soft carriers???

I have a 5 1/2 month old and have a snugli but it is actually quite uncomfortable and hot. Is there a better carrier out there for us? Easy to use, not hot, comfortable for us and baby? We think we may want to use it in WDW in Sept when he is 9 months old part of the time.
I have heard of mei tai's (sp?). How are these? I also have seen "home made" ones. Are these just as good, not, better?
Thanks for any help!!!

Yeah, let me be the first to tell you that the Snugli is NOT the best thing out there... I gave it up for good around 2 months...

There are a lot of awesome carriers out there, but since you're thinking Disney, I'll keep it relevant to that.

Mei Tais are very comfortable (WAAAY more so than a "crotch dangler" like the Snugli/Bjorn), and they can be used for much longer (both time-wise during the day, and age/weight wise). The biggest caveat of a mei tai is that, well, you have those straps, which take a minute or two to tie on, and at least a little bit will trail on the ground at some point whilst you're getting it on (which is bad 1. in a crowded area, as someone might step or trip on your strap, and 2. that it'll get all dirty) It's also not *super fast* to get on (an experience MT-er can get a kiddo on in under a minute, but a minute is a long time, if you think about it). But they tend to be cool and comfortable in the summer - I used one almost exclusively last summer, and I'm a sweat-er.

I'm really into my Beco right now (www.ecobabies.com). It's a soft-structured carrier, like an Ergo or a Patapum. Unlike those two (which I've either had or loaned), the beco feels a little lighter to me - the 'body' is lighter weight, so it feels less hot. I also have a khaki-strapped one, which also helps with the heat (also had a chocolate-strapped one, which I felt was too hot - again, I'm a sweat-er). The soft-structured carrier is similar to the snugli, which you're familiar with, but it has a wide waist belt designed to be more comfortable for you to wear a larger (read: more than 10 lbs ) baby in. It also has a wider bottom of the body, so the 'seat' hugs the bottom of the baby, with the Bub sitting more naturally - which is more natural for the baby, and easier on their developing spines as well. Plus, the Beco comes in way prettier colors Most soft-structured carriers come with a hood (either detachable or attached), that you can use to shield a baby from the sun, which is great in the summer when it's hot, and when they want to sleep. Because there are no long straps to worry about like with the mei tai, it's less hassle and usually quicker to get on, especially on the go.

Another thing you may want to think about, especially for something like Disney, is solarveil, which will protect Bub from the sun (and a lot have hoods, which is great for a sleeper).

A great resource is thebabywearer.com, as well as http://www.nineinnineout.org/ to see if there is a NINO group near you (if there is, you can try on before you buy, and many NINO groups also have carrier libraries, so you can borrow a carrier for an extended period of time, usually a month.

And yes, that's my short answer

I have an Ergo for Charlie, and I like it okay.

To be honest, until this past weekend, I was not feeling the Ergo love like most people do. It was okay, but certainly not comfortable for me, and not something I wanted to do all day. I could do a few hours before it was just too much for me. But... last week, I threw an almost 4 year old 31 pound kid up there, and I immediately realized why people love it! I could NOT feel her at all! I knew she was there, I felt the pressure of her body, but NO strain at all. She was long and lean, where as Charlie is short and fat. I was able to really get her body very close to mine, but with Charlie he is so thick that he hangs out there a bit, making it uncomfortable for me. So, hopefully in a few months he'll sprout up a bit and I can love it again!

I use a didy wrap, Mei Tais and Ring slings for the girls. Much more comfy than the snugli things.

I got my first mei tai last week and I am in *LOVE*! It is so comfortable to carry my 21 pound 10 month old. I can vaccuum, pack boxes, almost anything while he is on my back. He is very content back there, too! Even while I carry him on my front, it doesn't pull down like the baby bjorn did. There is even a way to use the mei tai on your hip, though, I've yet to try it. Strapping it on is pretty easy and I felt very comfortable doing it after the first couple times.

I also have a ring sling that I use, but it bothers my shoulder after a while. The mei tai will distribute the baby's weight more evenly.

Get an Ergo or a Beco. Personally, I need a little more structure than mei tais offer (I have a wonky back and heavy kids), and we've been Ergo users for 2.5 years, although I'm currently lusting after a Beco (but they're closed for the month of June).

The Ergo is the only carrier I've been able to do a front carry in. My 1 month old already weighs 13lbs, and my back starts screaming after about 10 minutes in a sling. I can't wait until this kid's big enough for a back carry.

Anyway, yeah--Ergo or similar. Definitely.

I have a Moby wrap and I love it. Now that it's warmer and DS is bigger I use the hip hold for him all the time. It's super easy to use.

I've never used one but a few ladies I know think the Mei Tai is difficult to get the hang of?

I went to the Beco website. It's an excellent looking carrier. Except my dd as she's become older, she would not like that long back design. It would be too confining for her and probably much warmer than the Ergo we use because it comes up so high.

