and was hoping to get a couple of used ones for a great deal. I just bought a Baby Bjorn Active carrier for $26 on ebay, which I thought was a great deal given they retail for over $100. I figured that J would probably wear this one because it looks a little more manly than the sling-type carriers, which is the other type of carrier I'd like to get. I am looking at pouch-type slings like Hot.slings and wrap-type slings like Moby wraps, but don't know what to get. So many people say they love one and can't stand another. I really don't want to waste money to find out I can't stand them, but also don't want to be without one when it could come in quite handy. So, I'm asking you to tell share with me your experience with baby carriers.
I just had to post a photo of the absolutely adorable matching sweaters I bought yesterday for the boys to wear next fall/winter (9mo). J doesn't want me to dress them alike, but I think once in awhile it will be cute! Besides I could put one in jeans and the other in cargo pants. :)
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Baby Carriers - Advice Needed
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34 comments:
hi! I'm not even sure how I found you blog..lol.
I would love to know if you find a good carrier..cause I'm having that same issue!
AND those are adorable!!
You had me at elbow patches!!
Hey there - adorable sweaters!
I would LOVE to send you a Moby wrap. I have never used it as I was given two. I have only washed it once in prep for the baby and it was washed once in Seventh Generation baby detergent. It is an organic cotton and their off white/cream color.
If you want it, it is all yours. Just send me an address.
I had a pouch carrier when Jack was really little and it came in handy but it wasn't really GREAT. It just kinda balled him up and I felt like I had to always check and make sure he was breathing. I would have much rather had the moby wrap but I just never bought it. And with the carrier I had if I had to lean at all he would fly away from my body and with the wrap they wouldn't usually do that.
Thanks for the compliments girls!
Meg, you are so sweet to offer! I would LOVE your extra Moby wrap. I posted a comment on your blog, but in case you miss it ... email at nikiconstantine21 at yahoo dot com and I'll send you my address. Also, I will reimburse you for shipping. :)
I made a maya wrap (easiest sewing project ever, and we each got to pick out our fabric). Jen at here we go again got the one I made for me, and I think she really liked it.
http://www.mayawrap.com/n_sewSling.php
Those sweaters are the sweetest little things! I can't help you on baby carriers. I've tried the front backpack like carriers and ring slings. I didn't really care for either one but I just don't think that baby wearing is for me.
I loved my Hotsling at first, but the quickly became too heavy and it started to hurt my back. I definitely preferred the pouch type sling over the ring, I could never get the ring sling just right.
My Moby is great, but a pain to get on. However when they were newbies I could wear them both in one :)
Now that they're holding their heads up, my current favorite wrap is my Ergo :)
I've also got a Baby Bjorn and two Mei Tais LOL
I love dressing my guys the same... I figure I'll do it now, because before long they'll have a say and probably won't want to LOL
Love love love my kangaroo korner pouch styles. they are just great. I had one fleece and one solarveil.
I also loved my mei tai and Ergo. similar concepts although Ergo is far easier to use quickly.
The only other carrier I used was a ring sling. Loved that too.
great, now with all this baby wearing talk I am missing my babies :) they are just so awesome to wear. hope your boys love it.
I used the Ergo and it was awesome. I would recommend it highly. It was worth the money. You don't need to buy the infant insert for it either, you can use a blanket instead. We had a foster baby who was really heavy and my back never hurt carrying him in the Ergo!!
I found this link for you: http://www.naturallyparentingtwins.com/drupal/image/tid/24
We used the ergo every night for the first several months to "wear down" the baby to sleep. It was the best for my back--I had a sling, moby and baby bjorn and they all put too much weight on my shoulders. Alice is 14 mos and I just used it today while at the grocery store while she was fussy. It's still the best in my mind. Considering that we've used it daily for 14 mos now, I consider it worth the money.
I have to say that the Ergo is the best thing we have found for baby carriers. I still use it with my 17 month old. I wish I would've bought one for my first baby! You can try getting one used to save money but it is worth it even if you have to buy it new. I have tried a lot of other slings and wraps and I would say that the Moby wrap is my favorite - especially while they are tiny. Love the sweaters and the thought of you wearing your precious little ones!
I love love love the MOBY and I heard the ERGO i think its called i sgreat
we also have the bjorn for my hubby :)
bjorn's aren't good for babies hips especially when they're so young. if you can afford it, i would DEFINITELY go with an ergo/mei tai or a moby wrap.
Love the sweaters - so so cute :) I've been TOTALLY reliant for the last few days on our pouch type sling - it's so simple to use being just a big hunk of fabric. I love that it's squishes down small enough to fit in any bag too. I tried to get our daughter to love a front pack (since we spent so much on it :p) but she doesn't like it because there's a thick fabric barrier between her and I, whereas the sling means she's pretty much 'right there'. Perfect for the "touchy" baby :)
I never used a baby carrier so I can't help you there. I like the little sweaters, so so cute!
