Ergo baby carrier

[Laura.bora]

I'm really looking into this - both for our upcoming Disney trip and for right now. I currently have a homemade sling which I LOVE , but it's a killer on my back the more and more weight he puts on. My son HATES the stroller for any length of time and just wants to be in someones arms. So, has anyone used the Ergo? Did they like it better than say a baby bjorn or other type of baby wear? Thanks for the input! I need something fast - but don't want to waste money on something I won't like!

 

[ramona]

I love mine, I read many posts about the ergo. Bought one for my May trip(daughter was 22 lbs.) It was great! My husband and I could easily switch it back and forth between us (easily adjusts) and my daughter rode all the rides that did not have restrictions. I felt very safe being able to use both hands to get on and off rides, esp the ones with moving sidewalks. She loves being in it. I hope this helps.

 

[Laura.bora]

I just found another one - the MOby wrap. How is that one? (I have a ring sling)

 

[Laura.bora]

I love mine, I read many posts about the ergo. Bought one for my May trip(daughter was 22 lbs.) It was great! My husband and I could easily switch it back and forth between us (easily adjusts) and my daughter rode all the rides that did not have restrictions. I felt very safe being able to use both hands to get on and off rides, esp the ones with moving sidewalks. She loves being in it. I hope this helps.

You posted the same time I did! I'm guessing my son will be around 20lbs by the time we go in September - he'll be 9 months. How was your back? Does it put a lot of strain on your back?

 

[NotUrsula]

The Ergo has a 90-day money back guarantee, so you're not out any cash if you don't like it. It is quite comfortable, I find; the weight distributes well.

I find that ours is a bit deep for a back carry with our 12 mo DS; she's about 32 inches tall. The top strap anchors hit her at about mouth level, so she really can't see much at all in that position but our backs. Front carry she likes, but we don't use back carry much just yet for that reason.

You might ask Bumbershoot; I know she's a big fan and has used hers extensively at DLR.

 

[Iri920]

The Ergo is soooo much better than the BJorn. I also have a Patapum which is similar and I like better with the younger ones. I also have a Hug a Bub which is similar to the Moby and I loved when my kids were newborn, but wouldn't recommend it for a couple of reasons. The material is stretchy and the heavier the child the more adjusting you'll have to do throughout the day to tighten it. It's also not easy on and off and I found it to be too warm in the summer for both of us. I guess another downsize is my husband refused to wear it outside of the house because he thought it looked too girly.

 

[ERMama]

I have a Beco which is similar and its very nice. Also a Pikkolo (that I could probably part with as I dont use it much at all). I too do not recommend a mobywrap for a bigger infant. A high quality wrap would work but it would be hot and probably more money than you would want to spend.
Babyhawks are also excellent for travel (any mei tai actually, i also love freehand baby but my dd is shorter). www.babyhawk.com

www.thebabywearer.com is a site where you have to join for free but then you have access to their for sale or trade forums where you can buy stuff or much cheaper than new.

 

[El&Asmom]

I have had both the Ergo and a Beco, and much prefered the Ergo. It was a much more supportive back carry which is what I used it for. Dh used it almost exclusively after the mei tai and pouch, as soon as dd was old enough to use one at 5 months.
I did not love it for a front carry, though I have seen many that do, (dh liked it for the front). I much prefered a mei tai for the front. Dd was 9 months old on her first Disney trip, and she lived either in a Babyhawk mei tai, or a pouch.
I would NOT get a Moby for a 9 month old. They are stretchy wraps that are wonderful for younger babies, but have way too much give for a 9 month old. Not nearly supportive enough.
I thnk either a mei tai or Ergo would work well for your trip. They worked well for ours!

Also check out thebabywearer.com
The FSOT forum has mamas that sell/trade carriers. Ergos probably run in the $50-60 range over there, and you can always sell it after you are done using it.

Good luck. I loved wearing dd all over Disneyworld. Even in the 90 degree Florida heat.

 

[Laura.bora]

How easy is it to nurse in? (both the mei tai and the Ergo)

 

[Laura.bora]

And if I prefer to front carry, is the baby hawk the way to go, or is the Ergo good too?

 

[tanyaandallie]

I have a Beco, similar to an Ergo and LOVE it. It is hands down the most comfy back carrier around. You just cannot beat a soft structured carrier for a back carry.

That said, if you are looking to front carry, I would likely get a mei tai. I prefer the mei tei to the Beco/ERgo for a front carry.