I'm an Ergo nut. I love mine. It's the only way I can still carry my dd who is now around 37-38lbs depending on clothes & almost 41" for any length of time. I 'wore' her all last weekend during miserable weather & extreme mud conditions. No back pain afterwards despite having her on my back for over 12 hours between the 2 days. We just become 'as one'

I got it just before she turned 2 years old, so I've never used it with a 'baby'. But it would have been great after I could no longer use a sling with her. Even though she's grown so that the seated area no longer comes up past the middle of her back, she's extremely secure in there so I can bend over and lean back without any worries.

It's not perfect. IMO, they should pad the area right under the shoulder buckles for us larger folks, but overall it fits me who is very very fat & 6'3 DH.

There's lots of photos on the website to look at & even a demo video on the ways to put a child on. It's fun to feel like a horse whenever she dismounts. She swings her right foot over my back after leaning up against me, then slides off between my shoulder & hip area. We've freaked out a lot of people who thinks she's ignorant enough to just fall off my back

Definately something like an Asian baby Carrier. For somewhere like Disney you want as much weight as possible spread over both shoulders. I liked the Ergo when I tried Joyjoy in it for a few minutes during a quick grocery store run a few months ago, but that wasn't for all day.

That said, I my Maya Wrap ring sling. We've used it half to death and it still looks fairly new.

If you are looking for simplicity and ease-of-use, I would suggest a ring or pouch sling. Drop baby into pouch, pull on tail to tighten (with ring-slings), make any other minor adjustments, and you're ready to go within maybe 20-30 seconds. If you can get one in a solarveil fabric, more the better. Also, some have the sewn-up tails, and some have free-flowing fabric tails. A free-flowing tail can offer you a lovely shade to pull over baby's sleeping face, or to cover up with when nursing. Also great for minor spit-up surprises in a pinch.

I love mai-teis too, but couldn't get the hang of nursing comfortably in them unless I was sitting. And any long wrap carriers (Didy, Ellaroo wraps, etc.) are going to be tricky to tie on, take off, re-tie, remove, etc. repeatedly, as is likely to happen at a theme park. :twocents:

<3 my ring sling...

by far my super most favorite carrier, maybe when aleah is a little bigger ill get a mei tai...but for now, my ring sling is awesome.

http://thebabywearer.com

Awesome site!

I agree with the mei tai suggestion.

I've tried everything, but always come back to wraps. :twocents:

Loved my Ring sling...I actually made mine--I got some solarveil fabric and rings and whipped them up. There are some great instructions out there. I loved the solarveil fabric because it was strong, but really breathable---great for my May "baby"(he's 3 now!). I still use my ring sling with him on rare occasions--he's about 38 lbs. and 38" tall.

Are there differences in the Mei Tai's? I looked at babyhawk and at meitaibaby.com and ellaroo. Do they make them differntly??? I am a tad confused on this.

cheerbop said:

Are there differences in the Mei Tai's? I looked at babyhawk and at meitaibaby.com and ellaroo. Do they make them differntly??? I am a tad confused on this.

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I'm not the best to answer this, as I use wraps not mei tais, but yes, they are all slightly different. It's like car seats--- all the same form and function, just with tweaks to be more user-friendly in different ways. I'm sure others can chime in with personal opinions on different brands of mts. My friend swears by her babyhawk.

cheerbop said:

Are there differences in the Mei Tai's? I looked at babyhawk and at meitaibaby.com and ellaroo. Do they make them differntly??? I am a tad confused on this.

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yeah, they're slightly different. It matters what your body shape is like and what your child is like. I have a meitaibaby and love it (it's narrower than the babyhawk-great for back carries). You just kind of have to try them out to see if you like it. Now that my kid is pretty large I'd probably like a Kozy (it is wider and taller than the others mentioned-still can be used for little babies too). I think whatever you choose you'll be much happier than using the snuggli. I had a Bjorn-made my back hurt and couldn't use it by three months old. I've carried my then 2 1/2 year old on a hike with no problems with the mei tai. Just don't get a cheap no-name one from ebay.

I want a beco. And a good german wrap, and nice pouch....
Watch out, carriers can become addicting.

SUPER addictive, lol...

I've had two meitaibaby MTs, and they were both great. Like PP said, they're a little narrower, which is nice for my shaped baby. Babyhawk, Freehand, Kozy are also nice brands. Check out the review section of thebabywearer for more (but don't get overwhelmed - it's easy to get overwhelmed at first).

I don't feel like the beco is too tall. In fact, I feel like the Ergo is too wide DD is 16 mo. and about 29-30", and she can comfortably have both arms (or one ) out the top. One thing the Ergo has that the beco doesn't is the nifty pocket on the body... which would be great for front carries, not so much for back carries (as I have to take DD down to get to the pocket...) I've been toying with the idea of somehow attaching a pocket to the waist belt, just enough to get a thin wallet and/or a cell phone... We shall see (I'm terrified to cut into my beco though, I'll probably send it in and see if she can do it, lol)