Baby Carriers

Baby carrier systems come in all shapes and sizes. They represent the newest in cutting edge baby care technology and construction to the lowest of the low tech. But choosing the right one among all the options you have in baby carriers can be a daunting task; you may have to experiment with more than one of the many baby carriers on the market in order to find the one that is most comfortable for you. Here are three styles that are generally used and their pros and cons to help you make the decision.

The most simple and hottest of carriers is the baby sling. Unlike other baby carriers, the baby sling is a one piece, low tech baby carrier that re-imagines an old concept of caring for babies. The sling is a single, broad piece of cloth that is tied at the mother or father's back, the primary arm and head are fit through the cloth so that the baby sling runs diagonally along the body of the adult. The baby fits inside the widest piece of cloth and is secured by its own weight bringing tension to bear on the outer edges of the cloth. This ensures that the adult has a reasonable amount of mobility, and some child development experts suggest that there may be psychological benefits to the child and parent by selecting this type of baby carrier. The downside of the baby sling is that usually infants or low-mobility babies are best suited for this kind of carrier. As babies get larger, more aware and curious, and more mobile, these kinds of baby carriers can become burdensome and ineffective at carrying your baby around.

The second two types are actually variations on each other. The baby backpack and the baby bjorn. The baby backpack allows the parent to place the baby in a seat behind the shoulders of the mother or father. This allows the baby to be carried and gives a good amount of visibility to the adult. The arms of the adult are also free to interact with the outside world without hindrance. Opening doors, picking items off the shelf, or even operating an ATM are not problematic when the baby is out of the way. The downside is that the baby can be difficult to reach, may (and probably will) pull on hair or ears, and in the event of a spit-up, the backpack can't be taken off quickly enough.

Baby bjorns, on the other hand, place the baby in front of the mother or father, allowing the baby to more freely interact with the world. If the baby gets sick, the parent is not in the way, which can be a definite asset in some situations. Of all baby carriers, the baby bjorn offers the least freedom for the adult; all things which must be interacted with (telephones, people, doors) must make it past the baby's hands first. Drinking or eating is problematic for the adult as well.