Fat & Fabulous: Baby Wearing

Maybe you've heard the term "baby wearing"? There are lots of different options when it comes to baby wearing, and I'd like to share my journey to finding the carrier that's right for me and my baby :)

OK... Baby Wearing? I thought that too when I first heard the term, but after experiencing it first hand I can't gush enough about it! I'm a mother of three, so you can imagine I've tried several carriers, and in the early days the ones I tried were wretched! The straps dug into my shoulders and hips, and my babies never seemed to be very comfortable. Recently my best friend had a baby, and she really got into this "baby wearing", and I have to admit at first I was like jigga what? I decided to do some investigating myself, and I discovered this whole new world of baby carriers! Wraps, slings...Boba's, Beco's and Ergo's OH MY! How is a mommy to decide which one of the carriers is right for her and her baby? Well for me trial and error, my size, and what I wanted from a carrier were really what it boiled down to. I checked out reviews and of course badgered my best friend to bits about her carriers lol. I eventually decided to get a Moby wrap. I chose the UV Moby in Turquoise- mostly because the color and mostly because the girl on the website wearing that wrap has bleach blond hair and tattoos, like me :). I had read such good reviews about the Moby. All the owners went on and on about how comfortable the Moby is and how easy it was for them to figure out. There were thin and thick women raving about this wrap, so I decided it was the right one for us. I finally decided to order one, and it promptly came in the mail. I was pleasantly surprised that it fit me so well, and how comfortable it was for me. I will say that assembling this fabric, which is like wrangling a king sized sheet, is so hard and pretty embarrassing when you're out in public trying to swaddle yourself into it. Once you finally lace yourself into this anaconda they call a Moby Wrap you have to then carefully place your baby into the fabric. It is a challenge to adjust the baby in this fabric, and as you wear it the fabric stretches out a bit, so it seems you're constantly adjusting your baby. I have also read reviews that it's "easy to nurse" in this wrap...well not for us. I'd say it was because my lady lumps are more like mountains. I had used the Moby around the house a few times to get the hang of it, and while it was really comfortable, we never wore it for too long. I finally decided to try it out at the mall. I don't know if it was the titanic sized fabric, the fact that my older children both had to use the bathroom, or the fact that my four year old was galloping around the men's department whilst I tried to Cirque De Soleil my body into this "thang", but it took forever lol. By the time we were "in" the first 30 min. or so seemed ok. After that I started to sweat a bit under all the fabric, and I had to begin adjusting my baby. We were at the mall for a couple hours, and for the majority of the trip I carried my baby in this wrap. Overall though I didn't like the experience, and I didn't feel like there was enough support with the fabric, and would have preferred it not stretch like that. I don't see how it could hold a toddler very comfortably. I told my best friend about my experience with my Moby, and she began telling me how she loved her Mei Tei wrap by Infantino. Super cute, super functional, and a lot easier than a wrap. She began to tell me though that she planned on purchasing a Boba, and of course I drilled her on that carrier as well. Later that night I CSI'd the crap out of google about the Mei Tei and the Boba, and somehow came across the Beco Gemini. I searched the Ergo, the Baby Bjorn, and countless other carriers, and FINALLY reached the decision that the Beco Gemini would most definitely be the right carrier for us (not to mention the AMAZING prints it comes in!). These carriers may seem kind of pricey, but they are WELL worth every penny. They're so sturdy and made so well. Being a bargain hunter I couldn't resist trying to find a coupon code or something, so I enlisted the help of my wing man- Google, and I found out about this awesome website: www.frogmama.com. She has TONS of brand new and used Beco Gemini's for sale...EVEN IN RETIRED PRINTS! The moral of the story is when choosing a carrier read every review you can find, drill the pants off your "baby wearing" friends, and if you have to, try them out yourself! You will find one that's perfect for you and your baby :)