Babywearing

If it weren't for our Beco and Mei Tai, I can't imagine what my house would look like.  I don't know how the food shopping would have ever gotten done.  I don't think I would have ever taken E out for a walk.  I doubt I'd still be alive because I would never have been able to make dinner and eat again.  Thank goodness for baby carriers!

There are so many benefits to wearing a baby.  Lately, I've been a little bit obsessed with winning an ergo in a contest on facebook.  Sure, I could just go out and buy one, but who has an extra hundred bucks laying around these days?  We certainly don't.  So I'm entering and hoping one of these days I'll get lucky.  In the meantime, here's some info on the benefits to wearing your baby, especially a high needs baby like my little sparkler, and my little review of our beco and our mei tai.

Mei Tai


I bought my mei tai on craigslist from a woman who said her baby didn't like to be worn.  I was a bit nervous about using it because the straps were a little intimidating, but it was so affordable ($35) that I didn't feel like it would be a huge loss if I didn't end up liking it.  I needed something easier to use than the moby wrap for when we were taking a trip to Denver.  I didn't want to be dragging the moby all over the airport floor.  And in all honesty, I didn't like the moby.  Once I got used to using the straps and tying her in there properly, E and I both loved using the mei tai.  We used it a lot when she was between 3-7 months, but mine doesn't have any padding on the shoulder straps and she got to be too heavy at about 16 or 17 pounds.  I can still use it with her, but only for very short periods of time. Anything requiring me to hold her for longer than a half an hour means we'll be using our beco.  The mei tai is great because it can fit anyone who might want to wear the baby without constantly needing to be readjusted.  The straps allow for anyone to adjust it to the tightness that is comfortable for them. It's really cute and folds up very small for easy storage in a diaper bag.  It's a great carrier, but if you want one to last for a heavier weight, get a kozy that has padding!  Here we are in our mei tai:

Um, it was obviously pretty sunny that day :)

Beco Butterfly II


Once E started to get too heavy for the mei tai, I really wanted to invest in a soft backpack carrier.  I didn't want a bjorn because most people I knew who had one said they got back aches from it once the baby got too heavy. I wanted something that would last until she was a toddler because I'm sure she'll still be clinging to my legs when she's 2 and I'll have to wear her to make dinner :)
Husband and I went to mothers and company and tried on the beco and the ergo.  We both ended up liking the beco better because E was so small and we are both pretty small people as well.  It seemed to fit us better at the time.  We also loved that we could hand her over to someone else without having to take her out of the carrier, and the designs were so pretty.  We really loved the ergo too, but at the time, we decided the beco was the better choice for us.  Now I want an ergo too!    Here's a pic of husband and E in the beco:

I love this picture!

I would definitely encourage all moms to wear their babies.  There are so many benefits to it, especially for a baby that is difficult to soothe.  When we had long hard days in the early spring, one of the only ways I could soothe my little spark was to strap her on to my chest and take her for a walk.  Often it was the only place she would take a nap as well.  Now she gets excited because when I put her in the beco on my back, she has a great opportunity to yank at my hair, which is one of her favorite games.

I'm hoping I get lucky and win an ergo.  And maybe Santa will bring me a kozy for Christmas.  A girl's gotta have options right?  And baby carriers seem to be my most favorite accessory... besides the baby.