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Baby wearing is an amazing way to get more than one thing done at once. I love baby wearing. My daughter never wanted to be set down as an infant, so baby wearing was a huge blessing. I ended up trying a wrap, ring sling, and carrier in the process. There are some definite pros and cons to each of them, so here’s a comparison of all three.
Baby Wearing with a Wrap
I was given a hand-me-down Moby wrap which I used when my daughter was first born. The Moby wrap is a long piece of semi-stretchy fabric. You tie the wrap around you in such a way that baby can be slipped right in and carried around.
I am specifically reviewing the Moby Classic wrap.
The Specs:
Weight Limit – The Moby Classic is rated for up to 33 pounds.
Ease of Use – After you learn the basic tie, a wrap is pretty easy to use. It just takes a minute to get the wrap on.
Comfort – The Moby wrap and other wraps feature a cross back structure once tied. This makes for a very comfortable carry because the weight is spread out evenly across your whole back and shoulders. The Moby wrap is made of a thick fabric. I personally found the fabric to be a bit too thick causing me to overheat while wearing the wrap and my baby. The fabric may have changed since then, but I’m unsure.
Style – The Moby wrap has a nice look to it. By design, it has a fairly sleek appearance. The Moby wrap has several color options to suit your preferences and wardrobe.
Carrying Modes – The Moby wrap is designed to carry babies on the front of your body facing you.
Personal Opinion – One of the biggest cons to me about wraps is you can’t easily put them on in a public place without the long tails dragging the floor or ground. A solution is to simply keep the wrap on and put baby in and out. However, the Moby wrap was too thick in my opinion to just leave on. I think a lighter weight wrap should solve that problem. Wraps are amazingly cuddly cozy for newborns and comfortable for mom, too.
Baby Wearing with a Ring Sling
Thinking a ring sling was the answer to the “tail-dragging” problem mentioned above, I asked for a ring sling for my birthday when my daughter was one month old. Ring slings are a long piece of fabric that is sewn to a set of rings. You can make your sling by running the fabric tail in and out of the rings. The sling is placed over your head and arm crossbody style, and your baby sits in the sling.
I am specifically reviewing a Nalakai ring sling (formerly Pura Vida).
The Specs:
Weight Limit – The Nalakai ring sling can safely carry up to 35 pounds.
Ease of Use – Ring slings have a steep learning curve. Getting the fit and placement just right can be a challenge.
Comfort – Because the weight is carried mostly on one shoulder, ring slings are not the most comfortable long term. A lot of women seem to find ring slings comfortable, but, unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for me. Also, I never felt my baby was completely secure in the ring sling, despite MANY troubleshooting videos.
On the plus side, the bamboo and linen material used by Nalakai is very soft and breathable.
Style – Ring slings are (what I would consider) very stylish. Of course, style is a personal preference, but there are a lot of color options to choose from.
Carrying Modes – Ring slings can be used in a front-carry, inward-facing position or with a hip carry.
Baby Wearing with a Carrier
Baby carriers are usually a fairly easy-to-use system. Many, not all, have a hip belt and two shoulder straps, much like a backpack. Often, carriers use buckles to snap everything into place.
I am specifically reviewing a Lillebaby Complete Airflow.
The Specs:
Weight Limit – The Lillebaby carrier can be used from 7 to 45 pounds.
Ease of Use – The Lillebaby carrier is very easy to use. The straps can be adjusted to your size the first time, and then you just slip it on after that. The Lillebaby carrier makes it very simple to place your baby or toddler in an ergonomic “M” position.
Comfort – The Lillebaby has a lumbar support that makes the comfort top-notch. The shoulder straps are padded and soft. The Lillebaby Airflow is made with 3D mesh that helps prevent mom and baby from getting overheated.
Style – The Lillebaby carrier has more of a backpack style appearance. I think it looks bulky, but it actually feels comfy. A plus, sometimes dads prefer using this style over wraps or slings due to appearance.
Carrying Modes – The Lillebaby carrier features six different carrying modes:
- Inward facing with legs in
- Inward facing with legs out (infant setting)
- Forward facing
- Inward facing with legs out (toddler setting)
- Hip carry
- Back carry
Numbers 2 and 4 are the same style position. The Lillebaby has an adjustable seat (two different options) for smaller babies with shorter legs and bigger babies or toddlers with longer legs. You use the narrow seat until your child’s legs are long enough to bend freely in the wide seat position. This doesn’t require an extra insert or anything. The seat position is easily adjustable with snaps.
We use the inward facing position 99% of the time (the other 1% is backpack carry).
If I Could Choose Only One
If I had to pick one baby wearing device to use from infant to toddlerhood, I would easily pick the Lillebaby carrier. The Lillebaby really excels from 1 month old and up. It’s just not quite as cozy for a newborn, but it absolutely still works.
In fact, I recently carried my sleeping one-year old around the store in the Lillebaby for at least an hour with no back pain/discomfort at all. And, I’m almost in my third trimester. That’s amazing!
In the end, different people have different priorities. I really hope this review was helpful to you in some way.
If you have any questions about wraps, ring slings, or carriers, drop them below! Don’t forget to save this article for future reference.
