Great Carriers for Dads?

[praha]

I'm hoping that some of you will have some carrier ideas.

My husband is the stay-at-home parent for our 6-month-old daughter.  He and I both wear her a LOT in a ring sling, and we'd like to expand our repertoire.  We tried a Moby wrap when she was younger, but we're both larger and so it fit neither of us very well.

DD loves facing forward, but I am uncertain about doing it much longer in the sling.  She tries to stand up in it, and I'm worried about her hips, etc., as she gets bigger -- I know being scrunched up isn't a big deal for young babies, but she's simply getting too big to sit cross-legged facing out for much longer.

My husband literally walks miles every day with DD.  I wouldn't mind investing in a more expensive carrier if I was really confident in it, but it's tough to tell what will work for us.  And with that said, we get by on one income so I'd prefer an economical option.

So. . . .  Any ideas about a carrier that would fit some or all of these criteria?:

• Accommodates larger parents
• Is very easy to get in and out of -- my husband was VERY frustrated with the Moby
• Allows a forward-facing option, at least for a while
• Maybe a back-carry option?  I only used a sling with my older daughter, and never felt confident with a back carry.  I bet my husband would love a back carry option as little DD gets bigger.
• Works really well for fathers. . .   I figure I can keep using the sling for hip-carrying.  I would like to get something that'll help my husband parent in the long hours when I'm at work.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for any ideas.

[Adaline'sMama]

The Becco Gemini is the only carrier I know of that is really ergonomically safe to do a front facing carry. Maybe someone else knows more about that, but I'd steer clear of Baby Bjorns and carriers that are known to not be great for their hips.

DH LOVES our Boba soft structure carrier. Its super easy to take on and off, and he adores it. We have this one:

http://store.bobafamily.com/baby-carrier/

[loveandgarbage]

My DH loves the Ergo. I just looked up the specifications for how large it can go:

• Shoulder straps: Padded with 1” high-density premium foam, expanding from 24” to 45”
• Waist strap: Padded with 1/4” high-density EVA foam, expanding from 26” to 55”

Hope that helps! We both got good use out of the Ergo because it was so adjustable that we could both use it.

[dejagerw]

I have a Kindercarry that I like. They have a plus size option too. I don't believe you can face the baby forwards though. I thought I read facing out was not good to do in general. I also like my Ergo, but I'm not sure about if those fit bigger sized parents. My husband and wear our kids on our backs a lot. It's pretty easy with these two carriers once you get the hang of getting them on your backs. Once I went to carrying my kids on my back, I never went back to hip carry. It is just so much more comfortable to carry on my back. I sometimes do front carry though (facing in).
 

[katelove]

My husband's two favourite carriers are the Beco Gemini and his Bali Breeze wrap. He used the Beco forward-facing all the time when our first daughter was a baby. Her legs always seemed to be in a good position and she was very happy in it.

I tried it for a back carry a couple of times. It didn't work brilliantly for me but neither did any of our carriers because our daughter insisted on having her arms over the top of the straps so she never had enough back support. I think it would have been fine if not for that. It was certainly easy to get on and off.

I'm not sure how the sizing would work for you but you could check the website and see if the dimensions are on there.

[praha]

Thanks so much for all the ideas.  I'll look into all of those carriers.