Ergobaby Baby Carriers: Perfect for Any “Age or Stage” of Development

 

It can be tricky to know which carrier will be the perfect fit for your family, particularly if you haven’t had baby yet and there are a LOT of options out there. To help you tell your Aura from Embrace and your Adapt from your Omni, we’ve put together this guide to help you pick the right baby carrier or wrap for you and your family. Read on to find out more…

Which baby carrier is right for me? Which one will my baby feel most comfortable in? Can I find one that will fit both me and my partner? Is there one perfect baby carrier for everyone? Let’s start with the last question. On the one hand, a baby carrier that serves throughout baby’s entire development, from birth until they prefer to permanently explore the world on their own feet, does indeed exist. But… this kind of carrier might not necessarily be the “perfect” solution for everyone. Every baby is different – so are the people carrying them – and they all have individual preferences and requirements when it comes to carrying or being carried.

 

What can prove helpful during the search for a suitable baby carrier is looking at the physical and mental stage of development of the baby that will be carried most often in it. Depending on their age and developmental stage the baby carrier must meet different requirements. So, depending on how old your baby is, how long you plan to use your carrier for, and how you want to use it, different models may appeal to you.

 

To help pick the right carrier for your baby’s age and stage we have come up with a new categorisation for all our baby carriers and our Aura Wrap to assign them the appropriate age and the different developmental stages of babies. Through this new categorisation you get a great overview of what each of our Ergobaby models is particularly good at.

 

All-Ages Baby Carriers: Omni carriers & the Adapt

There are All-Ages baby carriers that can be used right after birth (from 3.2 kg / 7 lbs) up until toddler age (20 kg / 45lbs). These carriers, which include our Adapt, Omni and Aerloom carriers, adapt with your baby as they grow. With the Adapt and Omni carriers the head and neck support can be folded inwards for newborns whose little heads need more support. Later, at around 8 weeks when they start to control their head on their own, the support can be folded outwards. All carriers’ back panels keep baby’s back in an ergonomic position for their ongoing development. This position changes constantly over the three years it takes baby’s spine to become fully erect. The All-Ages baby carriers can be adjusted according to baby’s age and size. For the Adapt and Omni models this is through adjustable Velcro fasteners, for the Aerloom the panel is rolled to shorten and narrow it, meaning the width between baby’s little legs is easily adjusted so that their bottom always sits deep in the seat and their legs get well-padded support.

 

When they get to around two months, babies slowly turn into tiny explorers. Little by little, their five senses develop, and they start perceiving more and more. By their fourth or fifth month, their big growth phase kicks in. From here on in is when it becomes theoretically possible to carry them facing forward or on the back but ONLY once they have developed enough body, head, and neck control. If they can comfortably hold their own head and neck to the extent where they can sit unaided on the floor, then they should be ready. From this point on, the lower thoracic spine is stretched, and the legs can be lifted off the pad in a supine position. However, when starting out carrying baby in this position, only do so for short periods of time to start with as they grow and adapt to this new viewpoint.

Ages & Stages Baby Carriers

That is where our Ages & Stages baby carriers come into play, which include our specially designed newborn carrier and stretchy wrap. You can use them for the first four months (or longer if you prefer), then can move onto a more structured carrier.

 

The newborn baby carrier Embrace and the stretchy Aura Wrap are ideal for babywearing novices who want to offer their newborn full-on comfort. Both models are easy to put on and smoothly “hug” your little protegé. And baby benefits from the constant cuddling in the carrier as well in its first few weeks, because all the senses are nurtured. In the Embrace – just as in our other baby carriers – it is also easy to breastfeed the baby discreetly and with the necessary privacy.

 

The Embrace and Aura Wrap support your newborn depending on its developmental stage and throughout the entire first year of life (up to 11.3 kg / 25 lbs). The Embrace includes two options for this: The newborn mode up to a size of 58 cm and the baby mode from 58 cm.

 

If, after four months or so you feel that it is time for a more structured carrier you can switch from Embrace to the 360​​, or from Aura Wrap to the Original. These combos are pretty much unbeatable. Even though they aren’t suitable for use right after birth without a newborn insert, our two “oldies” carry out their job superbly. The 360 satisfies the needs of curious and active babies through its four carrying positions, while the Original has three carry positions, but is particularly good at ergonomically carrying older children on the back. Or of course you can throw out the rulebook and move up to one of our Omni or Aerloom carriers too!

We know that was a lot of information to take in in one go but we hope we managed to help you figure out which carriers might be right for you and introduce our new All Ages and Ages & Stages labels, you’ll be seeing more of them in the future!