Natural Nursery Blog

Ergo baby carrier – ERGObaby makes baby carriers that are suitable from birth to toddlers. The soft structured carriers can be used on your front, on your back or on your hips. They come in a range of fashionable colours with matching accessories. The infant insert allows you to adapt this baby backpack for a newborn.

Fleece – a baby sling can be made of various fabric, and fleece is a lovely option. It is soft, durable, has just the required ’stretchiness’ to snuggle and support your baby. It is easy to wash, doesn’t even need to be tumble dried and will protect your baby from the weather.

Forward Facing – Many parents like carrying their baby facing forward i.e. facing away from the mother. Many baby sling manufacturers recommend that this forward facing position not be used at all or be used for short periods of time.
When the child is placed facing forward, his spine is curved back, putting pressure on his lower back, and leaving the weight of the head resting on his spine. Babies’ spine is still too fragile to hold the weight of their head, especially if you’re planning to carry for longer periods of time. It also means that the child has no contact with his mother. He takes the world full on without having mum’s reassuring voice, heartbeat and scent to help him ‘interpret’ what’s going on.

Frog position – The child’s optimum position in a baby sling is often referred to as being in a frog-like position. This is the position that allows his spine to develop harmoniously.
His back should be curved forward, his head able to rest on your chest or on your back if he falls asleep. His legs should be wide apart, slightly flexed and the knees higher than his bottom. Try squatting and resting your bottom on your heels, that’s pretty much the position you’re aiming for your baby.

Liz contacted us about her Ergo baby carrier. Her 8-month old arches his back and leans back when he is in the baby carrier. She was concerned about his comfort. She tried loosening the baby backpack to give him more room but it made babywearing uncomfortable for herself.

Here are a few pointers to use your Ergo baby carrier comfortably.

As a general rule, babies need to be well supported in slings, so although the idea of freedom is great, it can lead to problems as the baby can move too much and as you say makes it hard to carry. Baby should be held snug against yourself.

When you are carrying on your back, at 8 months the best position for the arms is under the straps. This will depend upon each baby/parent but we have found that the vast majority of parents carrying on the back at this stage found that this is the best position for the arms.

It is worth checking how tight the shoulder straps are: the toggle that goes underneath your arms, rather than the chest strap. If this strap is too loose, it could lead to the baby not being as supported as they need to be.

When you place the baby in the Ergo baby carrier, make sure that the baby is seated well at the bottom of the carrier. If need be, ask an adult to grab the top edge of the carrier and pull on it as you bounce gently. This will make sure that the child is deeply seated in the carrier and has as much fabric as possible supporting his back.

As with any baby sling, the baby’s legs should be flexed and wide apart, almost resting on your hips.

Many parents find that a few sessions with an osteopath or a cranial osteopath also greatly helped their child settle in the baby carrier.

“It took me a few tries to adjust my Ergo baby carrier. I experimented with tightening each straps, loosening them, moving the chest strap higher or lower, moving the hip belt higher on my waist or lower on my hips. Once I had found what worked for me, it was incredibly comfortable. I could carry my son for hours without any ache. It was worth experimenting what worked for me”, says Ann.

Here are a few tips. Don’t hesitate to let us know if you have more questions. Are you an experienced ‘babywearer’ with advice for other parents? Get in touch with us, we’d love to hear from you.

Ergo Sport Baby Carrier

We get lots of calls asking what is so different about the Ergo Sport so I thought it would be a good idea to put some of the differences down on paper:

General Features and Benefits

The Ergo Sport is designed for fathers and male carriers – it still has all the features and functions of the Ergo New Generation II but is cut slightly larger to accommodate a male frame and looks more rugged.

Fabric

The Sport is made from a 35% cotton/65% polyester blend designed to have a slight wicking to help keep babywearers more comfortable.  This fabric is lighter and more breathable.  The fabric also feels soft to the touch.

The New Gen II is made from 100% cotton with 100% cotton poplin lining (both SKAL certified organic in the case of the organic Ergos). 

Sizing

The Sport’s waist strap can be extended an extra 5”, so fits from 30 inches to a maximum of 48 inches.

The Sport’s shoulder straps extend an extra 4”, so it will fit 5′ to 6.5′ body height.

The New Gen II has a waist belt circumference of 25″ to 43″ and the shoulder straps will adjust to fit from 5′ to 6′5″ body height but we would suggest that those over 6’ would be more comfortable with the Sport.

Design

The Sport has a vent to provide added breathability to keep both baby and parent cooler and more comfortable.

The Sport is available in black with feature white stitching making an urban, rugged looking sling.

Sleeping Hood

The Sport’s hood can be completely removed and stored in the built-in pocket.

The New Gen II sleep hood is fixed to the babycarrier and can be tucked into the pocket when not in use.

Carry positions

Both baby carriers can be used in the front, back and hip positions, for babies from birth up to 18kgs.  Both carriers support the spread squat position being the correct sitting position for the baby’s hip, pelvis and spine growth and does not allow the baby to hang from the crotch.

Both slings distributes weight to the carrier’s hips and shoulders giving a more comfort carrying experience.

Back Pocket

On the Sport, the zippered pocket has been removed and instead there is a poppered pocket to store the sleep hood when it is not in use.

The New Gen II has a side zippered pocket to store small items in and an open top pocket to keep the sleeping hood tidy when not is use.

Can they be used by male and female carriers?

Absolutely, both carriers are designed to be used by both sexes.

Personal thoughts

I haven’t actually used the Ergo Sport as I am barely 5’ 2” and my daughter is sadly too big to be carrier now but I did use the New Gen 4 or 5 times a week until she was 4 1/2 years old.  I can say that the new fabric on for the Sport is lovely and soft, it looks really hard wearing and my husband would have jumped at the chance to have one.

How about an Ergo Sport baby carrier for the Daddy who has everything?  The Ergo is the carrier that I used with my daughter – I don’t drive so I carried her until she was 4 1/2 years old – it is truly great.

The Ergo Sport has been redesigned with daddy in mind – it looks more urban, has longer straps and a sleeker fabric.

And to make it even better, we have just reduced the price and you get FREE delivery plus a free gift too.

All in all, a great Father’s Day present.