Baby carriers. Suggestions on what to get/avoid.

[SecretNortherner]

Looking for a baby carrier for my dc, he's 7 months and only 16lb, but we want a carrier that will last till he's bigger. I've tried a sling with him when he was a baby but not sure on getting one for him now he's older. Don't think he would be impressed with having to look at me all the time as he likes to have a good nosey at what's going on.
Does anyone have suggestions on what's good or even what to avoid.
Thanks.

Do you have a sling library or meet near you? I went to ours and was surprised by what suited us in the end, wasn't at all what I'd planned to buy.

I've been to the sling library when he was a new born and they had plenty of fabric slings. I was looking for more of a fixed carrier - the sort you can wear on your back? And that has the padded support in.

We used a Tula carrier with dd, both baby and toddler sized. Soooo comfy and she loved going on our backs. Highly recommend. Your local sling library should stock one, mine did

Ooh we loved our Tula(s), we had a baby and then toddler one. They are semi-structured carriers, soft slings with buckles. I tried an ergo and didn't like it. I also had a wrap sling (I forget the name) but that annoyed me because the straps were really long and dropped on the floor. I tried several at the sling library (worth a try) but the Tula won hands down.
I saw a camper one today. DD is 4 and hasn't needed to be carried for ages but oh it was so pretty, I wanted it!

We have an Ergo 360 for our now 10 month old and we LOVE it and recommend it to everyone.

I liked the Tula, ended up with a beco soleil, which is similar to the Tula but was a better fit on me. Hated the connecta and the ergo.

We've got a manduca as a small fabric carrier and the deuter kid comfort 2 as a big backpack one for walking up hills etc. Both are great.

I've had a variety, but the best for me when DD was 7 months was the Connecta. Really easy to get in and off, folds up very small in the bag when not in use, and it must have been comfortable as she slept in it often.

I've hired a connecta from my local sling library a few months ago for my daughter who was 9 months at the time? And only about 14lb and she loved it and I loved it so easy to use and comfortable. I haven't got round to buying one yet but will definitely be borrowing it again for our holiday to Cornwall next month :)

Most libraries will have a selection of soft structured carriers (ssc's) and other options like Mei tais alongside woven/stretchy wraps.

When we run sessions we don't tend to show parents with squishes the ssc options because they don't tend to fit so well so it's deff worth speaking to your library.

All the options mentioned by pps are good ones but they all fit differently

I loved my Mei tai with dd1 and I sleep bought a connecta the other night so hoping I like that as much. We had a baby bjorn more structured carrier but everyone got too hot in it and I found it hurt my back more than the Mei tai,