Bottom Line: My new favorite newborn to 3 month carrier, replacing the Moby Baby Carrier. Super convenient, cozy, and easy to put on.

Pros: With my first newborn, I didn’t really use a carrier. With my second child, I used the Moby during the newborn stage and my life was changed. It was revolutionary. My second baby was much fussier than the first, but overall, I had an easier time during the newborn stage even though I now had a toddler as well. With my third baby, we purchased the K’Tan in the appropriate size for me and while it wasn’t another revolutionary advancement as going from no carrier to carrier, I loved it and basically never used my Moby. It was just as good as the Moby at keeping my newborn content and cozy. For the first couple months I had no trouble at all nursing in it. Once my son was big enough that he wanted his legs out, it was no problem to switch to using it that way. However, unlike the Moby, it was so easy to get on and off that I didn’t have to live in it. I could take it off and give the baby to my husband or someone else, then slip it back on really quickly if he got fussy and needed to come back to me. If we went to the store, I could just bring it with me and quickly put it on before pulling him out of the car seat. Basically, when it fits perfectly, it’s as wonderful as the Moby and so much more convenient. I even occasionally put my 2 year old in it (mostly just for the novelty of it) and she fits just fine. (Note: I’m about 5 feet 2 and a half inches, about 110 pounds pre-pregnancy, as much as 130 pounds post pregnancy and the extra small was perfect for me.)

Cons: It is absolutely critical for me that I be able to nurse in a carrier during the first year of life. If I can’t nurse in a carrier, it really isn’t that useful to me. I was able to nurse my son comfortably from birth to about 2 months in the K’Tan. However, by about 3 months, he was so big, even with his legs out, that it was a struggle to nurse him. I still did, but it was not very comfortable, and unlike the Moby, the K’Tan cannot be adjusted at all. I absolutely love using soft structured carriers like the Boba 4G or Ergo as soon as the babies legs can froggy wide enough for their legs to hang out of those carriers (after about 4 months), but I had an awkward period of 3 or 4 weeks, where he felt too big to nurse in the K’Tan, but too small to spread his legs wide enough for the Boba. (I’m not a huge fan of the infant inserts.) During this short intermediate period, the Bjorn and Beco Gemini were extremely helpful, since his legs could hang down and he could still nurse comfortably. However, I realize that having the luxury of 3 awesome carriers to cover the newborn, transition, and big kid stages is not possible for most people. The other “problem” with the K’Tan is that it is sized, so only people with very similar body shapes can wear the same carrier is you. We have so many carriers that this wasn’t a problem for my family, but if you want your husband or a different caretaker to wear the baby as well, this needs to be taken into consideration. If flexibility is important to you, then I might recommend having a Moby over a K’Tan. However, overall, for us, I think the awkward nursing period was completely worth the convenience of the K’Tan versus the Moby. They are both great carriers.

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Bottom Line: My new favorite long term carrier, replacing the ERGObaby Original. Extremely comfortable and convenient. Unfortunately, isn’t ideal until around 4 months and babies can’t face forward.

Pros: I already own an insane number of carriers and I have to say, I think this one is my favorite. I’ve been using it consistently for about 4 months so far with my third child (from 3.5 to 7.5 months of age — see K’Tan for newborn stage) and it has all the benefits of the Ergo, which was my previous favorite carrier, plus some extra features that are really nice, if not necessary. Like the Ergo, it is very, very comfortable for long periods of time, it’s easy to use, the baby can nurse comfortably in it, and baby can ride on my front, back, or hip (I never use the hip position, though I really should try given the frequency with which I carry my kids on my hip). It has small pockets for holding items such as a cell phone, a method for rolling up the extra strap length, and is really convenient for toddlers that like to go in and out frequently. I don’t have to remove the carrier when there isn’t a child in it. Instead, I just let it hang down. However, in addition to sharing these features, the Boba also has a hide-able/removable hood and foot straps (which I haven’t tried yet, but seem like a nice addition). The straps are slightly easier to use than the Ergo, because they are adjustable from both ends so you never have to pull or loosen from an awkward direction. Also, the Boba comes with it’s own removable infant insert, so even newborns can ride in it without having to purchase something extra.

