My first major carrier purchase was an Ergo Baby Carrier. We were living in China at the time and Millie was just a few months old. The city we lived in was very hilly, and using a stroller seemed cumbersome and inconvenient. (That particular city is one of the few places in China where you hardly see any bicycles - there are just too many long staircases.) So a carrier seemed like the best way to get around with our growing baby. The Ergo was perfect because it distributed Millie's weight on my hips, so I could carry her for a long time. And I could also wear her on front or back. Tom was comfortable with it too, so we could take turns carrying her if we had to do a lot of walking.
Here we're at the foot of the Giant Buddha, located in southwest China.
Here we're climbing down the Giant Buddha.
And here's Tom wearing Millie in the Ergo at a zoo in Thailand.
Oh, and I can't forget this great benefit of being able to wear baby on your back: multitasking!
So, the Ergo is great, but not really until baby is at least 4 months old (though there is an insert you can buy so that you can use it to carry a newborn). And any mother of more than one knows there's lots of work to do before baby gets that old. So when Silas came along I had my mom and grandma make a simple pouch sling for me. I found it useful mainly for the newborn stage. Here I'm in the kitchen wearing Silas:
And then when he got a little bit bigger, I really wanted a sling that would allow me to carry him in a nice snug hip carry. My Maya Wrap Ring Sling works great for just that purpose, and I've used it a lot with Silas, from the time he was 6 months, all the way up to around 2 years.
And one more great way to carry baby? A basket!
Okay, so maybe not so much. This is what lots of parents and grandparents in China used. And Tom was brave enough to ask to try one out so that we could get a picture. I can't imagine that they're terribly comfortable, but we saw them a lot, being used to carry either babies or vegetables.
I have to mention one more sling, though somehow I don't have any pictures of it. For the newborn stage I also really loved using a Moby Wrap. It's just a long piece of stretchy cloth and it's great for getting a new baby into a secure hold, and is incredibly comfortable as well. I'm looking forward to using it again soon!
