Babywearing love

 

I don’t know how people survive without wearing their babies, unless their baby is super relaxed and happy to lie around alone a lot, which Jack is definitely not!

When Jack was a newborn, I honestly probably wore him during the majority of his waking hours except for some tummy time, some naps, and some nursing (I nursed while babywearing eventually too). Once he started crawling at 9 months I started wearing him less, and it’s at an all time low now at 13 months, but I still wear him relatively a lot. Nowadays I wear him for at least 1 nap per day because he sleeps longer that way, so I can sit backwards in a chair and eat a meal calmly and even watch a TV show with headphones on (so luxurious!!). I also wear him on any short walks with our dog and many longer ones too, since getting the stroller up our few steps is a bit of a hastle.

I continue to wear Jack on my back to get him to sleep at night, and I’m so glad I’m doing that instead of sitting with him in the crib/bed and waiting 1-2 hours until he falls asleep on his own. That process was so frustrating for me when we tried it for a while, but when I wear him I can look at my kindle while walking and clean up a bit around the house which is really nice. (In the middle of the night Jack just nurses back to sleep though).

I also love wearing him during chores like cleaning or cooking. Recently he learned to climb on our couch so I’m nervous to leave him alone in the living room for even a second, so watching him is a little more stressful, and it’s hard to cook or do things while also watching him. Today I needed to vacuum, and it was SO much easier to put him in a wrap on my back and forget he was even there rather than having to make sure he wasn’t eating the vacuum cord every two seconds or sticking his fingers in some crevice of the machine and hurting himself. It’s pretty funny when wearing your toddler to vacuum feels almost like a vacation, huh?

I like different carriers for different things, so here is what I use typically:

Tula (toddler size) is most comfy for front carries, so I wear him on walks in it

Bamberoo has the highest back, so I wear it for naps/night time

Ring sling is smallest so I take it to the library storytime or places like that

The woven wrap can get the highest back carry so Jack can see over my shoulder, so I wear him doing chores so he can watch. I sometimes also wear it other times outside during walks, or try a hip carry on a walk if my back hurts a little.

Comparison of toddler baby carriers

I got a toddler tula about a month or so ago and really liked it mostly, but my husband wants a carrier whose straps can criss cross, so we are in the market for a different toddler carrier. My husband prefers the crossing straps because he thinks it feels like the backpack kind will fall off your shoulders which is understandable. I also think when you cross them it give you some more back support. It’s been tricky to find toddler carriers with crissable straps though, so here is a list of a few that I found. We also want one with a headrest as high as possible because Jack hated the tula hood over his head, but his head falls backwards when he sleeps sometimes so he needs neck support. (Spoiler- the one we decided on was a bamberoo!) Note about sizes: when sizes are listed they are usually just of the panel, excluding the belt part. They are also often listed as the width at the widest point, which is not necessarily at the baby’s legs. For example our toddler tula said it was 19 inches wide, but it was really close to 17 at the bottom of the leg opening. It fit my 30 inch tall 1 year old who weighs 22.5 pounds perfectly though.

kinderpack

Kinderpack- good headrest, no pocket but you can possibly put your keys in the pocket where you stuff the hood on top. $164. 19 inches wide and 18 tall like tula but 2 inch headrest in addition. Only a few options are organic, many have really busy prints, some have mesh.

kanga XT

Kanga- 16 inches wide. I didn’t like how boxy it looked, but it has a great headrest

ABC carrier

ABC (action baby carrier)- 13.5 width – too small for toddlers. Many designs are more subtle and nice, but no headrest

bamberoo

bamberoo- toddler is 18 inches tall (in just the panel, extra tall with headrest) and 17 inches wide. Canvas ones often have mesh and busy prints. Many wrap-converted ones are available which look nice

manduca

manduca- 13 inches wide- too small

angelpack max

angelpack- all organic! $165, small headrest toddler sized. 19 wide, 18 tall, has a pocket!

Lillebaby organic

lillebaby- about 16 inches wide. Some are organic. Can face out if that’s important to you (although not ideal for long periods)

Babyhawk oh snap (organic version)

babyhawk oh snap 16.5 width 18.5 height. I didn’t really like any of the patterns though, or how boxy the headrest looked

olives and applesauce

olives and applesauce- 16×16 or 18×18 standard vs. toddler. Cute but short headrest

Moby Go

moby go- 14 inches wide- too small. Also not labeled as being able to back carry. People have seen it on clearance at target for $40 though

beco soleil

beco soleil- 16 wide, 17 tall, has a pockeet

I ended up deciding on a wrap converted Bamberoo (that means a woven baby wrap was sewn onto it to make it look pretty and soft) because it had the tallest back plus a 3 inch headrest, and also looked nice. It sadly isn’t organic, but the wraps that cover it are Oeko-tex certified which means no pesticides and toxic chemicals. The one I found (used on the facebook babywearing swap) is also reversible which is cool. I hope we like it, since I wear Jack in a carrier every day!

Comparison of a Toddler Tula and Beco Genimi

I just recently bought a Todler Tula baby carrier, and I really like it! Jack weighs 22.5 pounds and is almost 30 inches tall and it just fits him. I previously used the Beco Gemini which I loved for the newborn stage through about 20 pounds or so, but recently his legs have gotten way too long for the seat and they hang down in a way that doesn’t look ergonomic. It also started hurting my back and shoulders after over 45 minutes of use, while the Tula doesn’t at all.

Pros about the Beco Gemini:

• You can use it with a newborn without an insert
• You can criss cross the straps for more support
• It can come in organic fabric
• I LOVE the headrest thing that can flip up or down. It provides great support during naps without obscuring Jack’s view of everything

Pros about the Tula:

• The body doesn’t have padding (in the area behind Jack’s back it’s just canvas) so you feel closer and more able to hug them like with a wrap
• The buckles don’t have a safety thing to push on to open them which is on one hand less safe but on the other hand easier to open
• It’s sooo comfortable!
• The straps adjust more (they always felt a little big on me in the Beco)
• It’s OEKO-TEX certified (not organic though)
• It has a pocket