How to Choose the Right Baby Carrier for Your Family
Your baby carrier should sync with your lifestyle and personal style. So whether you’re an on-the-go outdoor adventure family or need a carrier for neighborhood walks and summer travels, your baby carrier needs to meet both yours and your baby’s needs.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Searching for the best baby carrier for you can be overwhelming when sorting through endless options on the internet — but what qualities should you be looking for exactly?
The four features that matter most when shopping for a baby carrier are:
- Ergonomics
- Comfort
- Ease of Use
- Functionality
Ergonomics
Your child’s health is and always should be your primary concern when shopping for a baby carrier. Your carrier should provide adequate support for your baby’s growing head, neck and back.
It should keep your baby in an upright position, meaning they are not slumped and their chin is off their chest, so airways are open, as well as high enough on your chest so you can monitor them. (think close enough to kiss their head!).
Your child should also sit in an ergonomic position inside their carrier, which means their knees are higher than their bum with legs in a spread-squat position in the different carrying positions.
Other concerns include selecting the most secure and appropriate carrying position for your baby’s age and weight and inspecting the fabric’s quality before using it to make sure there aren’t any rips, tears or weaknesses.
Comfort
If a carrier isn’t comfortable, you obviously won’t use it — and no one wants to deal with a baby squirming and crying while your back is screaming in pain. Different carrier features determine the comfort level for you and your baby.
What makes a baby carrier comfortable for caregivers?
Padded straps and lumbar support are lifesavers for parents. They relieve strain on your shoulders and back while helping reduce muscle tension, which allows you to comfortably carry your baby for longer periods of time. Fabric that’s soft and breathable determines your comfort level as well. Some carriers also come with privacy hoods; a great feature when you’re hiking on a sunny day or want to discreetly nurse on the go.
Keep in mind that your comfort needs might change as your child grows. As your baby gets a little older and heavier, you may more so appreciate those padded straps, lumbar support and different carrying positions to switch between.
What makes a carrier comfortable for babies?
Make sure your baby is as comfortable as possible in their baby carrier by checking the following:
- They are sitting in the right carrying position.
- They are sitting ergonomically in a seat with a wider bottom.
- They are being closely held in a carrier made of fabric that’s soft, breathable and has anti-allergenic properties.
Ease of Use
Parents can agree on two things—you’re all, as a general rule of thumb, busy and sleep deprived. Don’t make your life even harder with a baby carrier that’s difficult to use, put on and take off.
Find a carrier with easy-to-use straps and fasteners and that only requires you to read the instructions or watch a quick instructional videos.
You should also make sure your baby carrier is easy to clean, as your baby is bound to drool and spit up on the carrier. Look for one that’s machine washable, so your washing machine, and not you, has to put in the cleaning effort.
Functionality
The more versatile a baby carrier, the more use you’ll get out of it. Choose a carrier that offers three or four of the standard carrying positions:
- Front carry, inward facing
- Front carry, outward facing
- Hip carry
- Back carry
With these different carrying positions, you’re able to choose the most comfortable and best engagement positions as your baby grows and matures. Which is also a key consideration. The longevity of your baby carrier is something to consider. Whether it will be used for more than one child, whether you intend to use it just for the early months or all the way through to toddlerhood, pick a carrier that will grow as you need it to. All our carriers come with our ErgoPromise lifetime guarantee – we stand by our products so you can carry your precious cargo with confidence.
WHICH CARRIER IS RIGHT FOR YOU
So now you hopefully have a better idea of what you might like your carrier to be able to do for you but it can be tricky to know which carrier model 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 got a couple of tools to help you pick the right baby carrier or wrap for you and your family.
TAKE OUR QUIZ
First up is our handy interactive quiz! Head over to the homepage of our website and simply scroll down to find the quiz.
COMPARE ALL OUR CARRIERS
If you’d like to see all your options laid out together so you can directly compare features and function, check out our guide to Which Carrier Is Best For You on our website or you can download the pdf HERE.
*This table currently doesn’t include our Omni Dream carrier but this is the same as the Omni Breeze just made in a beautiful SoftTouch Cotton instead of the breathable SoftFlex Mesh.
And of course you can get in touch and ask us any questions you have. You can get in touch via Facebook, Instagram or by emailing [email protected]. We’re always happy to help!
