Everything You Need To Know About Best Baby Carriers

Until you become a parent you can never truly realize the joy babies can bring into your life. While a baby would appear comfortable in a cozy stroller or swing, most would rather you hold them in your arms or carry them closer to your body to enhance the bonding experience.

Carrying your little one in your arms all day is not feasible for fatigue is the mitigating factor. You could bond better with your kid by using one of the baby carriers reviewed in this article.

What is a Baby Carrier?

In simple terms, a baby carrier is a product you can use to carry your little one closer to your body. Some are carefully conceived products your baby can just slide into while it is attached to your body. Other types will be in the form of a large piece of cloth you can use to wrap your baby around your body.

You can buy one that is already designed to attach to your body and your baby will just slide into it, or you can get one that is just like a strong piece of cloth you can use to create your own unique baby carrier. Regardless of the type you select, you’ll bond better with your baby using a baby carrier than any other baby care products.

Why and when is it Good to Get a Baby Carrier?

Baby carriers used to be the most prevalent mode of transporting babies many decades ago until the modern stroller design came to being. The types used in the early nineteenth century are nothing compared to the modern products for carrying babies we have now.

The carrier’s you find today have evolved, and most have been created to balance the comfort of the mother or father with the needs of the baby. The modern day best baby carrier will not cause you any back pain, neither would your baby be uncomfortable riding in one.

It is up to the parent to determine up to what age is appropriate to continue using a baby carrier. While some would recommend newborn to six months, I have seen parents carry older kids around with ease in one of those top baby carriers.

So you want a baby carrier because it is one of the most effective ways to increase bonding between parent and child. You can get a baby carrier once your baby is born, and when you decide to stop using the product is really up to you.

Some Benefits Attributed to Using a Good Baby Carrier

Not only does a good brand help to enhance the bonding experience between mother and child, it can also help quiet down a fussy baby either at night or during the day.

It is quite easy to do errands or chores around the house while you have your baby strapped into one attached to your body.

This might shock you, but I have seen my fair share of mothers and sometimes fathers hiking and walking while carrying their child in a baby carrier. It might be safe to say that both parent and child will benefit from the workout routines.

It is the ultimate product to use to carry your baby when you visit places where strollers can be a hassle, either because space is tight or it is just too crowded.

Many child developments experts are certain that wearing your child while doing other things helps increase the emotional and social development of your little one.

How to Choose a Baby Carrier

With different types and many design options, selecting the best baby carrier for your needs can be a daunting task without the right information. When you go about the selection process using colors, styles, prices, etc., you’re bound to run into dozens of brands, all claiming to be the best for wearing your baby the right way.

When you forget or ignore all the industry created hoopla about what constitutes a good baby carrier, there are certain factors you want to keep in mind as you search for one that will be comfortable for both mother and baby.

Pick the Type

The key to selecting a good product is to know the type of baby carrier you would prefer. Making that decision ahead of time will help narrow down the brands you can look at online with high-performance metrics. You can find the five main types of baby carriers closely examined in this article, and for each type, we’ve reviewed two or three brands with high value for the money.

Comfort of Baby and Parent

A good baby carrier should help build a win-win relationship between parent and child. Not only should your little one be comfortable while strapped into one, the parent should be also. While your baby will be happy with the closeness and comfort offered while in the carrier, the carrying parent should not experience any unnecessary back pains or it would not be enjoyable.

The right baby carrier should deliver comfort and joy to both parent and child, which in my opinion means you have to select the type to conform to your body weight and height.

Is it Easy to Use

A product is just as good as the ease of use factors. If it is too troublesome to wear one, the product synergy will be broken. Probably the most difficult baby carrier to use and master are the ones that require you create your own unique wearing design and style. The ready to wear styles might offer better features to enhance the bonding experience between mother and child.

Can it be Easily Cleaned

Babies can be messy, and you can expect a lot of wear and tear within a short period of time. This is why the cleaning procedure is so important for maintaining a germ-free product. It would be nice to have a design that can be machine washed and dried.

A few of the more delicate ones might require machine washing the carrier but only hang it to air dry to preserve the rigidity of the design and the materials used. The brands that require you only spot clean the product might not be conducive to getting rid of all the mess a baby can make, so choose wisely with that in mind.

What about the Manufacturer of the Baby Carrier?

Just like any other product to enhance the bonding experience with a child, there are good brands and not so good brands. A good manufacturer should, at least, have a website that can be easily navigated with ample resources for customers that have bought their products.

If you find a manufacturer’s site with how to videos, downloadable owner’s manual, and other tips to benefit the consumer, you should give preference to that brand if everything else is in place.

Feedbacks From Current Users

It is always wise to take just a few minutes and read some of the feedbacks from current users of the highly rated baby carrier before you push the buy now button. Apart from the ratings are given by current customers, their opinions will let you know what kind of a product you’re going to get, should you decide to buy one.

While I am well aware that all products have a few disgruntled users, the vast majority should, at least, be happy with the baby carrier to make it a worthwhile investment.