(PS- Why NOT dress them alike? They are twins afterall. I still coordinate my two even at 3. Matching stuff is hard to find beyond 24m size for b/g though).
I've been searching for the perfect carrier too! I'm going to borrow your advice.
I really would like to get a sling type carrier but I'm worried about the little guy liking it.
We used a baby bjorn with our daughter until she was about a year old. She loved it. It put her right to sleep. After that I used a sling type carrier - but I was never found of the one we had. It was always to big.
After having two kids and a variety of slings, here's my 2 cents:
Pouch slings are very convenient, but it's an absolute must that it fits your body properly. If not, you'll have back pain and the baby won't fit in it properly. Get fitted in a store that really knows what they're doing (ie: sells a lot of slings/carriers, has people who can demonstrate use properly).
Moby wraps are great, especially if the boys come on the early side of their due date. Hard on your back once they get above 11 or 12 lbs. When putting them on, you need to tie them really, really tight because they stretch out and become uncomfortable when this happens. Lots of fabric that can get warm in the summer and is a pain to keep out of puddles in the winter/spring.
Didymus is a brand of non-stretch wrap. People who are hardcore babywears like them more than the stretch jersey type wraps because they don't stretch out, their weave grabs onto itself for a more secure hold and they're a more comfortable when your baby gets older/is a toddler. They are expensive.
For my newborn, my ring sling was my favourite because it's highly adjustable. Baby can sleep in the cradle position or chest-to-chest. Good later on for a hip carry. The tail is good for covering up baby if it's too sunny or raining. Like anything, to use it properly, there is a learning curve (ie: getting the baby in it correctly, learning how to thread the tail). Once again, if you can find a store that sells them and has knowledgeable sales people, you'll be laughing.
Soft structured carriers (Beco, Ergo) are great once baby's 4 months old or more. I have "frog legged" my baby when they were 2-4 months old and worn them, though. Quick to put on, once you get it adjusted to where you need it. Once again, there's a learning curve, figuring out how to do all the carries, which strap/snap goes where, how to get baby on you safely, etc., but once you do, it can be really easy to just throw one baby on you and go on your merry way.
Mei Teis (ie: BabyHawks) are beautiful, highly customizable (so many pretty fabrics!) and easy to use. The straps are long and can be tricky to figure out, but once you do, it's easy to adjust and quick to change the type of hold you're doing.
Snuggli/Baby Bjorn carriers are crap. Sorry, I know a lot of people really love them. But the straps hit in the wrong places and there's not enough support if you want to wear your baby for long stints. It makes babywearing uncomfortable. As mentioned before, there's concerns about baby's hips and the pressure these carriers put on them.
Ask 10 different babywearers what's the best sling and you could probably find 10 different answers. But one thing's for sure: practice makes perfect!
TheBabyWearer.com has some great articles on how to pick your sling/carrier and how to properly position it. You can find that information here.
I loved my Kangaroo Korner adjustable pouch. I tried a sling from Target first (it was like half the price), but I hated it and finally caved and ordered the Kangaroo Korner. My baby was already 4 months old, so I missed out on using it when she was really tiny. But I absolutely loved it. I ordered the fleece one first, but it was way too hot (even in winter, but I live in Texas). I exchanged it for the all weather cotton version, and it was fantastic!
The fab thing about carriers is that if you buy one and don't like it, they are pretty easy to sell.
I liked the moby when they were little (though it was cumbersome to use for quick trips to the store, etc). When kiddo got older, the BECO (and ERGO) were my absolute faves.
Have you checked out thebabywearer.com? Check there for some really great deals on some very beautiful carriers. It's easy to get overwhelmed with all the choices though. All you can do is dive in and try out what you think you'd like!
~p1p3r
Another note re: ring slings. I had one baby that hated the cradle hold, but loved chest-to-chest. The other baby was the opposite. Because of how adjustable ring slings are, it was easy to switch between both carries. With a pouch sling, I found that it wasn't as good for doing chest-to-chest carries, which wasn't so good for my first child who hated being in the cradle position.
I used a Baby B.jorn while the baby was young. He's 14 months now and still wants to be carried so I just bought a hot.sling within the last two months and I love it. I wish I had bought one when he was smaller. Check out e.bay. I found mine for $10 and it was brand new. That way if it didn't work out, I was not out a ton of money. I am also looking at the mai tai carriers and love them. If I had started earlier when the baby was younger, I would have definitely splured on one of those.
