We are pregnant / our baby is under 4 months old

CONGRATULATIONS !! You’re going to be looking at options suitable for newborn and young babies.

  • Stretchy Wrap
  • Structured Stretchy
  • Buckled Carrier
  • The rest (Woven wrap, ring sling, meh dai, podaegi etc.)

But before we talk about specific options, take time to think about comfort (for you) and safety (for your baby). Because whatever carrier you use it needs to tick those boxes.

  • Starting with your comfort. If your carrying option feels too bulky, too stiff, too flimsy, too tight, too loose, or you find it makes your back hurt, if you’re not confident about how it goes on or adjusts, then you may already be unsettled before you even start fitting it to your baby. There are lots of great carriers out there, but they don’t all fit all shapes, sizes and personalities of carer.
  • On to your baby’s safety. The carrier should support your baby in an upright natural position, as if you were holding them in your arms. It should hold them close to you, leaving no room for them to slump. There should be free flow of air to their mouth and nose. The carrier should be age and size appropriate, of reputable manufacture and in good repair. For more about safety here’s a link to a video made (uncomfortably) by me, commissioned by Chesterfield Royal Hospital Community Midwifery some years ago. If I was making this again today I’d add in some of the newer ranges of buckled carriers (see below).
  • More about you. If you are thinking of using a carrier because your friend/midwife/partner says you should, and it’s not something you really want to do, that is absolutely OK. Don’t be pressurised into something you are unhappy with.

Stretchy Wraps – in our less than humble opinion a 2-way stretchy wrap is the safest and most versatile option for your soft squishy newborn. Link to our preferred brands here. There are a gazillion “how to” videos out there, some are genuinely unsafe, come and be shown how to pre-tie and use a stretchy wrap by one of us!!

Structured Stretchy Carriers (for example Caboo, Koalababy, K’Tan) – a reasonable option, but in our experience harder to get a good safe fit than a stretchy wrap. Come and find out about them anyway (or come and let us try to help you get a safe fit from the one you’ve already bought or been given).

Buckled carriers – these are what you might think of when someone says “baby carrier”, there are good, bad and downright awful options which claim to be suitable for the birth to 4 months stage.

Our choices – you’ll see they mostly say “possible fit”, it really depends on how scrunched up and floppy your little one is

  • Beco Gemini – oldie but goodie, possible fit from 0-18 months
  • Dracomom Hatchling – new brand, possible fit from 0-12 months
  • Ergobaby Embrace – lovely soft carrier, possible fit 0-8ish months
  • IZMI (Essentials or Original) – really adjustable, 0-12 months
  • Mamaruga Zensling, soft and adjustable, possible fit from 0-18 months

Our AVOID list

  • Any carrier which offers a cradle carry position – this is not safe, there’s a real risk of airway compromise (=suffocation)
  • Baby Bjorn – all of them, the harness is not friendly to the female body, it’s really hard to get a snug fit for under 4 months
  • Ergobaby – any except the Embrace (and possibly the Adapt if it fits you), too bulky for a newborn, near impossible to get a safe fit whatever the marketing and the people of the internet say
  • Narrow based “high street” carriers – Infantino, Red Kite, Mothercare, anything with a hip seat, all the Amazon cheapies; near impossible to get a safe fit whatever the marketing and the people of the internet say
  • Tula buckled carriers – all of them, too bulky for a newborn; near impossible to get a safe fit whatever the marketing and the people of the internet say

The rest: ring sling, podaegi, meh dai, woven wrap – all suitable from birth, ask us for more info.