Question What carrier would you recommend for high needs 5 month old?

I have been babysitting for my friends baby girl off/on since she was born, and am going to be doing it more in the next few months. The baby is pretty high needs, and has a lot of trouble sleeping. Today when I got there the mom was nursing her and then she fell asleep for about 45 mins. She was still really tired when her mom left. When I put her into her stroller to take a walk she got really upset, and she was still upset just being held. She really likes to be held close and she liked being next to me. I put her into her mom's Ergo and got her to fall asleep and she slept for an hour. She was really comfortable but I don't really like the Ergo. It isn't really comfortable for me. I don't mind buying another carrier, I would like to spend $75 or less though.

She is 5 months old, about 15 lbs. She has very good head control, is almost sitting up. I have neck issues and some back problems so something that has a lot of support is good. I don't mind something that wraps, as long as it isn't too annoying to put on/off. I have used an Ergo and a baby Bjorn before, but I have never used any other carriers. I don't want a sling, I want something that goes on both shoulders. I have a lot of stores in the area so I could probably find any carrier available.

Thanks

I haven't owned one personally but many people love mei tai carriers and say they're really comfortable. If you find a decent sale you can get one for under $75 or you could buy a handmade one from a WAHM on ebay. I used a sling and I have a bad back and it didn't bother me one bit and would still be using it with DS on my back but he loves to flop backwards so that's a no go.

You can get a basic BabyHawk for $80 in custom fabric. Very comfy and easy to use.

A Moby is only $40-$50. If you're thinking about doing this, go straight to YouTube, and start looking at tie videos. You'll get a lot of versatility, but the learning curve is a lot steeper when you're learning to put it on. You can probably even find one locally in a B&M store (ONE of my local Target stores carried them for a while, but the others didn't, and I've seen them in cloth diaper and baby gear stores).

Another vote for a BabyHawk. You can find them for about $80 new, or go to thebabywearer and check their "For Sale or Trade" forum.

The Moby would probably be great for right now, but my concern is that she'll be outgrowing it in the next few pounds, so unless she's a super-slow gainer, it won't last her long. Plus, you can't really use it for back carries. (Well, you *can*, but stretchy wraps aren't usually recommended for back carries.) I switched S from front to back carries around 4 mos (but he was closing in on 20 lbs!) and use them pretty much exclusively now, so I'm partial to that ability, lol.

We switched from the stretchy wrap to the BH at 18lb/4mos, and he outgrew it around a year. Although I'm partial to my Olives & Applesauce (soft structured carrier) now, with him at 24lbs, I've improved my tying skills and can again wear him in the BH for a while without discomfort.

The nice thing about a Mei Tei is there's nothing between you and the baby, just the panel of fabric that supports her and the straps that tie the whole shebang on. The learning curve isn't too terribly hard, either.

HTH.

I have heard good things about this carrier by Infantino. It is called the Wrap & Tie and it available at Target for $40. I know someone on here bought it and loved it.

tumblebug has the infantino wrap & tie. I just bought one too off ebay for less than $20. A is a little on the big side, but he still loved it.

Here's tumble's thread http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=115370&highlight=infantino+wrap+tie