What babycarrier will suit your needs?
Everyone has their own personal favorite when it comes to babywearing. Here are some of mine and some observations I have picked up over the years.
- Slings: One of the most versatile carriers around. The sling will carry your newborn up to toddlers in a variety of comfortable positions. The sling takes a little practice to learn how to adjust and snug your baby up to you, but once you have the idea they are very easy to use. Most are very adjustable, allowing you the option to adjust the side rails and the depth of the sling. You can nurse hands free and the tail doubles as a light cover to shield your baby from the weather or keep yourself covered while nursing.
- Wraps: Wraps are probably THE most versatile. I can’t even count the carriers (or positions) you can use with a wrap on BOTH of my hands. These work great for newborns up to toddlers. The only downsides to wraps are their length (often around 5 yards), and the learning curve. It takes a lot of practice to learn a few carries and it takes a lot of practice to be able to wrap your baby in a store or in a parking lot without having the ends touch the dirty ground… But their versatility outweighs any downsides, I think! Using a wrap I find my baby is MOST secure on my body, and there is no hardware to worry about. I can also wrap my baby so snugly that he or she can fall asleep and their head is so supported that I could essentially do jumping jacks and my baby would never move. It’s not too tight - just very snug and conforms to their little bodies.
- Mei Tai: These are great carriers to use if you want easy. They’re essentially a square peice of fabric with straps that you use to tie your baby on. Your child sits on the square, which becomes a seat and back. The straps usually criss cross under your baby’s bum and between his or her legs to create a no-slip chair. Then two other straps typically go under your baby’s arms and the back of the ’seat’ reaches to their armpits. I have seen mei tai’s that have headrests for young babies and for toddlers who fall asleep, but I’ve never used them. I prefer the mei tai for a baby who has good head control, when it’s not close to naptime so there is no worry of a baby or child falling asleep without head support. These are great to use on your front or back (or even side) and very user friendly!