Cons: I had some trouble with the infant insert and I still preferred to use a different carrier during the newborn stage (typically the K’Tan or Moby). Somewhat unexpectedly, I liked the Boba better around 1 month than 2 months. There is very short period of time at which I found it really awkward to use. Around 2 or 3 months, my baby’s legs were not able to froggy out of the carrier, so I still had to use the insert, but he didn’t really want to “sit” on the little insert seat like he was supposed to. Instead he kept trying to stand up and I would need to bounce to get him to sit down again. Around the same age, he was tall enough that it was getting harder to nurse him in it comfortably while he was on the infant insert. However, by about 3.5 or 4 months, he could spread his legs wide enough that the insert wasn’t needed anymore and his legs could hang out the carrier. From that moment on, we’ve essentially never looked back. Despite owning close to 10 carriers, the Boba is really all I use. I keep a back up in the car, but I still try to remember to bring my Boba with me when we leave the house. Another disadvantage of this carrier is that baby can’t face outward, unlike the Beco Gemini. However, I still prefer to own a separate carrier for the newborn stage anyway, so this isn’t an issue for me personally.

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Bottom Line: A little too cumbersome for me in the long term, but the only way I found to get a newborn well-supported on my back.

Pros: When I was pregnant with my second child, I became fascinated with the idea of a woven, non-stretchy wrap that could be used to tie the baby to your body in various ways including on your back (unlike a Moby/stretchy wrap). I thought it would be handy to tie the newborn on my back so that the toddler would not feel so abandoned after the arrival of his new sister. Unbelievably, it worked out the way I planned. As young as 3 weeks, the newborn slept for an hour or more at a time on my back while I played with the toddler. (I used the Double Hammock carry.) However, as the baby got older and the toddler didn’t show any signs of jealousy when I held her, I eventually stopped putting her on my back. (I should point out that I can’t say whether or not the baby would have been sleeping at those times anyway.) Now I really only use the woven wrap when it’s too hot to use the Moby since my woven wrap is a lighter fabric. Also, while it’s not quite as comfortable as a structured carrier like the ERGObaby or Boba 4G, I can carry my toddler with the woven wrap as well. Another advantage is that there are seemingly hundreds of options for tying a woven wrap. Given the overwhelming number of carriers I own, I didn’t want to spend $70 on a woven wrap when I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, so I made my own for about $25. Since I made mine, woven wrap carriers seem to have come down in price a lot. Maybe if I had purchased one, I would be more motivated to use it.

Cons: The main problem with the woven wrap is that most of the carriers are not “pop-able”. That is, you can’t pop the baby in and out all day long. Instead you have to tie the wrap around you with the baby in place. This is fine at home, but basically impossible in a parking lot. Also, even using the “pop-able” carries, it’s not as easy to get the baby in and out as with the stretchy Moby and the fabric tends to eventually fall down around your knees if the baby’s not in it. I also did not really use it enough to master all the different ways of tying the woven wrap and fine-tuning the adjustment of each carry. Using this type of carrier well is something that takes a lot of practice and with the vast number of more convenient carriers I own, I wasn’t motivated to use it all that often.

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Bottom Line: Comfortable and stows away very conveniently, but just too much fabric for me and not convenient to wear without baby in it. Doesn’t work well to pre-tie.

Pros: A Mei Tai is very much like the ERGObaby or Beco carriers in that baby sits with their legs around you and most of the weight is supported at your waist and hips, making it comfortable for long carries. Also, it allows most of the same carry positions (front, back, hip). It doesn’t have any buckles or rings, so fingers can’t get pinched. Lastly, it folds up fairly small, which makes it handy for travel. Like the ring sling, it’s a nice carrier to store in the car for emergencies, if one has the luxury of owning an obscene number of carriers (like me).

Cons: Much like the woven wrap, which you also can’t really pre-tie, I just find the Mei Tai to be too much fabric to deal with most of the time. With such long straps, it’s difficult to put on in a parking lot without letting the fabric touch the pavement. Unlike the Moby wrap or the K’Tan, it’s not very comfortable to hold your baby over the Mai Tai after pulling the baby out, since the fabric is pretty stiff. It’s also not very easy to pop them in and out, making this one of my least favorite carriers.

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Bottom Line: A timeless, attractive, fairly straightforward carrier that I almost never use. Not particularly comfortable and resulted in a few minor injuries to my children as I was figuring it out.

Pros: Unlike a Moby or woven wrap which can get a little unwieldy due to the sheer amount of fabric, a ring sling is fairly easy to use at home and away. Though not quite as discreet as a wrap, it also offers a way to nurse privately since the extra fabric can be used to cover up. Also, it can be used with newborns all the way to toddlers. A lot of people also comment on how cozy and natural it looks.

