Question about Moby Wraps

[sarajane]

I am looking to buy a new carrier. I was going to buy the mybabynest but after reading a few bad reviews about heavy babies I changed my mind. I thought maybe a wrap?

My DS is 7 months and my lower back has been hurting more lately. I used to put him in a snugli because he likes being forward facing and that is all I had. I need something better for him and for me. I have a Mei Tai but I can't get him forward in it obviously.

Is the moby wrap hard to use? It looks like I could do it but I am a little nervous to buy it. We are really on a budget here. From the looks of it he will like being facing forward in it and on my hip. He will get all upset if it takes me too long to get him from carseat to carrier so I want this to be as easy as possible. Can I wear the wrap without the baby in it while I am driving then put him in when I get where I am going? Does that work out ok?

Thanks for your help. I know these questions may seem all simple but I just want to be very sure I will like this if I buy it. Any other good carriers for forward facing carry that maybe be better to suit my needs? Those being lower back comfort, inexpensive, and forward facing options.

[limabean]

Most parents find a stretchy wrap like a Moby to be very uncomfortable once the baby reaches 15 pounds or so -- that's about when I quit using mine with my DD. When the babies are heavier than that, their weight pulls the fabric too low and causes too much stress on the shoulders. If you want to use a wrap, a woven fabric would be better. I think Moby sells the Moby-D, which incorporates a panel of woven fabric, but I don't know if they sell an all-woven one. Hopefully someone else will have a recommendation for an all-woven wrap.

As a quick side note, Moby-style wraps are incredibly easy to make yourself -- it's just a piece of fabric that's 5.5-yards long by 23-inches wide. If you're hesitant to spend the money on a manufactured product, you can just buy some inexpensive fabric and try it out. I ended up just using my homemade Moby rather than buying a manufactured one, and I loved it until my DD got too heavy somewhere around 6 months old.

As for being able to wear the wrap while driving to your destination, you can absolutely do that. After you use it a few times, you'll know how loosely to tie it to leave just the right amount of room to be able to pop your babe into it once you get to where you're going, and since it takes a few minutes to tie on and the ends tend to drag on the ground while you're doing it, it saves time and keeps the wrap cleaner to tie it on at home and have it ready to go once you get there.

For other forward-facing carrier suggestions, I switched to a Maya Wrap ring sling when my DD outgrew the Moby, and I'm still able to use it comfortably in either a kangaroo carry or hip carry, and she's now 12 months and 21 pounds.

[elisheva]

I stop using my Moby-style wrap when babe is 17-ish lbs (around 4 months for both my kids so far). I continue to use a ring sling for around the house and short walks/trips. For longer, I use an Ergo (but in retrospect would get a Beco). I'm now 4 mo. preg and ds2 is almost 9 mo. I made my own didymos-style wrap (firmer fabric than the moby but still with some stretch) because the Ergo isn't comfy around my waist anymore. I LOVE the wrap. I wear him on my back and front and have walked a long distance without pain. Ds sometimes starts to squirm/get uncomfy/bored after a while in the wrap on my back, but that is the only drawback.

Check out www.wearyourbaby.com for instructions on how to make your own or search MDC for "Osnaburg" (one of the recommended fabrics for a wrap). You can buy these style wraps but they are often very $$ (Didymos, for example is made from very specially woven fabric and costs over $100).

[sarajane]

Thanks for the help! I love the idea of just cutting some fabric to try it out.

[sarajane]

Well, I messed up. I bought my fabric. I went to the directions. I noticed that I bought more than what it says to use by a whole yard. Silly me should of tried it before I cut the extra yard off.....I really could use that extra yard for tying. I am a plus size gal and it didn't register with me that I would need it longer to tie the thing. I have to tie it in back and it is difficult to get tight enough. Otherwise I am liking the concept and all.

Is there any way to safely sew my extra yard back on? I was thinking maybe if half was on one end and half on the other it would simply just give me more to grab onto when tying in back but without the seams actually bearing any weight. Does that make sense?