I have a bunch of different carriers. And I like different ones for different times/phases. I liked my pouch sling when the baby was small then again after he could sit (and I could put him on my hip or back). The B'journ was good only when they were small and I was using it for a short time period. My husband likes the backpack after they are too big for the front carrier when he is alone with the kids. When we are hiking, both of our favorite is a Maya type wrap (which is just material I bought from Joann, did nothing to it, I just found material that was not strechy in any direction, or very minimally so). This takes me the longetest to get the kid into, but the most comfortable, for both carring one or both of them at the same time (mine are 25 months apart). What we don't like about the Moby (vs Maya) is the Moby is strechy. Which is nice when they are small, but as they get heavier and move, they always seem to sag out of place. Overall, I would say my Mei Tei is my favorite that I use the most. I made mine (very simple to make). It is quick enough to get on, and I can easily do front or back (or one on both). All of my carriers I made or got 2nd hand, but I really do use different ones in different situations.
Side note, my dad is a twin. And he was dressed identically to his (faternal boy) twin until they were 7 or so when they flat out refused. They both hated it. I think it is cute for special occasions, but I can see the other side too. With that said, when I have my boys dressed similarly (i.e. both in jeans and similar color shirts) I can guantee someone will ask while I'm out if they are twins (um, no. There is 25 months between them, the one is 31 lbs and the other 16 lbs....)
Lurker and occasional commenter here! I have to comment on this one b/c it is so dear to me.
I am petite (5ft, 100lbs) and my son has always been in the 75th-95th percentile. We had a horrible time finding a carrier that worked.
Bjorn hurt my back and shoulders and each time we used it his little legs turned purple after about 15 minutes in it.
Slings were okay in the very beginning but again his size and my size didn't compute for long.
We finally tried the Ergo carrier and it totally solved all our issues. I can still wear him in it and he is 35 lbs. Although, he runs everywhere we go, it's nice to have in case he gets tired or anything. Plus you can wear it as a front/back/side-hip carrier. Love the versatility and simplicity of putting it on quickly and going.
The Moby seems to take more coordination and time than I have to get on and get little one situated into.
If you check out babyearth dot com. You can see the have some other sort of sling/carrier that will also hold twins. I have no frame of reference for it but it may be worth a look.
Good luck!!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Moby wrap!!! Both my kids had/have colic and this was a godsend! I also really like my Beco (which is really similar to an Ergo, but I prefer the Beco because you don't need a separate insert to use with an infant).
Hi, I reccomend the baby bjorn as well as I used them with all three of mine, all preemies. I also have a new extra if you would like it.
I have 3 Ring Slings and 1 Beco. I preferred the Beco over the Bjorn bc I found the Bjorn too hard on my back even though it was an active one that is suppose to have lumbar support.
Also, the born is only good up to 26lbs I believe and I know by the time Tash was 15lbs it was really hard to have her in it for long without her killing my back.
The beco is soft structured, you can do front and back carry and wear your child in it up to 46lbs. I have a 5th Gen one, so I can also hip carry with.
Now, my ring slings I love vs the pouch style slings bc I get the 'perfect' fit each time I put it on. I can put it on and put baby in and adjust it just right each time. I never felt like I was getting the right fit with the pouch sling I tried on/tested out.
I just recently bought a wrap as friends rave about it for during the newborn stage. So I can't give an opinion on it yet, but many say it's so cozy for the baby bc it's so snug it's like they are in the womb again.
What I recommend, bc everyone has a different opinion of what they love and hate in baby wearing products is to wait for the babies to come. Once they do, go to a local baby wearing store and try all the different ones on. What one person loves, you could hate, what you like, the babies could hate. Here there is a local store here where you pay $10 (and then get a $10 credit in the store)for the 'class' and they let you try on all their different carries and show you how to put them on and properly wear baby. If you are not wearing it properly you can hurt your back or baby won't like it.
This way you save a lot of money by not dishing it out for a carrier your babies or you do not like.
Oh, another popular one as well is a Babyhawk and Ergo, very similar to the Beco. :0) Also, if you have not, check out http://www.thebabywearer.com/ Tons of info there and a forum as well with lots of great advice. :0)
I should have just read the rest of your comments and did a "Yeah that" to Our Life with Two boys. I agree 100% with everything she said. hehe
I beyond love my Beco Butterfly...it is seriously the best $$ I've spent on baby gear!
I beyond love my Beco Butterfly...it is seriously the best $$ I've spent on baby gear!
I would recommend a Moby Wrap when they are small.
And a Beco or Ergo carrier for when they are heavier. They are all three VERY worth the money. I have never heard any complaints about the Ergo or Beco.
I have a Beco and a Moby. I would never get anything else! :)
I use a ring sling, the brand I use is called Keiki Kuddlerz. Here's a post to her ebay store. I have been very pleased with my purchase!!
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Keiki-Kuddlerz__W0QQ_armrsZ1
No experience or advice, but just popped in to say the sweaters are adorable!
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