Types of Baby Carriers

I am sure no one currently alive knows the real history of baby carriers. As far as when it was first invented, no one really knows, for it has been used for many generations. It is also true that the modern day design of baby carriers you can find in the marketplace is far superior to what our great-grandparents used in the past years.

Among all the types of baby carriers, the one called the wrap probably goes way back to earlier times before all the modern conveniences. As we speak, baby carriers can be divided into five unique types, and each will deliver advantages and disadvantages.

The five most common products you can use to wear your baby are; Wrap, Mei-Tai, Sling, Frame Backpack, and Soft structured. Each one will be examined one by one and good brands with merit will be reviewed after each type.

Baby Wrap Carrier

When you go back to earlier generations, this is probably the way babies were carried around. The baby carrier wrap can be called a long piece of strong cloth that can be wrapped around the body with the baby included in the many configurations one can create.

The way you use the cloth will be different from parent to parent. Your choice of wrapping style is probably only limited by your imagination. While it might offer one of the most intense bonding experiences between mother and child, you certainly have to go through a learning curve before you can get it right.

Of all the types of baby carriers, the wrap design is probably the only one with true versatility features, since the usage style is not limited in any shape or form. If you can get past the huge learning curve to master how to use an infant carrier wrap, it offers the most bonding experience for mother and child.

Baby Carrier Wrap Reviews

1 – Boba Baby Wrap Reviews

I choose the Boba baby wrap for the first review because the company behind this products gets what it means to enable the customer to love your product. This best baby wrap solves the biggest gripe about Boba wraps by creating a well-navigated website and how to use videos, that has so much clarity that I learned how to use the product from just watching the video. The owner’s manual includes diagramed instructional ways to use the wrap to keep your baby secure.

Features of the Boba Baby Carrier

The material used to manufacture the Boba baby wrap is made up of 5% spandex and 95% cotton. The inclusion of spandex allows the Boba wrap baby carrier to stretch and snuggly hold your child to your body.

It can be used to front-hold your infant and it is comfortable for carrying newborns and children up to 35 pounds.

From the Boba wrap reviews provided by the manufacturer and other baby blogs, your hands will remain free to do other things, and you’re able to breastfeed your baby with ease.

The tying style is able to provide a perfect comfort and the product is machine washable, without any negative effect on the materials used.

You can watch the YouTube Boba Wrap Classic Baby Carrier video below showing you how to wrap the Boba cloth around your body and baby, including the benefits you can expect from using the product.

Verdict: I did not try to include a comparison between the Boba baby wrap vs Moby wrap because this brand delivers a higher customer rating when you examine the feedbacks from customers on .

The Boba wrap baby carrier is beloved by the majority of the customers that currently use the product. It was nice to see the manufacturer go all out to make sure the customer understands how to use the cloth wrap with instructional videos and clearly illustrated product’s manual. It is available for purchase in eleven different colors, and your purchase is covered by a one-year limited warranty from the manufacturer.

2 – Innoo Tech Natural Cotton Original Baby Wrap

Instead of the Moby baby wrap, I choose to include the cloth wrap from a company called Innoo Tech. It can be used to carry newborns and kids up to 35 pounds. The dimension for the Innoo
Tech Baby Wrap is 177.2 x 21.6 x 0.1 inches and only weighs 1.3 pounds.

Features of the Innoo Tech Natural Cotton Baby Wrap

First of all, the inclusion of a lifetime guarantee from the manufacturer makes it one of the longest warranties within the niche market.

The wrap itself is made from a material that is comprised of 10% rayon and 90% cotton. Some have called it one of the best baby wraps for newborns when you look through the feedbacks from current users.

This brand also comes with a good manual that shows you the correct way to use the product. On the downside, I could not find a website for the manufacturer, and that was disturbing, to say the least.

Here is an Innoo Tech Baby Sling Carrier Wrap video from YouTube showing you the merits of the product and how to use one to securely carry your baby around.

Verdict: Despite the absence of a website from the maker that I could locate, this product is loved by the current users, and that is one of the main reasons it was included in this baby carrier reviews. While the price is lower than the Boba baby carrier, it is my opinion that the Boba wrap offers better value for the money.

Baby Sling Carriers

While this is similar to a baby wrap in enhancing mother and baby bonding, it is more of a ready to use product. Most are designed to go over your shoulder and you can use one to hold a newborn or older kids in front of you.

Carriers using the sling-type design are very popular because of their short learning curve. This type took a beating in the press in 2010 after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning alert to parents after the deaths of several kids due to the improper use of the baby sling product.

Since then, manufacturers have made significant changes to their design taking into consideration suggestions from both the government agency and industry-supported groups. Baby sling carriers are safe if used properly and within the boundaries established by the manufacturer.

Baby Sling Carriers Reviews

3 – Cozitot Baby Sling Carrier

You might call the Cozitot Baby Sling Carrier a hybrid version since it incorporates the best aspects of several types into a usable product. This best baby sling carrier can be worn with your baby facing you or in the back. The measurement for the Cozitot sling carrier is 12 x 12 x 0.5 inches and it weighs less than one pound.

