do you like your mei tai?

[singer_mama]

a good friend let me borrow her mei tai to carry my LO on my back (he's almost 20lbs i think). it was pretty uncomfortable for me, and seemed to be for him, too. my shoulders hurt, and his head tended to flop backward as i walked around. am i doing something wrong?

btw, it wasn't a babyhawk (i think those have material that come up around baby's head to support it, right??)

any suggestions as to how to carry LO on my back?

[baturay]

There are some really good instructions on the Kozy site. Look through them for tips on wearing your mei tai. These instructions apply to all mei tais really.

http://kozycarrier.homestead.com/instructions.html

For back carry, I like doing the one that is titled, "Back Carry using the Shoulder Toss". Works really well for me when my kids are little. But, there are other ways of doing a back carry and the instructions are on the link above.

A picture of your back carry will help to trouble-shoot though what could make it better.

[Kyyrah]

We love our MT's. They are a Babyhawk, and a Toddlerhawk. We use them pretty much daily. :

Both my kids outgrew the neck rest area but it did go up to their shoulders. Neither of their heads flopped.

ETA: My toddler is about 25 lbs at this point and there is no strain at all on our backs, and it's definitely not uncomfortable for him. Although he does prefer running around on his own two feet...

[MoonStarFalling]

If you don't get the shoulder straps tight enough it will allow them to lean back too far from your body. It will cause wicked back pain and floppy heads.

[amberskyfire]

Originally Posted by MoonStarFalling

If you don't get the shoulder straps tight enough it will allow them to lean back too far from your body. It will cause wicked back pain and floppy heads.

Yes, this. When you are putting it on, make sure you hold the baby up high on your chest so their head is at chin level then pull the mei tai up behind them. Be sure it's tight when you strap it on. Baby should be high on your chest and his/her chest should not bounce against yours when you walk. The waist strap should be around your waist, not around your hips. You should be held firmly together so you move together with no space between, but just loose enough for baby to breathe comfortably. If it's too loose or baby is too low, your back will hurt horribly and baby's head will flop.

[PatchChild]

I was surprised when I figured out how much tighter I needed the straps than I had expected. Once I learned how to tighten the straps with DS on my back I found it was way more comfortable.

[tinyblackdot]

I would get a bamberoo (hands down my fav carrier). It has extra wide shoulder straps that really help for larger LOs. DD is 2 years old and 24 lbs, and i LOVE it! Its the only carrier i have found (*yet) that i can wear completely comfortably.

[singer_mama]

more questions...

thanks for all of your help, mamas! a friend of a friend just agreed to sew a mei tai for me and i'm thrilled!

i really want it solely for back-carry. so do i need to tighten the straps when he's on my back? and i'm thinking of having her make one that comes up to support ds's head...like a babyhawk style. my friend's mei tai that i've been using does not have fabric to support my lo's head. your thoughts?

also, should i have her make one with regular straps or wide straps? i REALLY appreciate all of your input...i am obsessed with babywearing and i really want a good one for my back...i don't want to screw this up!

[Devaskyla]

I prefer slightly wide, padded straps. I usually make mine about 3 1/2-4 inches wide. Most of the name carriers are about 3 inches & padded. "Wrap" straps are around 7 inches & unpadded.

And yes, you need the straps very snug when he's on your back.

This is a wrap strap style with ds2 at about 4 months old. The outside edges of the straps are a bit loose, but you can see the carrier is quite snug against him. http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...a/meitai02.jpg
This is one with padded straps. He's a lot older in this one, but again you can see how snug it is against his back. The loose bit at the top is the headrest, which he was too big for by this point. http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...T0047_edit.jpg

[singer_mama]

ah! how cute is your ds! thanks for all of your help

[MoonStarFalling]

Originally Posted by singer_mama

thanks for all of your help, mamas! a friend of a friend just agreed to sew a mei tai for me and i'm thrilled!

i really want it solely for back-carry. so do i need to tighten the straps when he's on my back? and i'm thinking of having her make one that comes up to support ds's head...like a babyhawk style. my friend's mei tai that i've been using does not have fabric to support my lo's head. your thoughts?

also, should i have her make one with regular straps or wide straps? i REALLY appreciate all of your input...i am obsessed with babywearing and i really want a good one for my back...i don't want to screw this up!

Yes you want him totally snug against your back. The head rest ala babyhawk is nice. Or you could have a sleeping hood that only attaches to support them when sleeping. For straps in a back carry I find wide straps uncomfortable. I prefer a 4 inch unpadded strap.

[pixiepunk]

everyone has different opinions about straps. the angle of the straps and the width of the straps and the amount of padding is largely down to personal preference and how you're built. i prefer a 3-3.5 inch pretty heavily padded strap.

for head support, you can do something like the babyhawk headrest, or a curved top like the Kozy. or as a pp mentioned, you can just add a sleeping hood (might be easiest from a sewing perspective).

you should also consider the height and width of the body of the carier. a longer-bodied carrier can be rolled at the waist to shorten if necessary for a smaller baby, and will fit older/taller/heavier babies better extending the life of your carrier.

you might want to check out (or have your friend who's sewing the carrier check out) the DIY forum over at thebabywearer.com - lots of picture tutorials and info. also, sleepingbaby.net has lots of free patterns/directions for mei tai's and other carriers.

[VOBetz]

With a baby as old as yours, I would do something like a sleeping hood, rather than a large babyhawk headrest. Because if you wear him when he's awake, he's going to want to see comfortably.

With I think you will lose a lot of the floppiness when you get the straps tight enough.

[tinyblackdot]

I second the hood over the head erast. Its hard sometimes to get your LO on your back at the exact right level so that headrest isnt below your los head, or way above it either.

And yes you want wider straps. I would say anything over 3.5 inches is ok for a toddler.

[RunnerDuck]

I ordered mine when I was pregnant and got a kick out of carrying my 4 year old on my back with it. It was easy to get on and comfy. Then the babies came and we used the MTs early on for front carries with the babies "froggied up" but after a while they rebelled and would try to stand up when we put them in. Have not been able to carry the babies in it since then - getting them in in a way that is comfortable for both of us just doesn't happen. I think when they are bigger, and can assist more, back carries will be great... but for now, nope, I really can't say I like the MT. (I have a kozy carrier btw)