Yesterday we had the great opportunity to spend the day with The Bloom Doula Collective at The Baby show.  During a walk through I noticed a couple who had a stunned look on their face.  A man was talking to them about the great carrier he was selling at an amazing show price.  The carrier was the Baby Bjorn.  I stood there listening to him do his sales pitch.... wanting to jump up and flag the couple down saying NO Don't do it!!!!! I knew doing so would not be Ok at least not directly at the moment of sale but I was jumping out of my skin to save this couple.

As the couple finally decided to walk away to "think about it" I approached them.  I just couldn't let this sweet innocent couple be bamboozled into a purchase I knew they would later regret.  Also in the end would probably end their baby wearing relationship prematurely.  Now don't get me wrong the Bjorn has done wonders for Baby wearing.  It brought it into the mainstream.  For 100's of years our mothers have been carrying us... The Bjorn made it hip to do so.

The problem is the Bjorn is horrible to wear for extended periods of time.  If your child is prone to hip dysplasia it will aggravate it.  Carrying a baby in one of these isn't something you can do comfortably for any extended period of time.  For me after about an hour my back ached and I longed to take baby off of me.  There are so many things wrong with this carrier it just isn't one I would ever recommend.  

The couple admitted they were overwhelmed by the choices.   They asked for my advice I handed them my business card and they walked away 249.00 still in hand.  I was received to see the weren't upset for my butting in and felt a sense of relief that I had saved this couple the pain of having to try to re-sell this carrier later at most for 50.00.  Even a "Like New" Bjorn will only get you around 50.00 of the 200 plus you spent on it to begin with.  It is a horrible investment with a very low re-sale value.  Important if you want to sell it for a toddler carrier down the road.

Later that day the woman found me at the booth and showed me a picture of the Ergo 360 which I went on to talk to her about.  I loved my 360 it was far better than others out there and could give you a great option for front facing if you wanted.  I didn't know it at the time but there was another great carrier being sold at the show which I would have gladly talked to them about, the Chimparoo Multi. I will be reviewing them later so I won't get into it now.  

Carriers are one of the most important purchases you will make.  They are life savers for many of us and for others are the only mode of transportation.  Having owned several carriers and strollers I can honestly say I do prefer my carrier over my stroller.

Buy wisely my friends and never be afraid to ask a million questions from mom's who carry.  Carry Me Close is a great way to seek advice.

The Great Carrier Debate

Thanks for stopping by and joining in on one of the most talked about subjects when you are expecting or have a baby you'd like to carry.  What is the greatest carrier on the market today.

This blog is intended to help guide you and save you tons of money in your search. It's open for discussion and maybe in the end we will find that what works for some won't work for others.

My son is one years old and I have to say I have tested many a different carrier at my expense.

When asking other moms how they liked the carrier they were using (the most common carrier you see out there for forward facing babies) I would always get the response, "well every carrier causes some back pain you can't expect not to have discomfort when carrying your baby".

This statement as you check out the carrier reviews is completely false.  With a  properly made carrier you can carry even a toddler for hours with little to no discomfort.  

Yes that is correct you can have a great carrying relationship with your little one... you just need to find the carrier that works for your family.

I did what many of you are doing. Went online to see what others are saying about the carriers they felt worthy of their dollar.  However in doing the research I found after purchasing the carrier and using it for longer than a day (when most of the reviews were formed) they didn't stand up to what some people were saying about them.

I walk at minimum 3 hours per day carrying my son so I need the carrier to be functional for both him and myself.  I needed to be able to breastfeed in the carrier without having to remove him.  Although the research shows forward facing isn't the best I also needed that option as my son loved to see the world and fussed when he couldn't for a period of time.  Now that he is older he is over that phase but having been at a stage where it was important I can understand mom's need to have the perfect all around carrier.

Currently the carriers I have tested are good for either front facing, regular carry/back carry and or neither.  I have yet to find the all around perfect carrier and when I do... that carrier will hold the NUMBER 1 Spot in my top 5!

What we have here is a rating system that takes comfort, ease of use, breastfeeding friendly, and shoulder/back pain prevention into account.  Just to name a few of the points I will try to hit.

Let's go review our first carrier shall we and see how they stand up to the test!

If you have a carrier you'd like reviewed please contact us and we will be more than happy to test, try and review it for you.  (return shipping is to be paid by you, testing will be done on both newborn and toddler).  A Sacred Path Services