Cons: I know many people really like this carrier, but despite watching the accompanying DVD a couple times to try and figure out what I’m doing wrong, I don’t actually use mine very often. No matter how high or low I get the ring, I always have to be careful that my baby’s head doesn’t hit the metal when she’s flailing around. Also, especially with my toddler, but even with my baby occasionally, I find myself leaning to one side instead of standing up straight. Also, it was really nice when my baby was very small since she would curl up tummy to tummy inside the sling and I know it will be easy to get her in there securely with her legs out when she’s a lot bigger. However, at the moment she’s at a very awkward age (4 months) where she wants her legs out, but I just don’t feel like she’s in there securely enough to have her legs hang out. Lastly, I’m sure this wouldn’t have happened if I’d been more careful, but one time when I was tightening the rings, my toddler had put his hand in the wrong place at the wrong time and his fingers got pinched resulting in lots of tears. I still keep this in my car in case I need an easy carrier right away, but I don’t end up using it very often since I’m usually pre-wearing the Moby or Ergo. (Updated to add: While my feelings toward the ring sling haven’t changed, my new favorite combo is the K’Tan/Boba 4G.)

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The post Maya Wrap Baby Sling appeared first on ResearchParent.com.

Bottom Line: A great option for the first 3 or 4 months after birth. Slightly cumbersome to learn how to use, but convenient and comfortable once mastered. I essentially lived in it for the first 4 months.

Pros: I really didn’t think I would like my Moby Wrap very much. I thought it was overpriced for what it was (a big piece of fabric) and that the baby would grow out if it too quickly. I could not have been more wrong. I started wearing it when my second child was about 2 weeks old and it feels like I haven’t taken it off since. She’s four months now. Every morning I put it on and keep it on just about all day, popping her in and out as needed. If she falls asleep in it, which she frequently does, I usually keep her in it, but other times I just unwrap it around her and set her down. I wore her with her legs tucked in for the first 3 months and hanging out since then. For the past couple weeks, I also wear her facing out occasionally, which she loves. She can have her arms in or out. I can pull one of the straps over her head when she sleeps for extra support. I can pull the fabric up over her so she can nurse discreetly anytime, anywhere (very handy at the grocery store or in restaurants). While it would not be hard to make a homemade Moby wrap (one can just buy 6 yards of stretchy fabric), I like the Moby because the fabric is really soft and cozy and the edges are sewn in a way that would be a pain to replicate at home with such a large piece of fabric. Also, I can and do put my 30 pound son in the Moby occasionally. I wouldn’t want to walk a mile with him in it and it’s a little bit awkward to get him in since he’s so big, but once he’s in, it works fine for short periods of time. (For longer periods of time and with big kids, I prefer the Boba 4G carrier.)

Cons: It is admittedly a little hard to learn how to put the Moby Wrap on. However, once you’ve mastered the Moby, it’s the same way every time. Also, I chose to wear mine pretty much constantly for the first few months, but if I hadn’t, putting it on when not at home would have been an enormous pain. Another disadvantage is that it can get really warm in the summer. The baby doesn’t seem to mind and it’s not as bad as one might imagine with so much fabric, but it does make me sweat when it’s hot. For that reason and also because the baby tends to spit up in it frequently, it seems like I wash it every 3 days or so. My biggest problem is what to do when it’s being laundered, which shows how much I love it. (For a similar, easier to put on, more convenient, though less adjustable option, see the K’Tan baby carrier, which I also love.)

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Bottom Line: A very handy, comfortable all-in-one carrier, but it tries to be too much in my opinion. Not as convenient as owning both a Moby Wrap or K’Tan and a Boba 4G.

Pros: I want to love my Beco Gemini. I really do. It should have all the main advantages of the ERGObaby Carrier or Boba 4G (weight carried on hips, child can ride on front, hip, and back) plus the added advantages of an adjustable base for newborns and the ability to allow the child to face out. All of these things are definite pros. Plus, my 4 month old daughter fits in it comfortably without it being too bulky and it’s more attractive than the Ergo. Also, I received a carrier with a defective snap at my baby shower, which I didn’t realize for about 5 months. The customer service was great and the exchange was painless. I think that had I not lived with the convenience of the ERGObaby carrier with my first child, I would have adjusted to this carrier fairly painlessly. Even with other carriers that I prefer, such as the K’Tan for the newborn stage and the Boba 4G for the big kid stage, I still used this carrier during the awkward intermediate stage when my baby felt too big for the wrap, but too little for the wide-based, soft-structured carrier. This really is a carrier which can be used from birth on up.

