Back carry

[Kaydove]

When can babies safely start being carried on the back with an Ergo? My DD is 3 months and has great neck control. She can roll over both ways. 2 months she was 12 lbs, so not sure what she weighs now.
Shes not fond of the Ergo, even though we were able to breastfeed in it and hates the Seven sling. She always tries to look behind her and all around so I thought that maybe a back carrier would work better. Thanks!

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

[Choose2Reuse]

I think if the baby's head support is good, and they can sit in the Ergo without the infant insert thingy (so can straddle you), you can try the back carry, though it's kinda tricksy to get into.  My DD is quite tall and had good head support, so I tried it once around 3-4 months.  I wasn't super fond of it (still not) because I can't see her, and she won't go to sleep in the back carry like she will if we walk with her in the front carry, but it was fun for a change.  But keep in mind...she won't be able to see over your shoulders so it's not quite as super-fun as you'd think a back carry would be.

For a long time my DD would only like the Ergo if we were going for a long walk (so she'd settle down and go to sleep after a while), and she'd crane herself backwards.  Even now if we're walking, she'll flop one arm out so she can twist around and look.  She was most unhappy in the Ergo (except when asleep) around 3-5 months, when she was too small to do the arm-out-and-twist-around trick.

My solution was to buy a ring sling and carry her on my hip for short jaunts.  She was light enough that the weight didn't bother me very fast, and she got to see all around while still being snuggled up to me.  We still do this for trips to the store, etc. but she's starting to get heavy (she's 9 months now) so I no longer carry her for super long stretches on my hip. :)  But it's fine for 30 min, easily.

My sling is from sleeping baby productions, cost about $50 (we have the linen one) and has been an absolute lifesaver in lines and on planes, though we still use the Ergo the most!  (Sling for jaunts, errands and around the house; ergo for walks!)
 

[clovergirl]

At that age, the only carrier I'd recommend for a (high) back carry would be a woven wrap.  Or maybe a mei tai, but you would have to find one that your DD would fit in with her legs out of the body/seat.  A woven wrap will give you a lot of back carry options, but honestly, it can be the trickiest carrier to get a hang of, especially for back carries.  I like to say you have to really want it, if you know what I mean!  It's usually well worth the effort for most people though.

The previous poster brought up another good option, which would be a hip carry.  Most babies love the view from one your hip and it's usually much easier to get the hang of than a back carry with a younger baby.  You could try it with the pouch you have now (Seven Sling), but depending on the sizing it may not work as well/be quite as secure as what you could achieve with a ring sling.  Sleeping Baby Production slings are great, but can be hard to get these days as Jan's work is super popular!  A single layer Pure linen from Sakura Bloom would be another good option (nice and lightweight for the summer!).  I like Kalea Baby ring slings too and she has several in-stock right now.

Good luck finding something that works!