Baby Carriers in review

Carrying a baby strapped to you like a starfish is the best there is when navigating the streets of Bangkok. I could hardly call myself an expert on this, but I guess having been wearing Spud for a while now does count for a bit in terms of the experience with the different types of baby-carriers.

Interestingly, those who wear their babies here are in the minority. This is quite evident from the (un)availability in the different types of baby carriers sold commercially in this city. It is pretty hard to find suitable baby-carriers from the big departmental stores here, and if you do find one, chances are they are usually sold in some sort of specialty stores.

[Baby Björn]

It is of no surprise that the first carrier we owned is Baby Björn. We decided to buy it in Singapore months before Spud was born simply because the brand is widely available. In fact, the brand came highly recommended as the best-selling carrier by the salesperson we interacted with (DUH! right, come to think of it.) I honestly don’t have any major issues with Baby Björn for when I first started using it, I thought it felt very comfortable. We had used Baby Björn only in the first 2 or 3 weeks of Spud’s life intermittently. The only reason I stopped using it was mainly because I started to experiment with other types of carrier. It was later that I found out from the internet and subsequently from the Baby Wearing Club that while Baby Björn was responsible for making baby wearing mainstream, there were a lot of controversies behind it. Apparently, there have been some suggestions that the position of which the carrier seats the baby can be detrimental to the development of the hips and spine. The way it was designed requires the the baby to be suspended by its crotch with legs dangling about; forcing all of baby’s weight to hang from his/her pelvis which puts undue stress and pressure on that little pelvis and spine.

I am not sure how true this is, so to each his/her own. However, I do realise that the dangling legs position is not very natural for a small baby and I did notice that Spud tend to slump whenever she was being carried in the Baby Björn .That Baby Björn is not cheap, mind you! Since we hardly use it, it is now collecting dust in the closet.

[The Sling]
I got on to The Sling out of curiosity since it was a gift from my brother and his wife. It was cumbersome to use initially and it took a bit of getting used to. I did notice that with The Sling, Spud always calm down almost immediately whenever I put her in it.

For me, one other advantage of using The Sling is really the ability to breastfeed in public discreetly. The only drawback however, is the fact that all the weight is carried by one shoulder and it does put a strain on my already bad back…which is not good!

One thing I learnt from wearing The Sling is how important the texture of the material is. As mine is one that is soft and silky, while is nice and cool to the touch, it tends to slide quite a bit from the ring. As a result, I have to keep adjusting when I have it on me as Spud will keep sliding down because of her weight.

The best material for the sling would be a sturdy cotton material that will not slide from the ring that easily.

[Mei-Tai]

This is my favourite baby carrier so far simply because it feels really snug and comfortable. It did take Spud a little bit of adjustment but once she got used to it, she loves being carried in it and will easily fall asleep while in it.

Not only does it give me a better shoulder and back support as compared to The Sling, I also feel more secure carrying Spud in a Mei-Tai. So secure that I think I have mastered the art of discreetly breastfeeding hands-free while I’m in a taxi or walking around in a mall and just about anywhere. And so far, unless they peer into my kangaroo pouch, no one has caught on when a froggy-leg positioned Spud is being breastfed whilst she is tucked snug in my Mei-Tai!

I am currently intending to look for a different variation of Mei-Tai, just because they can be so cool looking!

*Image from onelovebabycarriers.com

[The Wrap]
The Wrap is essentially a long piece of cloth that needs crazy tying! Certainly needs a lot of getting used to and currently, it is a little bit too daunting for me to use.

It definitely is the most versatile from what I have seen so far and I reckon, I will need loads of practice to master the use of The Wrap. I am slowly warming up to it though and it is something I would like to embark on. I am still researching a little bit more on this before I commit to a purchase.

While baby wearing can be such a cool thing for new age moms, I swear baby wearing is an art in itself. There are so many cool looking carriers out there and they pique my curiosity to no end. I always wonder how the different types of carriers carry.

Call me silly, but I think baby wearing is just so awesome!