Carrier comparison...

There are three major styles of  baby wearing apparatuses (can you call it an apparatus?) - the sling (Hotsling, Peanut Shell etc..), the wrap (Sleepy Wrap, Moby) and the baby carrier (Baby Bjorn, ERGO, LilleBaby).  Each seems to serve its own purpose and I've found that many momma's own two or more of these in various styles to serve different functions.  I've tried 4 different carriers that cover all three styles and definitely have my favorites.  Here's the run down:

HotSlings

This is the first one I tried when Noah was wee little.  We took a walk around the block about 10 days postpartum.  It fit tight because I still had a good deal of baby weight and I could never seem to get him situated where I was comfortable enough to take my hands off of him.  I always felt like he was goign to suffocate.  Come to find out, weeks later after I'd abandoned this anyways, there were a number of recalls on sling type carriers due to positional asphyxiation.  Gah...My need to have my hand supporting him wasn't just me being paranoid!

I don't want to write this one off yet.  But I am going to wait till he's a bit older to try it again.  I'm sure it's great for carrying kiddos like the one below and it was comfy to wear. However,  I was (and still am) worried that he's not strong enough to turn his head to breath if he gets turned wrong.

Moby
This was my second carrier.  It's a wrap style carrier and I love love love it! Noah loved it too!  I could fold him up in the fetal position and wrap him up against my chest where he loved to be.  This wrap would turn a fussy baby into putty and put him right to sleep.  This wrap was the only way I got anything done in those early weeks.  I'd drop him in it when i needed to clean or get groceries or even go for a quick walk around the block.

It does take a few tries to get the tie right and I did find myself readjusting the wrap on a regular basis but all in all I love it and will continue to use it.  I will say that now that he's bigger it puts a good deal of strain on my back because there's no real support.  So, I reserve this for around the house and when he's super fussy.  This isn't for long walks or extended pd's of time where you're standing/walking.

Kelty Wallaby
This was the first carrier I bought before Noah was even born.  I had visions of DH carrying him around in this (because lord knows he wouldn't be caught dead in the Moby).  We tried it a few times and it works well although I had concerns about Noah's hips.  He was so tiny and it splayed his legs out at a weird angle.  I couldn't imagine it was comfortable.

I did use it quite a bit to let him face out when I was too tired to wrap myself up (or it was too hot).  Now that i have my ERGO though, this gets little use.

Ergo Sport
This is our latest carrier.  It's also a "carrier" style like the Kelty with two huge differences.  This one positions Noah where his hips are rolled under him like he's sitting in a swing. Much easier on his back and hips.  And two it has a bib at the bottom that helps distribute the weight across my hips.  I feel like I'm wearing my backpacking pack.

There are a bunch of wonderful things about this carrier that makes me think it will be our go to carrier from now on.
- It has great support.  The hip belt distributes the weight perfectly.  I can walk for miles with him in this and feel little fatigue.
- The straps are super cushy and comfortable.
- It's quick and easy to get on, even once the baby is asleep. I can get him in and out without waking him.
- You can wear this a thousand different ways (It does front, hip, and back carry positions depending on the childs age).
- It switches from hubsy (6'3") to me (5'3") very easily
- It puts Noah is a very natural position so I know we're not doing any damage to his hips.

The one draw back is that it has no forward facing position for a baby that has good head control.  Noey like to face out sometimes and when he does I ahve to use the Moby or the Kelty.  This one doesn't work like that (i'm not ready to do the hip carry with him yet)


We got the sport version because it's made of a different material that was said to be good for summer time.  It also has a vent on the back to let air circulate.  I did buy the Heart to Heart insert because it was recommended for children under 4 months of age but ended up not using it.  The sport actually comes up high enough to support his head.  Perhaps if he was smaller then I'd need it.  I guess we'll see when we have our next baby:)

Overall I'm very happy with the choice to purchase the ERGO and I think it's safe to say it will be my last carrier purchase. Between it and the Moby I have all of my needs covered.  Besides, I think DH will hurt me if I buy one more of these things:) haha..