I feel like such a dummy. It just looked so long and I had never seen one of these in person before. I was basing this off the videos and that the fabric didn't trail the floor as much as mine did while getting it on.

Is it ok to be tying in the back? Safe and all? The knot feels tight but it is just hard to get that way. I really like my fabric too and I practically bought all they had of this one. There wasn't much.

[baturay]

It's perfectly ok to tie at the back. I also think though that it's ok too to add the fabric to each end as you wrote.

[maymorales]

did you buy stretchy fabric? which way stretch?
I think you can only safely add to it if you serged the pieces together. If you have to, take it to some place where they do alterations and make sure the weave of the fabric match.

[sarajane]

No, it isn't really stretchy. It has some give to it but not stretch. I wanted something that felt secure. Stretchy makes me nervous.

Thanks for the advice.

[elisheva]

Originally Posted by baturay

It's perfectly ok to tie at the back. I also think though that it's ok too to add the fabric to each end as you wrote.

I agree - if it's not weight-bearing, it can't hurt to add some length. FWIW, I, too, am a fluffier mama and tie mine in the front when I'm carrying ds2 Tibetan style. If the wrap would reach, I'd much prefer to tie in the back where it's out of my way

[ShineliketheSon]

I love my MOby and I just put it on before I get in the car so I can just pop my 5 week old in when we get somewhere.

I think after 5 times, I felt really comfortable and was quick at putting it on.

[lifeguard]

nak you could use a french seam to sew the extra piece on & bjust check it regularly.

[limabean]

You can absolutely tie at the back -- that's how I've always worn mine! In fact, on the Moby site on their instruction page, it says, "You now have the option of tying here" on Step 6 when the fabric is at the back.

[CindyCindy]

I just wanted to throw some information out there for you regarding forward facing. You might be having back problems because he is forward facing. Think about a larger person jumping on you and wrapping their arms and legs around you (even imagine small child), then imagine them turning around and you holding them by their waist, all their weight presses forward instead of into you. Which one would be more comfortable? Which one could o you do for a longer period of time? Having babies face forward distributes their weight differently and therefore causes more back issues for the wearer.

[elisheva]

I respectfully disagree about the forward vs inward facing making a difference. IME, the issue for me has always been that I let my posture slide when wearing baby in the front. I had horrid lower back pain after ds2 was born and I was again wearing a baby on my front in a wrap or a sling (and letting my shoulders sag and back sway). The solution? Strengthening the core muscles - what worked for me was being conscious of pulling in my stomach and pushing back and relaxing my shoulders while wearing babe. This took some effort, but I was rewarded within a few weeks with no more back pain. It still reappears periodically, but I recommit to posture and it goes away again. FWIW, I'm quite fluffy so it's not as if I was a work-out queen before having kids... Also FWIW, I was also receiving regular chiropractic care, but didn't see a lasting change until I worked on posture.

[CindyCindy]

Originally Posted by elisheva

I respectfully disagree about the forward vs inward facing making a difference. IME, the issue for me has always been that I let my posture slide when wearing baby in the front. I had horrid lower back pain after ds2 was born and I was again wearing a baby on my front in a wrap or a sling (and letting my shoulders sag and back sway). The solution? Strengthening the core muscles - what worked for me was being conscious of pulling in my stomach and pushing back and relaxing my shoulders while wearing babe. This took some effort, but I was rewarded within a few weeks with no more back pain. It still reappears periodically, but I recommit to posture and it goes away again. FWIW, I'm quite fluffy so it's not as if I was a work-out queen before having kids... Also FWIW, I was also receiving regular chiropractic care, but didn't see a lasting change until I worked on posture.

I understand that it might not have been your problem, but the fact remains that children facing outward changes how the weight is distributed on your back. Of course you can always "work out" to make it easier on yourself. That is why it is recommended to start wearing your babies from day one, so your muscles gradually increase strength. I am glad you fixed your issues, I was just letting the OP know that facing forward is harder on your back than facing inward.