Baby Carriers

Before we traveled to China our plan was to carry Grace around with us everywhere we went to facilitate attachment. We found out pretty quickly that it is just about impossible to carry an 18 pound baby everywhere with us. After our second day with Grace our arms were about ready to fall off so we went out and bought a stroller. Although we didn't want to throw the whole attachment parenting thing out the window, luckily Jen's brother let us borrow their baby Bjorn. We carried Grace around quite a bit in the Baby Bjorn while in China. We started out carrying her facing us but soon realized that she was just a little too big for this so we tried facing out which seems to work out OK. But since the max weight on the carrier is 25 pounds we realized that this would not be a good long term solution for us as Grace was approaching 20 pounds. We had a couple instances where the snaps came undone while she was in it and after wearing her in it for a while we would have really sore backs so we decided when we got home to try a different type of carrier.

Jen did a little research when we got home and decided to try out the Hip Hammock. The key features that drew us to the Hip Hammock was that it is a front (really side) facing carrier, you can carry a baby up to 35 pounds in it and it is pretty cheap. Well, I guess you get what you pay for because we really aren't that happy with the Hip Hammock. First of all the thing smells. At first we thought it was moldy or something but I think it is the material that it is made of that has this really bad chemical smell to it. Washing it wouldn't even get rid of the smell. Mostly though our issue is that it is pretty uncomfortable. Jen finds that her leg falls to sleep when she wears it for too long. The material that the straps are made of is pretty harsh and there is not much padding so it gets pretty uncomfortable. It is also pretty difficult to get Grace into it with only one person and adjusting it to switch back and forth between Jen and me is a real pain. We also didn't feel that Grace was real secure in it, almost like she may fall out so we soon realized that the Hip Hammock was not going to work for us.

So Jen went back to google to do some research and we think we have found our Gracie Carrier. The Ergo is reviewed pretty well, people have created their own websites about how much they love it. The only issue is the Ergo is pretty expensive. Some of the things we like about the carrier:

• It is easy to put on alone. One of the issues with the other carriers is they were very difficult to get the baby in and put on if do not have a second person around. This does not seem to be an issue with the Ergo


• Grace appears comfortable and safe. As Grace is not a tiny baby we really needed something that we felt Grace was safe and comfortable in


• Jen is comfortable wearing it. It has really thick padding that doesn't dig into your shoulders like the Hip Hammock.


• It holds up to 40 pounds. The website says they tested it up to 90 pounds but I can't imagine Grace will want to be carried around into her teen years.


• You can wear it in 3 different positions: front, back and side.


• It has a little sleep hood to cover the baby's head from sun or rain.


• It has a couple little zippered storage pouches


• It comes with an instructional DVD.

My favorite thing about the Ergo is that they must have had some male input on the design. With the other carriers Grace's feet would be positioned right in front of my groin. So one strategically placed kick and she would (and has) brought me to my knees. They really need to include a cup for dad with some of these carriers. With the Ergo, Grace's feet are lower and by my sides so no more worries about getting kicked. That alone is worth the price for me.