Curious - why don't more people use baby carriers?

[togarama]

I'm increasingly curious about this and just wondered if others on MN could shed some light on their choice of buggy Vs carrier (or both).

I don't know many other parents IRL and those I do come into contact with are often so obviously negative about baby carriers that I don't think I would gain anything other than a sore ear from asking them....

We've always used slings, wraps and other carriers with 20 month old DD because they're comfortable (for us and baby), convenient (especially since they leave your hands free) and fit our lifestyle. We walk a lot, like to be spontaneous and don't want to have to think about buggy access / stair problems every time we leave the house. I also travel a lot by train and tube and can't even begin to imagine the hassle of trying to cart a pram or buggy around the public transport system.

However, I'm always very conscious when with other parents (e.g. dropping DD at nursery and being stared at...) that we're very much in a minority and I don't really understand why. Carriers just seem to have so many advantages and appear much more logical for commuting and city living. But buggies are somehow still the choice of the majority.

Why is this?

i can assure you i have never had a problem sitting down and eating coffee and cake with my baby in a sling! just put a napkin on their head

I also think that the buggy is a cosy, warm option in bad weather. Umbrellas may have been invented but in my experience they are not great at keeping you completely dry in windy, wet weather.

I don't think the Ergo is the best of all the soft structured carriers though TBH. I like the Patapum or Boba for toddlers (9 months or so upwards) and for smaller babies I don't really know as I didn't use a soft structured carrier at that point, but I don't know, the Ergo just doesn't look that well suited to either toddlers or newborns. I think they tried to compromise too much and lost out with both age groups. Soft structured carriers work better when targeted at a particular age range, I think.

It's miles better than a baby bjorn/tomy/etc type carrier though, you are right. :)

When it's windy/cold/wet though you can just wear a coat over both of you.

Actually that is a good point juule. Some of my happiest memories are of looking down at both of the boys and smiling at them as we walk along.

Absolutely nothing wrong with wearing slings, I can see the advantage and babies generally seem to like them. I do sometimes feel that it is another one of those things to beat mothers up about.

A combination of a water resistant fleece wrap and DH's jacket kept my neborn snug, in the worst of the Scottish winter.

I always worried that she would get cold in a pram, even in a snow suit, but wrapped up against my body she was definitely completely dry and warm.

I didn't have a coat that big and when I word dh's the rain trickled in unless I completely closed the coat up and then I worried about it getting a bit stifling for the baby in there.

Thisisyesterday - mine bloody woke up. And I just couldn't get comfortable. Was also worried about spilling hot drinks on them. And it was nice for me not to have a baby attached all the time. I could relax more, and not be worried that a sudden movement would wake them. Also, wouldn't want to go to loo with baby strapped to me. And agree re cosiness and dryness of a pram.

I prefer to carry my baby next to me rather than have them at arms length in a pushchair. I love the closeness and the sense of security it gives me, and no doubt my babies.

I think some people have very large clothes, with very big pockets!

(see the competitive parents have arrived)

Can we stick to the pros and cons of our particular lives and not bring in the value- statements and judginess please?

'at arms length' is quite aggravating - its basically saying that you love your babies more and show this by 'babywearing' grr.

I don't want to beat anyone up over it! If you don't like them fair enough - but if the only reason someone doesn't like them is because they found it uncomfortable, it's likely that they were using the wrong kind for them and the age of their baby, or didn't have it tied high/tight enough. (Medical issues aside of course). I think it's worth sharing information about it in case someone did want to try but was put off by a perfectly solveable problem.

"...I do sometimes feel that it is another one of those things to beat mothers up about."

How? I don't think anyone cares if you don't use them, it is just easy.

Lol CCF.

It was just a matter of time.

"rain: the umbrella has been invented already"

With a pram the rain-cover is already attached or stowed underneath, if using a sling, having to carry an umbrella defeats the purpose of it for me, which is to be hands free. In September nb was in a sling but given the amount of rain we've had he's now in the pram on the school run.

Really like the Ergo (can they be forward facing in it when strapped to your front?), it really isn't much more than the BB we bought and if buying from scratch that's the one we should have got, but, as another poster has said, don't think could justify the additional £90 outlay in case it didn't suit.

Huge boobs

Too hot

Back ache

Unfortunate propensity to fall over everywhere I go.

I have absolutely no objections in principle (quite the opposite) but have not managed to make friends with slings.

I have another theory, when I used a wrap, I was stopped several times by elderly people who said how lovely it was to see it, and that used be the way all babies were carried about.

I wonder is there some slight stigma to it - as in, she's tied her baby to her because she can't afford a pram?

Many of us do and have done both. Both were great for different reasons at different times.

Different people have different circumstances and different needs at different times.

There is NO one size fits all with babies.

Sling smugness turns me right off MN.

I used a baby bjorn occasionally until they were about 6 months - then they got too heavy. They're not great with the cecond child, if you've got to bend down to tie shoelaces etc baby can fall out.
They're also no good for restaurants and cafes as you've got no where to put them and risk dropping hot coffee on heads!

Both of mine hated the sling

We used a back carrier for Matthew until he was one, but I find it impossible to get on and off without some help, so its impractical unless DH is around.

It does spoil the look of your outfit a bit too

i stil lcarry dd4 at 23months old. i am 6.5months pregnant. its a lot easier to cary her than push a buggy. as she has got older and i have gotton more pregnant i have changed what carriers i prefer. i dont carry her on my front atm, but back carry instead. i prefer wrapping over the top of the bump, or carriers that can be tied just below the bust.

8months old

13months old

19months old

22 months old

23months old

DieDieDieDiNARGGHHHRod: SO what are recommended makes once they get a bit bigger?

Ergos are very popular and very good (very envious to see that another poster managed to get one second-hand for £45 - they're very rarely available at this price). Any kind of woven cotton/linen wrap (Ellaroo, Didymos, Storchenwiege etc..). Becos and mei tais are also popular choices for toddlers. All of these are non-stretchy and distribute weight across hips and back for maximum comfort. www.thebabywearer.com is a good resource for reviews and guidance.

Re the comments on expense and the need to try several carriers: there's a very good UK Yahoo group for buying/swapping second-hand and discounted carriers. It's a good way to try out new carriers at low cost. If you take care of them you can sell them on for a good price.

Wow - lots of people love to shop! I suppose that I don't like trawling round with lots of stuff and don't regard shopping as fun. I would much rather use internet delivery than trolly shopping around on a pram.

Someone asked about carrying nappies etc.. with a sling. I have a mini daysack that carries everything we need for changing. I put it on my back when DD is on my front. It also cleverly attaches to the Ergo carrier if she's on my back. It's all so small and light that I certainly don't feel like a donkey! Some friends have commented that their handbags are much bigger and heavier than my baby bag... I would feel much more weighed down if I had to wheel a buggy around everywhere.

Lovely photos misdee

Zombi- Was not intended as an aggravating statement, just how it feels to me. They feel at arms length bcasue they are and I prefer them much closer.

At the end of the day there is no right or wrong way to transport your baby, there are benefits and drawbacks to both types. I have used both prams/pushchairs and slings and I still do, it depends on a variety of things. As I am now 6 mths pregnant there is no way I could carry my 2yr old in a sling so it's a buggy all the way. I just feel that there is no better feeling in the world than having your little baby snuggled up securely against your body. Soemthing you don't get with a pram.