Baby carrier/sling for 3 months onwards

[Smilewearingthin]

I have studied various website that offer help in choosing baby slings/carriers and am now totally confused

I am currently carrying my two month old son in a Wilkinet, which I really like. I used for my first two children too. So far so good. Except that I stopped using it for both the previous children at three months or so and I'd like to use it for longer with number three (as our lives are much busier!). I stopped using it at three months because the head support seemed inadequate. The wilkinet was fine when they were awake, facing out and enjoying looking at the world. But, when I wanted them to sleep, I felt the Wilkinet didn't work well.

Any recommendations for slings/carriers that will take me up to 12 months, that won't give me chronic back ache and that will be good both when the child is awake and asleep?

Or am I asking for too much?!

How about a mei tai if you are used to a wilkinet? They will go until your little one doesnt want to be carried anymore. That or a soft structured carrier.
check out
www.slingjax.co.uk

Definitely a mei tai. The wilkinet looks like it is a tie strap one, so something like a babyhawk (which I love, and currently have a toddlerhawk for my large 1 year old - I could have kept going with the babyhawk for a bit longer though)

I'm not sure about the head support issue, as I (now) always wear DS facing inwards (I don't think the facing out positions give the right back/hip support - legs not in the froggy position, but there's lots of contention about this). Anyway, he falls asleep with his head on my chest so its always supported!

If your baby is on the big side, get extra long straps as it gives you more options about how to tie the mei tai - you can tie in different ways to put the weight emphasis on different bits of your body

If you want to get pedantic a Wilkinet is actually the same design as an onbuhimo, but with an extremely small body and soft rings. Onbus are much rarer than mei tais though, so I would go with what the others have suggested if you want to get a broadly similar carrier. You can get onbuhimos with a bigger body which will give you more head support but you would need to go secondhand. Last time I checked, no-one stocks them as a new carrier in this country.

Carrying baby facing out is much less ergonomic for you (because the weight of baby's legs drag and the bottom throws baby's weight forward on your shoulders) and, as Chairmummiaow points out, may be less ergonomic for your baby. I've always carried babies facing in too - they can see pretty well this way in a good carrier (Wilki is designed to allow a face out position and therefore its face in position is more restrictive of baby's view.

A "soft structured carrier" such as Ergo, Beco Patapum or Yamo has a lift up head support for sleeping babies. I have the Ergo and the Yamo and they both work pretty well (Ergo is a hood, Yamo is a flap. I preferred the Ergo's hood because it gives wind protection in wild conditions but it depends on what the baby will tolerate) There is, I think, a soft structured carrier called the Pikkolo which does have a specifically designed face out position (you cinch the fabric in at the base to give more legroom)

HTH a bit

Thank you all so much for your fantastic comments and tips. The mei tai was one of the ones I was moving towards so I shall look into this (and variations) more thoroughly. Thanks again for all your help.

I'll just add my voice to the Mei Tai suggesters - I still carry my 2.8 year old in one and it's perfectly comfortable. There's pics on my profile of DS in my ToddlerHawk and TaiTasi

ah but an ergo has buckles and a mei tai only ties. Plus there are fundamental differences in body shape and design.