Which baby carrier for me and dh?

amother

Beige

Sun, Aug 28 2016, 6:11 pm

Soft structured (like the Ergo) are fantastic, but can't be put on instantly (buckles, straps, etc.)

I LOVE my ring sling (from Sleeping Baby Productions, about $40), endlessly adjustable, goes on in 5 seconds, easy to pop baby in and out.

A SSC is more comfortable for wearing for a long time though.

little_mage

Sun, Aug 28 2016, 6:22 pm

The most adjustable between people is going to be a woven wrap, however, that has a large learning curve. After that, I would recommend a Mei Tai. It is a carrier that has straps that you tie, while the baby is supported by a large rectangle of cloth. Infantino makes one that is sold at Target (and possibly other major retailers) and quite cheap. I would not recommend a soft structured carrier, or really anything with buckles, because you will be constantly readjusting them to fit both of you. Up until I got pregnant, I was using my mei tai with both my approx. 32 lb two year old and my 38 lb four year old, although in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that it was not the infantino brand.

If you can find a place near you to try on carriers, that would be ideal. Babywearing International should have a list of chapters, that often have meetings or can recommend a store that may have carriers that can be tried.

lucky14

Sun, Aug 28 2016, 11:34 pm

I vote for the ergo because it isn't as feminine looking as some of the other carriers. There are a couple of straps or buckles, but I found it super easy and quick to learn how to put on and take off and it's only a few seconds, not a big deal at all. It's pretty easy to adjust between two people of different sizes.

amother

Jade

Mon, Aug 29 2016, 4:07 am

I vote Mei Tai because of the practical adjustability. Ours is an Infantino, worth it because of the price though we'll likely need to replace it after the next kid if not a bit sooner. My dh was initially on the fence about baby-wearing, mostly because of the learning-curve with putting it on- he loves the mei tai now. Toddler is about 20 pounds.

rowo

Mon, Aug 29 2016, 6:53 am

We have a manduca -anothe type of soft structured carrier. It has buckles and I'm not sure why anyone would advise against it.
I'm the one that uses it the most, but it's very quick and easy to adjust it to fit my husband.
I'm about 5'4'' and my husband is 6 foot if that helps at all.
I find it really comfortable.
A ring sling is also great, but I found once my baby was a few months old it wasn't as comfortable for long periods of time. But for newborns and short carries once they're older it's great.

mille

Mon, Aug 29 2016, 7:09 pm

little_mage wrote:

I LOVE my mei tai. It's awesome! (mine actually is infantino) It's also super comfortable and distributes the weight well, so I don't get a back ache like with soft structured carriers. I will say, though, that it doesn't fit my husband as well. We aren't sure if it's his lack of hips or long torso or what, but he can't get comfortable with it. We use a cheapy soft structured one for him for the few times he wears her - it's good enough. Since only he uses it, it doesn't need to be readjusted often.