[abigail_b]

Hi All,

I am pregnant with #2 and am trying to decide what to put on my baby wearing wishlist. I have an ellaroo ring sling (was never really able to use it), 2 mei tais (Kozy Carrier and Ellaroo), a hotsling (didn't work well for us) and a Ergo (love it). I never found anything that worked that well in the new born stage-- even once he was holding his head up the mei tais seemed to spread his legs too far apart. So I definitley want a wrap for the beginning this time- is the general consensus that the Moby is definitley the best newborn wrap?

Also, like I said, I love my Ergo. However, I see people raving about the Beco carriers. What are the differences between Ergo and Beco?

Thanks!!

 

[Quirky]

There are a number of stretchy wraps on the market -- as long as you don't go for the Ultimate Baby Wrap, which is awful, there are a lot of good brands. Moby, Sleepy Wrap, Hug-a-bub, Cuddly Wrap are all good and work well for newborns.

On the mei tai question -- were you trying to put baby in with legs out? The best way to use a MT in the newborn and early days is with legs froggied up, inside the carrier. With froggy legs a MT is one of my faves for a newborn. If you're feeling adventurous, you can also do a high back carry with a MT which is totally liberating -- see the Kozy website for some pix and instructions.

The biggest difference between the Beco and the Ergo is the built-in infant insert in the Beco, which means that you buckle baby into the carrier and then put it on as one piece rather than putting the carrier's hip belt on, putting baby in, and then finishing putting the body/shoulder straps of the carrier on.

The advantage of the Beco is that you can do an SSC back carry at an earlier age. (With a woven wrap or MT you can do the high back carry basically from birth.) Otherwise, you have to wait until more like five to six months til they have good trunk control. With dd2, I was able to get her up on my back in the Butterfly at 3 months, and I didn't start using the Ergo until more like 6 months.

The disadvantage of the Butterfly is that it adds an extra step, in that you always have to use the internal safety harness and can't just throw the baby in quickly and go.

They're also pretty different in fit -- I think the Ergo fits a wider range of people, and the Beco works better for women, especially women on the smaller side.

Quite honestly given all that you have, I don't think the Beco would add much functionality to your life. I'd definitely get the stretchy wrap and also focus on getting more out of your MTs, especially in the newborn stage.

If you are thinking about another buckle carrier, I'd recommend checking out the Pikkolo by Catbird Baby. It's a buckle carrier but it's more like a hybrid with a MT, and it has some pretty cool features that IMO make it work better for newborns/little babies than most traditional SSCs.

HTH!

 

[isabchi]

I vote for a Moby or any other strechy wrap. Although, I really love a maya ring sling for the first day with a newborn and high back carry with a MT.

 

[Rico'sAlice]

I prefer the GypsyMama BabyBali Stretch wraps to the Moby wrap. It is stretchy, but not quite as much as the Moby, so it is a bit more supportive.
I was really into wraps for the first 9mo or so (have been using a MT since) and have 4 or 5 different types. I'm not sure how far you live from me, but you can PM me if you'd like to come over and try them out.