Lille Baby Carrier (EveryWear Style)

We bought this carrier when I realized that our Baby Björn Carrier (Original) would not meet my needs anymore (or more specifically, those of my shoulders and back). I thought about getting the Ergo, but our son really liked to be forward-facing at this point so I knew I needed something else. Don't get me wrong, I love the Ergo. It is well made, sturdy and it is ergonomically as perfect as you can possibly get with a baby carrier. But, I knew my little man would be happier if he saw the world in front of him, so the Ergo was out.

I came across Lille Baby at Giggle and figured it must be worth looking into since Giggle actually sold it. 

The Lille Baby carrier is like the Ergo in many ways. It's ergonomically designed so the weight rests on your hips, not on your shoulders and back. You can comfortably carry your baby in it for very long stretches at a time. The difference with the Lille Baby is that you can carry your baby in 6 different positions, even on your hip with one strap going across your body! The carrier looks great, and I'm sure many improvements have been made since we bought ours "ages" ago as far as baby gear goes (which is about 2.5 years ago). For one, I'm noticing that the newer versions have better head/neck support for the baby, and the carrier looks even better than it did when we bought ours.

I guess it's hard to find a product that has all the things you want, without having a few things you don't want as well. This carrier is close to perfect and does many things, but the shoulder straps bothered me a little bit. The padding on the shoulder straps button onto the straps and ours seemed to get twisted sometimes. That, or they just became uneven because you need to re-button the pads with small, not so sturdy buttons depending on who carries the baby. It's just an extra step that I wish I didn't have to deal with. But this is probably a necessary feature so that the carrier can be used in all those 6 different ways. It's also not the easiest carrier to put on (just like the Ergo). If you are by yourself you may need to grow monkey arms to close it properly in the back... (It's doable, though!).

Another thing worth mentioning is that when I carried our daughter in this carrier in the forward facing position I noticed red marks on her legs where the sides of the carrier had been pressing on her legs. I don't think this is harmful and I'm sure it's because the baby's legs are a bit more spread out in this carrier forward facing than they are for example in the Baby Björn Carriers. There are buttons on the Lille Baby that make it narrower when forward facing, but she still got red marks.

All in all it's a great carrier for longer term that was designed by moms, dads and doctors and supposedly also a rock climber! Would I buy it again? It depends. Unlike my son, my daughter always seemed happier to be facing me, so with her I could probably have gotten by with the Ergo. But since the Lille Baby does all the things the Ergo does and more, this might still be my first choice

So, in my humble opinion...

Pros:

- Ergonomic, yet stylish.

- Unisex (although my husband definitely preferred to be walking around town with the ultra-sleek Baby Björn).

- 6 different positions to carry baby (including forward-facing after a certain age).

- Great for longer-term usage, longer stretches at a time.

Cons:

- Shoulder straps/pads could be sturdier (like the Ergo) and easier to use.

- Requires some finagling to put on and close with baby in it (same as Ergo).

- Baby sits a little bit too wide-legged for what I'm entirely comfortable with, but this product has supposedly been tested and evaluated by pediatricians, chiropractors, etc, so I trust them. (By the way, babies sit equally wide-legged in the Ergo).

www.lillebaby.com

BABY BJÖRN Baby Carrier (Original)

I love this baby carrier. I love how our babies fit snugly and safely in it from 9 lbs onward. And I love how this carrier looked on tired, old me. The Swedes were definitely onto something (as they usually are) when they designed this carrier. Not only does it look great on mommy and daddy (it actually makes both parents look better, ha!), but more importantly, it supports the baby's head and little body perfectly. It also doesn't spread the baby's legs too wide apart when they are little, so you don't need to be concerned about your little one's hips. 

And as your sweetie pie gets older you can use it forward facing as well. Add a cute little hat to your baby's bald head/smiley face and everyone will comment on how cute you two look, strolling around town.

I have one complaint, however. This particular design gets tough on your shoulders and back after a while. It's really great when your baby is small and doesn't weigh much. Or for short amounts of time. But already around 3 months I started having trouble with it. The more your baby weighs, the more you start slumping forward because there is no back support on this model. 

But then again, it's a tough call. Shoulder pain versus a great looking baby carrier? Call me vein, but I think I suffered at least a month too long before looking for another, longer-term option!

Baby Björn actually has an option to this carrier that looks equally great (at least almost as great). The Baby Björn Carrier Active has the lumbar support that most parents need to carry a baby for longer stretches at a time. I don't own this so I can't say much else about it than that I've been very tempted to buy it (but could not in good conscience spend another $100 on yet another carrier...). So without really testing it with my babes, I'd say this: if I was looking for a carrier for the first time now, I'd definitely look into the Baby Björn Active carrier as an option. If it has all the same qualities as the Original, while giving your back and shoulders a break, it's probably worth every penny. 

So in my humble opinion...

Pros:

- Easy to use.

- Snug and safe for baby.

- Beautiful, simple design.

- Definitely unisex - daddies don't feel self-conscious wearing their offspring in this carrier (I'd say the opposite!).

- Weighs next to nothing.

- Well made (truly premium quality).

- Comes with attachable burp bibs when your little drooler is in the forward facing position.

- Of course it is Swedish. Can't go wrong with that, eh?

Cons:

- Does not have the back support that the Baby Björn Carrier Active comes with.