Baby in carrier, stroller in hand, ready to board the train! |
In any case, in the first 2 months of life I really recommend an unstructured carrier (doubly for Mom). In the beginning they tend to be easier to put on and adjust to the adult, especially when the adult in question is still funny shaped from the pregnancy (though keep in mind, Mom won't be able to use the carrier for the first 2 weeks, but Grandparents and partners can). Also the structured carriers are all built to carry 3 year olds and so sometimes are hard to adjust to itty bitty babies. (You can see our review of the Moby and Infantino Mai Tai.)
Once your baby is big enough though, you may want to get a structured carrier for your and their comfort. But which carrier should you get? There are many of them on the market and we personally have tried 2 different ones: Ergobaby Original Baby Carrier and the LILLEbaby Complete Baby Carrier.
Ergobaby Original Baby Carrier
Getting squirmy toddler through airport security. |
Overall, it was great but from my perspective it had 2 downsides:
- 1. There was no front facing option with the "original" carrier, which was the only one available at the time. Facing forward would have been much more fun for the kid once she got to be about 4 months old. Both Ergobaby and other brands have since come out with structured carriers that have this feature.
- 2. When the baby is under 3 months, you have to use this really bulky and hot insert with them. This one was the real bummer, especially since our first baby was born in June and our second in July. Even in the most recent version of this (the Ergo Baby 4 Position 360 Carrier ) they haven't entirely fixed it (the 360 infant insert at least does appear to be thinner). Given that other options are available, if you think you'll want to use the carrier before the kid is 3 months, I would say it's definitely worth considering a different brand.
LILLEbaby Complete
Tiny baby, napping in the airport |
Baby, ready to see the world while Mom takes a walk |
Finally, what I love about this carrier is that it comes both in a "all season" and "airflow" version. We got the "airflow" version because wearing a baby usually feels warm and one can always add a cover to it. This carrier has been everything it promised to be and I am super excited to be using it until the kiddo outgrows it.
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