Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Babywearing Troubles and...the Solution

For the last few months I was a little frustrated in the baby-wearing department. Until a couple of months ago, I used a Moby almost exclusively and loved it. But then we got to a point where It just wasn't working for us. Malachi didn't nap as well in here anymore. He wasn't happy facing in when he was awake. When I put him facing out he reached for everything and the material stretched and it became unsafe. Back carries aren't safe in a Moby. I needed s new carrier.

So I got a ring sling. Love it. But I quickly discovered that it's not right for us at this stage either. The front carry requires the legs to be in, which Malachi is not okay with. So side carry is pretty much it. And he is just to busy and feels too confined for that most of the time. You can do a back carry with a ring sling, but most people prefer other carriers for that, and its kind of tricky to get in place.

So I came to the conclusion that the carrier for us (right now) is a mei tai. It's an Asian style carrier that you can use in front or back. It offers a lot of support and is quite versatile. The are a little pricey, and I had already spent money on the ring sling that we are more or less shelving for now.

I wasn't sure what to do. I was thinking about making a mei tai and started researching that. Then, one awesome day, I remembered was super-productive and sent in the tag for a recalled Infantino bag sling that had been handed down to me. Lo and behold, one of the replacement options was a mei tai! Needless to say, I was stoked.

It came in the mail within about a week, and now we are rockin' out the baby-wearing again.

(Don't worry. I moved him to a front carry right after taking the photo.
Isn't it cute, though? He obviously is comfy enough to fall asleep!)

7 comments:

  1. We started with a Sleepy Wrap, but I wanted something cooler for the warm months. I went to the mei tai, but my daughter flatly refused to be held up against me like that! She has always resisted that kind of cuddling. So I put it up for a little while. I just recently got it back out (She is 4 months old now) and she is doing well in it.

    I also paid shipping for one of those pouch carriers. I think it was you that posted about that? Anyway, it came yesterday. I did pay the extra so you could exchange it if the size wasn't right. It is a bit tight, but my daughter promptly spit up on it, so no returning! Guess I'll just have to lose weight! LOL I put her in it to go to baseball practice with my boys. She loved it! I think that will be great to have for short little trips where we are in and out of the van. I hate tying and retying other wraps. So this will be our quick trip one and the mei tai will be for longer trips! So much for thinking one wrap would be enough!!

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  2. We did the Moby at first as well. LOVED it but by the time he was 4 months old it would be sagging to my knees within an hour. Then the sling/pouch thing for as long as it took me to get him back out of it. The ring sling was good for around the house but I never felt confident enough to not hold on to him. Now we are using a borrowed Ergo and I love it but switching between the husband and myself is a bit of a pain because if it is not fitted right you are in for one sore back. A mei tai is at the top of my wish list - especially one made by Jennifer Phillips.

    Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Also check out Togetherbe.com. This is a company that I have done part time work for for several years and I will be doing the sewing on their soon-to-be released custom Podegi and Onbu carriers. You pick your fabric, we sew it and and ship you a finished product. Awesome. The new freehand carrier is awesome too!

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  4. you guys look so good! next time i see you let's do a little practising b/c you can wear him on your front with legs out, and i know an easy way to get him on your back in a rs too.

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  5. Wow had no idea baby wearing could be so tricky! Glad you found a good fit! :)

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  6. AND i can teach you how to do a rucksack carry in your ring sling too!

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