Cons: I initially received a Beco Gemini Carrier that had a snap which kept coming undone when I used it with my 30 pound son, so I had to get it replaced. Also, the straps are designed to criss-cross on your back, not be worn backpack style like the Ergo or Boba. I do find it comfortable once it’s on, but the straps frequently have to be undone to get the child in and out which is inconvenient since they are long and hang on the ground. I can actually get my child in and out with out undoing the straps, but it’s definitely not easy. When they’re undone, the straps are so long and unwieldy that I accidentally whacked my child in the face with them once. Also, the safety mechanism on the Beco Gemini requires both hands to release each buckle, which is inconvenient most of the time and nearly impossible when I was pregnant. I had to loosen the straps, pull the child out, then undo them to get the child back in. The additional head support is not very supportive as one can easily pull it to the loosest setting unintentionally. Lastly, my toddler is just way too big for it compared to the Ergo Carrier despite its 35 pound weight limit. Overall, I think the Beco Gemini is a great idea and maybe future designs will resolve some of its problems, but for now I think the present model tries to do too much and does it all adequately, but not ideally.

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The post Beco Gemini Baby Carrier appeared first on ResearchParent.com.

Bottom Line: My previous favorite long term carrier (recently replaced by Boba 4G). Extremely comfortable and convenient. Unfortunately, not great for newborns or small infants and no forward-facing option.

Pros: I LOVE my ERGObaby Carrier. It was one of the first carriers I purchased and it was my favorite for carrying babies over about 4 months until I discovered the Boba 4G, which is only very slightly better in my opinion. The Ergo is comfortable and cozy. The baby is well-supported on the front and the back. (I personally never used the hip carry once I figured out how to get my kids on my back.) If the child wants to get down for a little while, it’s easy to take them out and put them back in. I simply let the carrier hang down either my front or back and it’s out of the way and not touching the ground. The clips are easy to use one-handed and yet still have a safety mechanism in case one fails (which it never has). While I wouldn’t have considered it on my own, my first child figured out how to nurse in it by the time he was 7 or 8 months old. My second child started nursing in it with my assistance right away, which is completely private with the right nursing shirt. I still regularly carry her in it for long walks (~2 miles) even though she’s now 18 months old and over 20 pounds. It has head support that is easily stowed away when not needed and can be adjusted to support a sleeping child’s head even while on my back. I comfortably carried my son in it until he was over 2 and at least 30 pounds, which is pretty impressive considering I’m only 110 pounds.

Cons: My main problem with the Ergo Carrier is that it can’t be used on newborns and small infants, so it’s not the only carrier you’ll need. (For the newborn stage, see K’Tan or Moby.) I don’t think my son really fit comfortably in it until he was about 5 months old and my daughter was probably even older. However, were it designed to hold a newborn (such as the Beco Gemini), I don’t think it would be as good a carrier for larger children. I know ERGOBaby sells an infant insert which I haven’t tried due to mixed reviews and the fact that even without an insert, it seems unnecessarily bulky for someone that small. Another limitation is that babies are unable to face outward in the ERGObaby carrier, which was no big deal for my kids, who preferred facing inward for nursing access anyway, but might be a bigger issue for other children. It is also fairly expensive, but well worth the cost in my opinion.

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The post ERGObaby Original Baby Carrier appeared first on ResearchParent.com.

Bottom Line: Nice that child can face in or out, but uncomfortable. A similarly featured, but better carrier is the Beco Gemini. If you’re willing to sacrifice outward facing option, the Boba 4G is even better.

Pros: I initially decided I wanted this carrier, because I had heard of BabyBjorn even before I had kids (from watching the movie Knocked Up). An advantage is that the kid can face outward or inward and the seat length is adjustable as the child gets taller. It is easy to get on and off. Lastly, probably the best thing about a BabyBjorn carrier is that it is from a well-established company that makes a high quality product. My husband actually prefers this carrier to every other one we own and uses it up until about 2 and a half or 3 years. He likes to wear our babies facing outward (since there is no milk in the other direction, anyway).

Cons: Despite the quality of the manufacturing, the design of the BabyBjorn is still flawed in my opinion. I find it uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time. Despite trying a couple different methods of attaching the clips, when the baby is small (under 9 months or so), the head support still flips up into the child’s face occasionally when facing outward.

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