How old is your little one? Have you tried a back carry? I would highly encrouage you to try it if you get the Ergo. Seriously. It's so darn comfy!!! I was scared of the back carry at first but ds and I started working on the back carry when he was 8 to 10 mos old. At 10 mos we got our first soft structured carrier (patapum). In no time flat we had the back carry down pat. IMO a ssc in a back carry is WAY more comfy long term than front carry in a mt. Now, if your little one will still be young then I think a front carry is great. I prefered the front carry until my ds was 8 or 9 mos old.

ETA - oh I see your little one is 9 mos. I'd get the Ergo and try the back carry. I promise you will like it!

 

[bumbershoot]

The Ergo is great! Front carry (facing you), back carry, even a side carry that I never figured out how to do, LOL.

How easy is it to nurse in? (both the mei tai and the Ergo)

Well that's going to always be up to your anatomy and the baby. I was only ever able to nurse while wearing DS twice. Once at home with the hotsling, but I was shirtless at the time. NOT recommended. And the second time was when he was a year old, during a very long walk in the Moby. And that's it.

So for me, the carrier wasn't the problem, but anatomy was.


You ask about the Moby! I felt it was great starting when he was a baby and moving up to some point over a year old. But I had lots of practice in keeping him snug, and re-tying while he was still in it, and so on. The Moby wraps all around you, and is NOT something to wear in a hot climate, IMO. I had a couple swathes of fabric that I tied moby-style, and wore to summer festivals, but I couldn't wear the actual Moby (knit fabric, hot, and adding to that, mine was black) on a sunny day.

And if I prefer to front carry, is the baby hawk the way to go, or is the Ergo good too?

You're talking about facing you while on your front? If so, either one will be great for you. If you're talking about facing away from you, you can't do that with the Ergo (and IMO, as a retired chiropractor, something you should *never* do, even with a mei tai and especially not ever with a Bjorn, b/c there's so little support for the pelvis...with a Bjorn there's no support and you might as well be dangling the kiddo from it's diapered parts, which no one would really do...with a mei tai there's a little bit more support, but not enough AND the baby can't tune out when overwhelmed, the world bombards the baby, nowhere to hide).

For a couple reasons it took me a LONG time to get to be able to do a back carry (though we didn't even get the Ergo until DS was 2, so I hadn't practiced with that) despite practicing with the wraps, my mei tai, and my MIL's podegi. When we first went out with the mei tai I had to have hubby there to place DS while I tied the straps (that looks funny to bystanders, by the way), and I had to do that for a little while with the Ergo. My joints were blown from the pregnancy, and twisting myself in those ways was at first impossible, and later on just painful, so I was pretty slow in figuring it out.

But once I could do it, oh, it was wonderful! I doubt I would have worn DS on my back at 9 months for hours and hours, but for briefer periods, most definitely. And at WDW you're not going to wear him for hours and hours without changing, b/c you'll be getting on rides and nursing him and such.

 

[AKADrea]

it's funny how different people prefer different carriers.

I've had just about any carrier under the sun and always grab my Beco first! The Ergo felt too bulky for me, and the back wasn't high enough. My DD would try to lean back.

I nurse my 9 month old DS ALL the time in the Beco - I love that the straps are adjustable both ways, plus they're pretty

If you can find a 4th generation Beco - that would be my vote - I really don't care for the butterfly version - I can't figure out a good way to nurse in that one, but it's good for back carries in people that aren't normally comfortable with back carries.

I think most things that you're looking at will be better than a Bjorn (besides the Moby - which is too stretchy probably now for you - it's GREAT for newborns!)

Have fun shopping!



ETA: check out www.thebabywearer.com to see if you can find a local babywearing group and try some different carriers on to see what's the best fit for you

 

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

I'm considering the Ergo for my dd. I'm really interested in the back carrying option. I'm worried that in September, though, she would be too hot. What do you think? Also, do they all have the option to hip carry or is that a separate Ergo carrier?

 

[tanyaandallie]

I'm considering the Ergo for my dd. I'm really interested in the back carrying option. I'm worried that in September, though, she would be too hot. What do you think? Also, do they all have the option to hip carry or is that a separate Ergo carrier?

It will be hot in September. We went last May, my ds was a little over 2. I wore him some but nearly as much as I did the trip before in Nov. It was warm. Sept will be even hotter. If you start early you will be fine early on but will get hot later.

I would actually prefer a 4th Gen beco of the weather is hot. It is not made of the canvas type material so imo is cooler.

 

[Laura.bora]

The Ergo is great! Front carry (facing you), back carry, even a side carry that I never figured out how to do, LOL.




