gottagodisney...these are my opinions. They are of the slings, not of the people who use them. IMO, the Target type slings are sad approximations of the American industry's version of traditional babywearing. Especially things like Bjorns, where the baby dangles by a thin area around it's pelvis, they aren't always very well designed for the baby's health (baby needs to have pelvis cradled by BIG area, not the small area of the Bjorn).
The price is different b/c one group of them is made in huge batches by a huge company (one of the baby carriers is by Playtex, for instance). The others are made in smaller companies (or the low-tech ones, by just a few people), slower. I can't speak to quality b/c I've never touched a big-box store-bought carrier let alone used one, but I know I've seen recalls on a few of those type, and haven't seen a recall on a more WAHM-made/sold carrier (nor heard of huge problems online), so...
I never used an Ergo with my infant. I wasn't even aware of it then. I started off with some very simple wraps, and loved mamatoto.org to learn how to make my own VERY low tech wraps. I also got a hotsling, and that was great, but for some reason DS was never as comfy in that as I wanted him to be. He was crazy-long and I could never figure out where his legs should go, LOL.
Since then I've also acquired two mammasmilk slings (terrific, better than the hotsling for me), a mei tai (awesome to a limit, but I never used it with an infant), and many others. I also have a Korean carrier, a podegi, from my Korean MIL, and that actually was great when DS was tiny, BUT unless I were living in Korea I wouldn't wear it out (podegi means blanket, and that Korean-made podegi LOOKS like a blanket, LOL...but there are some American versions that are a bit trimmer, which is nice).
As for Ergo with an infant, they have the insert that lets you wear an infant in a manner proper for an infant. They also have much wider cloth where baby's pelvis goes, so once baby is being worn more straight-up, they are cradled, not dangled. Also, the Ergo is NOT for wearing a baby on your front, with baby facing out, a front carry is going to have the baby facing you. That too keeps from the dreaded dangling (and I Promise you that a baby can interact with the people behind you just as well as she could with people in front of you, and babies can turn their heads practically like owls, and can look around even when being worn facing you).
I think an Ergo would be great (and should I have another baby I plan to buy the infant insert), but if you don't look forward to wrangling the carrier, a side-sling like the mammasmilk or the hotsling might be easier for you. Regardless, they ALL require a learning curve, and I highly recommend that you do your first attempts with someone around to help out, to "spot" you.
I will look into the other recommended carriers to spend my $ on. I like the idea of small, mom/pop businesses anyway rather than the standard ...Made in China crapola.
