How Do I Choose the Right Sling or Carrier?
Baby carriers are incredibly handy for busy new parents. Carriers let you keep baby close while getting other chores done, and save your weary arms when you're out and about with baby. Choosing a baby carrier can be hard, though, given the wide variety of baby carrier styles available. Here's a quick rundown of baby carrier styles to help you choose the baby carrier that will work best for your lifestyle.
Types of Carriers:
Wrap - The wrap style allows for a nice two-shoulder method that helps distribute the weight, but it can be very intimidating for beginner wrappers. Essentially, the wrap baby carrier is a large piece of fabric and the babywearer must learn the different wrapping styles. So, while it has a huge range of styles (hip carrier, back pack, front carrier), these need to be learned. However, there are some beginner tying styles that can easily be learned by anybody.
The Ring - The ring sling has all the benefits of the baby pouch or sling style, but it's adjustable – meaning both mom and dad can wear it once they learn how to use it. The ring sling is a one-shoulder carrier that emulates a one-shoulder carry in a wrap. Instead of a knotted piece of fabric, the ring sling has fabric pulled through rings for easy adjustments. Many people love their ring slings, however I find them to a more difficult adjustment and was unable to nurse hands free in my ring sling.Soft Structured Baby Carrier - These carriers are built like back-packs. As far as baby carriers go, these are really easy to use because you pretty much just buckle them in where you want them. These are typically not carriers for infants though. They are not designed to hold a child who isn’t crawling or walking on their own already. Your baby needs to at the very least be sitting up comfortably on their own.Mei Tei - The mei tai is a rectangle of fabric with four straps. To wear, you simply tie the waist straps around your waist, bring the body of the carrier over your baby, bring the shoulder straps over your shoulders and tie under baby, or cross under baby and tie around your waist again.
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