Features of the Cozitot Baby Sling Carrier:

Some of the best baby sling reviews found online clearly states the product is made from 100% cotton, which the manufacturer confirmed through email.

Some of the current users stated in the feedbacks that it was one of the most comfortable baby sling carriers that are ready to wear.

The fabric material is not only washable but also made to be stain-resistant. You can use one to carry babies up to 35 pounds.

Verdict: The pricing for the Cozitot baby sling carrier is quite reasonable, and the feedbacks from most of the current users lean towards the positive.

Mei-Tai Baby Carrier

This type looks almost like the others ones accept that it has four unique straps attached to the design. It is a ready to wear baby carrying product, and you can use one to carry you little kid on your back and front, or you can use one hip hugging style. The short learning curve and the simplicity of the design are what make them so popular with parents.

Mei-Tai Baby Carrier Reviews

Let’s look at some of the most popular Mei-Tai baby carrier brands.

4 – Infantino Sash Mei Tai Review

This Mei-Tai baby carrier from a company called Infantino is as good as it gets. It weighs about 1.4 pounds and has the following dimension 3.2 x 11.5 x 10 inches. It is designed to carry kids weighing 8 pounds to 36 pounds. There are three unique ways you can use this product to carry your baby; frontal position, back position, and hip-hugging position.

Features of the Infantino Sash Mei Tai Baby Carrier

The three carrying positions support that natural way kids like to seat. It is probably one of the top Mei-Tai baby carriers that come with a detachable hood one can use to shield the baby from the sun or during nap time.

It has padded straps with extra width dimensions. The lumbar support will help keep to a minimum the pressures on your shoulders.

Below is a good video of the Infantino Sash Mei Tai Baby Carrier in action.

Verdict: This is a good sash Mei Tai baby carrier from Infantino and most of the current users seem to agree with that statement with glowing feedbacks about the merits of the product. The website for the manufacturer is well stocked with helpful how-to videos, and there are downloadable PDF Guides in English, Spanish, and French.

Soft Structured Baby Carriers

It might not be fair, but this type is almost similar to what you get from a high-end backpack. It has a resemblance to a Mei Tai baby carrier only with better design and more features. Using one requires almost zero learning curve, and can be used by both men and women.

If you’re out of shape it might be difficult to find one to fit snuggly tight. Not only are most ergonomic in design, you can also buy one with adjustable features. Soft-structured baby carriers are popular because the weight of your baby is uniquely distributed to your hips rather than your back.

Best Soft Structured Baby Carriers

5 – Gemini Performance Baby Carrier by Beco

This is a soft structured baby carrier with multi-position features. Not only does it have the right hip support with comfort padding, the included adjustable straps ensure a tighter and more snuggly fit. The Gemini performance baby carrier from a company called Beco is pricey, and it is available for purchase in 15-different colors.

Features of the Beco Gemini Baby Carrier

It has zero learning curve and you can wear your baby facing you or looking out. You can also use the product to carry your little one on your back or hip hugging style.

It is designed to carry 7 to 35 pounds baby weight, which means it can be used for newborns. The included head support is able to fold as it secures downwards.

The waist belt is wide enough and comes with the right padding, which ensures proper lumbar support.

The shoulder straps are also padded to give you added comfort while the adjustable chest strap is needed to help distribute the weight evenly.

Verdict: The product is machine washable, and it comes with safety buckles to prevent any unintended openings. The inclusion of a lifetime guarantee by the manufacturer is certainly one of the top reasons to consider the baby carrier.

Baby Backpacks Carriers

This is one of the most expensive types of baby carriers, and the name backpack is most appropriate, as it resembles the real thing. It is probably more appropriate for kids that could stand upright, which means probably 6 to 8 months old.

Baby backpacks are suitable for those that love to take their kids to outdoor nature. Take a look at the one we have reviewed below and you can instantly tell it is a durable product one can easily pass on or sell on eBay once done with it.

Baby Carriers Backpacks Reviews

If you’re looking for the ultimate brand in baby wearing products, this next unit will not disappoint in its features.

6 – Osprey Packs Poco

The Osprey Packs Poco baby backpack is the ultimate in baby wearing products. It is made using a unique combination of fabric and nylon. This child carrier is not for everyone, but only those that could afford the best when it comes to durable baby carriers.

Features of the Osprey Packs Poco

It comes in four different colors, and it has the right framing around the carried child to ensure an adequate protection and comfort.

The frame is built from aluminum and the injection molded hinges guarantee a fast deployment of the foot base. The Osprey baby carrier product even comes with a special pocket for your smartphone.

The features are just too numerous to list all of them, but you can read the complete list .

This is the right YouTube video explaining the merits of using the Osprey Packs Poco baby carrier backpack.

Verdict: This is not your regular average baby carrier, for it is built to last for decades with the right care. The manufacturer provides a lifetime warranty for each Osprey Backpack baby carrier sold.