Well that's going to always be up to your anatomy and the baby. I was only ever able to nurse while wearing DS twice. Once at home with the hotsling, but I was shirtless at the time. NOT recommended. well.....that WOULD solve the too hot problem in Disney! And the second time was when he was a year old, during a very long walk in the Moby. And that's it.
One of the things I love about my ring sling is that I can nurse in it so easily, so I guess I'll just have to give it a go and hope for the best.
So for me, the carrier wasn't the problem, but anatomy was.


You ask about the Moby! I felt it was great starting when he was a baby and moving up to some point over a year old. But I had lots of practice in keeping him snug, and re-tying while he was still in it, and so on. The Moby wraps all around you, and is NOT something to wear in a hot climate, IMO. I had a couple swathes of fabric that I tied moby-style, and wore to summer festivals, but I couldn't wear the actual Moby (knit fabric, hot, and adding to that, mine was black) on a sunny day.A lot have people have said how hot the Moby is and that it wouldn't be a good fit for my 9 month old.




You're talking about facing you while on your front? If so, either one will be great for you. If you're talking about facing away from you, you can't do that with the Ergo (and IMO, as a retired chiropractor, something you should *never* do, even with a mei tai and especially not ever with a Bjorn, b/c there's so little support for the pelvis...with a Bjorn there's no support and you might as well be dangling the kiddo from it's diapered parts, which no one would really do...with a mei tai there's a little bit more support, but not enough AND the baby can't tune out when overwhelmed, the world bombards the baby, nowhere to hide).Never even thought about him being overwhelmed!

For a couple reasons it took me a LONG time to get to be able to do a back carry (though we didn't even get the Ergo until DS was 2, so I hadn't practiced with that) despite practicing with the wraps, my mei tai, and my MIL's podegi. When we first went out with the mei tai I had to have hubby there to place DS while I tied the straps (that looks funny to bystanders, by the way), and I had to do that for a little while with the Ergo. My joints were blown from the pregnancy, and twisting myself in those ways was at first impossible, and later on just painful, so I was pretty slow in figuring it out.

But once I could do it, oh, it was wonderful! I doubt I would have worn DS on my back at 9 months for hours and hours, but for briefer periods, most definitely. And at WDW you're not going to wear him for hours and hours without changing, b/c you'll be getting on rides and nursing him and such.

Thank you for all the input and info! I'm thinking I'm going to try the ERGO since it has a 90 day $back guarantee, and if doesn't work well, I'll try the babyhawk and if it just doesn't fit well, I'll try the becco. My baby bjorn was SO uncomfortable that I wore it once and never touched it again!! I was afraid that the Ergo was going to be like that. I also felt like it was so bulky and so much padding that I wasn't actually close to my baby. uggghhh I couldn't stand that thing!

 

[El&Asmom]

Good luck with your Ergo.
To add one thing, (not to complicate your life )when dd was 9m at Disney, it was really nice to have her in the Babyhawk on the front. We could go on rides without having to get her out. If she were on my back in the Ergo, and sleeping, I would either have to skip the ride, or get her out and wake her up.
If you like the Ergo for a front carry, it won't matter, but for comfort I much preferred the BH for front carries up until about a year old when dd got too tall.

Good luck with whatever you get.

 

[cogero]

we will be taking our Ellaroo Ring Sling and MEi Tei for the parks. MY son actually loves the ring ling better than anything else. Just do what is most comfy for baby.

 

[irene_dsc]

I see you have made your decision, but one thing I can't remember is whether or not the Ergo has a sleeping hood. (I have a Kozy, which is a brand of mei tai.) My Kozy doesn't have a sleeping hood, but if you have a sleeping hood, it is great for back carrying a sleeping baby. I just was at the Babywearing Conference and saw some really comfy looking babies snoozing that way, so wishing I had had one back in the day when I could've used one!

Oh, and I also notice you like nursing in your ring sling. If you are used to sideways nursing rather than upright, it may be a bit of an adjustment. I found it easier in my Kozy if I dropped one shoulder strap to the side - but then I couldn't really walk around. (I first did it on a camping trip when I didn't want to let dd down in the evening in the dark around a campfire.)

But, if you have any questions, I also highly recommend TBW (www.thebabywearer.com)

 

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

Could you tell me where you saw the 90 day money back guarantee? I thought I read about a 30 day return policy.

Also, I was thinking if I get an Ergo, I might buy it at Babycenter b/c it's cheaper and has free shipping, but I don't know if that's the old Ergo or the new, updated one. Anyone know?