Mei Tai's for a toddler

[toddlerhip]

Hi, can anyone recommend a good brand of Mei Tai, or other toddler carrying device (for round the house)? Or better still, some way to not have to carry them around without going insane for demands to be picked up (15 months).

Off the top of my head, what about a Toddlerhawk?

Available from www.snugglesnooze.co.uk
in the UK.

And www.babyhawk.com in the USA. But you will get stung on import duty.

THanks for these.

I got mine here but looks like they just had a baby so 5 week lead time.

you may also like to try a Kozy. they are generous sized carriers. If your toddler is not used to being carried in a MT yet, she may find that a Toddler-sized carrier does not allow her to be 'arms out'.

My 30lb 3yo likes to have her arms out so there has been no need to put her in a toddler sized meitai.

I have a meitai connecta which seems to work OK for DS (18 months). I also use a hippychick hipseat for round the house (I have a bad back and it really helps)

I've got Toddlerhawks, but they generally go from 18 months. My previous MeiTai was a FrontBackSides, and was lovely.

You can buy second hand on the UKBabyWearingSwap Yahoo group, which makes trying a few much more economical

I'm so thick! I thought a Mei Tai was a cocktail

I made one for ds in the end - based on the babyhawk - the babywearer site has loads of patterns & ideas. That way I could get exactly the size & shape that suited him (I've a selection of various carriers/slings & the one I made is definitely his favourite).

If only. My cocktail life seems so far away! Thanks for more ideas. There are some lovely designs on these. I did try to contact our local person in Perthshire through the sling site about trying some but haven't heard back. I've heard about mei tai's with buckles / clips which sound easier. Anyone know if these are the same a "soft carriers"?

They're normally called soft structured carriers I think.

I ordered two ToddlerHawks from the US recently (custom made with minkee lining and pocket) for the same price as the off-the-shelf ones in the UK. I didn't get charged for import tax. Maybe I was lucky, or maybe it's because I paid for a faster delivery option.

Anyway - they are utterly brilliant. We have used them for several 3-4 hour walks (with a break for lunch), and even DD (3.5) had a nap while she was in it (she stopped napping at about 22 months!).

Connecta or Zidee Pod work for us. Both have particularly high resale value (especially if you pick a gender neutral print) too.

Very good point re the gender neutral print!

He would go crazy if his arms weren't free - so is a mei tai not the thing then?

if he wants his arms free, get a baby-size one rather than a toddlersize one.

Dd is 3 yo, about a meter tall and approaching 2.5 stones. she is very happy in a baby sized mei tai because her arms are out.

You can roll the bottom up if they want their arms out. We need the extra height for when DS decides to nap, but do hoik him up in it too when I know he'll be awake.

I used an Ergo when DS got too big for the hugabub.

I Love mei tai's, especially Babyhawk ones.
I have a toddlerhawk for my lo but she spends most of her time in the Babyhawk cos she likes her arms out and she's 22 months.
You could hire one from www.slingjax.co.uk the rates are reasonable and you can have a little play around. It's not easy finding the right carrier, I tried so many before I settled on the Mei Tai. There are quite a few with buckles, the Ergo is quite big but, others like, the angelpack LX and Beco aren't too bulky.

HTH

Andrea :-)

My favourite Mei Tai's are Kozy's and Ball Baby Overall's.