Babywearing

We've been having some problems lately on the baby wearing front.  I am completely pro-carrier, and think these are the greatest thing ever invented since sliced bread.  Actually, since carriers harken back to a simpler time in human development, they were around before sliced bread.  But I digress.

The problem lately is that cupcake is getting gigantic.  Not so big considering she's not even 4  months yet, but definitely big for her age.  So at her 3 month check she was 14.5 lbs. , which means that by now, at the rate of 7 oz per week, she must be getting close to 16 lbs.  Definitely getting tougher to carry her these days.

Which would be where the carriers come in.  However, we seem to be having problems with them.  So allow me to go through my personal experiences with these carriers.

Moby Wrap - I freaking love this thing.  So simple yet so versatile.  Of course, I also got it as a gift, so who knows how frustrated i would have been to pay good money for a glorified piece of jersey fabric.  I wish I has started using it sooner, but I was intimidated by all the fabric, since it has a steep learning curve.  When cupcake was smaller (in size), she would fall asleep in minutes when put in the cradle hold.  As she's gotten bigger, I've struggled to find other holds to help her fall asleep.  The wrap still works, and it's still wonderful to distribute Cupcake's weight evenly on my back, but she just won't fall asleep on it anymore.  Maybe in a few weeks, she'll grow into a new position.  Pros: very safe, adjustable, easy to take in bag, lots of holds, great for newborns, distributes weight evenly.  Cons: difficult to put on, hard to roll so much fabric, fabric stretches after too many uses.

Baby Bjorn - Wonderful, and I cannot say enough good things about it.  Except maybe for the fact that if you have a large baby (as we do), you'll grow out of this carrier sooner.  It has to do with the weight distribution, and the bjorn is a shoulder based carrier.  So, as a woman, I feel myself getting sore by the time we get back home, while Nate can hold her for hours on end and be fine.  I love the bjorn because it's so easy to put on, and because it has the option to put the baby front facing, which Cupcake loves. One of my current issues, though, is that she will no longer fall asleep on it, which makes for some annoying walks if they are around her nap time.   Pros: convenient, sturdy, front and back facing, neck support for infants, adjustable for size.  Cons: shoulders sore after a while, inconvenient to take in bag, better for smaller babies.

Sling medium - we got a really crappy sling as a baby gift, and we used it some when Cupcake was very little.  It worked great because it's very easy to put on, and very easy to take off.  And, when cupcake was tiny and needed to be held ALL the time, it was a good imitator of my arms cradling her.  Otherwise, we had the wrong one.  Ours was made of a stiff fabric, so it didn't mold to her needs.  I've seen some slings made of a stretchy jersey fabric (similar to the Moby) that seems a lot more comfortable.   It served a purpose, but now Cupcake has completely grown out of it to fall asleep, and it never fit Nate.  Once she gets bigger, we can use it again to prop her on our hip, but for now its been rendered pretty useless.  Pros: easy to put on and place baby.  Cons:  distributes weight unevenly, not adjustable, fabric too stiff, only good for two holds.

Sling big - this was also a baby gift, from Peru.  And we didn't use it much because it was too big, and Cupcake would kinda get lost in the shuffle.  We were afraid she'd suffocate under all that fabric.  Now that she's huge and due to sleep regression issues wants to be held a lot more to sleep, I've found that it's the perfect size.  Also, for this specific one, I love the fabric pattern.  Pros: great for older babies, cradles large baby, easy to put on, easy to take in bag.  Cons: distributes weight unevenly, not adjustable, only good for cradling

Ergo - this is our new purchase, which we got because everyone raved about how awesome it is.  So far Cupcake has not taken to it well, and based on many conversations about it with friends, she might be still a liiiiiiitle bit too small in size for it.   But I'm hoping that this one will help us with the dreaded nap issue though.  My friend Kate swears by it, and says her son will zonk out within minutes on the Ergo.  I need a carrier that she can stay on while awake and asleep.  I like it so far, the shoulder straps are nicely padded, and most of the weight rests on a waist belt, which is much better for a woman's center of gravity.  We shall see how she takes to it in the next few weeks.