Baby's reaction to Ergo carrier...

[earlyworm]

Here's one for you...  

I have a 10 week old, who weighs over 15 pounds.  My arms hurt, so I went ahead and got an Ergo carrier the other day.  The store told me that he was definitely way too big for the infant insert, so I just stuck him in it without.  

It's only been three days of this, but every single time I put him in the carrier he cries for a couple minutes, and then falls right to sleep.  It's not even hard crying, just complaining like when he is sleepy.  Doesn't matter if he was happy or sad or tired to start with, he does it every time.  Does this mean that he feels comfortable in it, or is he so freaked out by it or hurting that he's 'checking out'?  

I've just been trying to use it frequently around the house so that he gets used to it before we take it out on any big outings.  

Prior to this, we had been using the Moby wrap, but once he hit about 8 weeks, he was too interested in his surroundings to tolerate being held that close to me.  The front carry position on the Moby was working okay, so maybe I should go back to that for a while?  I'm just so ready to use a carrier that isn't so much hot fabric, so I'm hoping he will like the Ergo sooner rather than later.  

I've also had some people tell me that babies between two and four months often go through a 'sling hating' period, even if they liked them before.  Has anyone else had that experience?  

I would love to hear any suggestions or insight.  :)  

Thanks, Mamas!!  

[schmndy]

Hi Earlyworm,

Your baby sounds as big as our baby! He always seemed too big for the infant carrier being born at 10lbs 3oz. We still haven't used the ergo successfully. The last time I tried it he was 4 and a half months (now he's 5 1/2) and he screamed when he was put in. We have another carrier called belle and he's totally fine in that one. The difference is that his legs hang down in the belle vs the ergo where his legs wrap around your body. So it feels like his legs can't straddle that far yet. I have a friend who is having the same problem. We feel like we must be using it incorrectly -- I don't know. Our baby is 23 lbs now. I really hope we are able to use it soon as I have also heard great things about the ergo and he outgrows the belle at 25lbs.

If anyone can recommend a video of how to properly wear the ergo, I'd really appreciate that!

Thanks!

[MamaPhD]

DS is not quite 2 months and 14 lbs.  I wear him using moby wrap and ergo probably 50:50 right now.  And yeah, he is too big for infant insert for sure.  He didn't like ergo when i froggy legged him because his feet were getting smooshed.  I tried putting in a rolled up receiving blankie under his bum (like the "pillow" part of the infant insert) and everything is A-OK.  How are your baby's legs positioned?  Maybe play aroud with that.  Also check if any of his body parts are getting squished by looking for red marks (around ankle, etc).  Lastly play around with how tight your straps are.  I find that i need to have shoulder straps looser for baby than I would with my toddler.  I compensate with tighter chest strap.  OK so far these are the points that come to my mind.  Good luck! 

[earlyworm]

Okay, I will definitely try out the rolled up receiving blanket.  I do think that the whole problem is having his legs spread like that.  He is a big guy, but still really young and it's easy to forget that he may not be ready to do that position yet.  If that doesn't work, I'm going to go back to the Moby full time and try out the Ergo again once he hits four months or so.  :)  

Thanks for the tips!  

[MamaPhD]

Oh my son hates having his legs spread apart.  I have his legs together in the ergo.  Let me try to explain.  He has his legs bent but his knees are almost together (ankles are together, too) as if he is sitting in a chair.  And the feet are under the bum.  So his bum, knees, and feet are kinda making a triangle if you looked from the side. The space where the "chair" would be is filled up by the receiving blanket.  Hope this makes sense.

[evabea]

Yup, same as MamaPhD said. After I stopped using the insert, I used the rolled up blanket at the bottom with DD's legs in. I didn't have them out and spread apart until she was much older.

[TiffanyToo]

If you have te heart to heart Ergo infant insert take the cushion out of the base of the insert and use that under baby. This to keep him in the knees about belly button level, shoulder width apart and at about 90*'s (froggied positioning)

[kdhfly]

I also had a big baby, and we experimented with various positions without the heart-to-heart insert.  We ended up with her legs kind of froggy style.

[Magnolia mama]

I have a 3 week old who is 10lbs 2oz. I use the moby and really like it other than the fact that there is so much fabric and we can get too hot if the weather heats up. I just bought the Ergo yesterday for the simple fact that it will stay with us as DS gets bigger and it is easier to put on and off. I have the heart to  heart infant insert and thought that DS was possibly too big for it. I am going to try taking out the cushion and using that and see how DS likes it. I was concerned as I was using it this afternoon because one of his legs was sticking out and the other was in froggie position. The last thing I want to do is use it incorrectly and harm my baby's development. DS seemed comfortable as he was content while awake and then eventually fell asleep on our walk.

[TiffanyToo]

You might check out the local baby wearing groups many offer lending libraries you might find a lighter weight wrap to use. BabywearingLA (find them on Facebook) has a meeting on Sunday 11:00AM to 1:00PM in Glendale at Nibley Park.

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143198772415757 

If baby is not well supported in the Ergo with the H2H insert a different carrier might be best for a young baby.

[Yuba_River]

It actually sounds fine to me--like going in the Ergo makes him feel safe and sleepy, he fusses to wind down all the way to sleep, and then conks out. My DS2 often did that at that age. As long as it's just his sleepy fuss, I wouldn't worry about it.


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[Nicole730]

As long as it's more of a fussy cry, he is probably just winding down for falling asleep or vocalizing about adjusting to the ergo and being on you.  If he was in pain or uncomfortable, it would be more obvious.

[Magnolia mama]

Originally Posted by TiffanyToo 

You might check out the local baby wearing groups many offer lending libraries you might find a lighter weight wrap to use. BabywearingLA (find them on Facebook) has a meeting on Sunday 11:00AM to 1:00PM in Glendale at Nibley Park.

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143198772415757 

If baby is not well supported in the Ergo with the H2H insert a different carrier might be best for a young baby.

Thank you for the resource. We are going to a babywearing 101 in Costa Mesa. I look forward to other options, especially one I can use to wear him around the house.