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I knew months before I gave birth that I wanted to babywear, mostly because it seemed like a great way to be able to get stuff done around the house while bonding with baby! I ended up wearing her a LOT. I would wear her at Target, on walks around the neighborhood, I’d even wear her when she was fighting a nap! I’d just have to bounce a little and she would sleep for literally hours. It was glorious. At first I only had one kind of carrier, the wrap style, but it quickly became clear that wasn’t always the best. So, I ended up buying a second kind of cloth carrier, and when she was 2.5 months old my mom bought us an Ergo baby, which is a structured carrier! There’s a few carriers out there that I never ended up trying, like a ring sling, so I can’t speak to ease of use and comfort on those, but I hope this little review helps you decide which type is right for you!
First off, Boba is not the only brand of wrap carrier, it just happens to be the one that I have. I know there’s also the Solly, and I would think they’d be pretty similar but this is just geared toward the Boba since that’s what I was working with.
Firstly, I loved the snugness of the wrap. Once you got the actual wrapping technique down, it was a really comfortable way to babywear. Kelsi always felt really secure, and the weight distribution is great thanks to the wideness of the wrap! I only used it for inward facing wearing, I never tried any other way because she’s a small baby (less than 15lbs the whole time I used the Boba wrap with her). Sometimes, this was the only way I could get her to nap in those first three months, and even a few times between 3 and 6 months I had the put it on for her to get a good snooze!
A wrap is definitely something you need to learn how to use, I practiced tying it a lot the day I got it before I was able to get it tight enough without any help. There’s a few different ways to wear baby in a wrap, but forward facing isn’t one of them. After a month, I bought a different cloth carrier and I exclusively used the Boba at home because whenever I would use it while wearing a shirt, it always pulled my shirt up so my back and belly were showing, which is just because of the way you have to wrap it. So I would recommend a wrap carrier for the house so you don’t have to wear a shirt.
The Baby Ktan carrier was really intriguing to me, because its like a wrap but you don’t actually have to wrap and tie it It’s two loops of extremely soft fabric and the tie-on piece to secure baby, so it’s a lot less to deal with than a wrap, but still provides the comfort of a wrap for you and baby. This is the carrier I kept in my car for when I would go to the grocery store or Target. It doesn’t take nearly as long to put on, and goes over shirts a lot easier. There’s also a LOT of different ways you can wear your baby with the Ktan, including forward facing!
The downside is that it isn’t a one-size-fits-all, so if anyone else wants to babywear (like your spouse or parents), they would either have to be the same size as you or have a different way to wear baby. It also stretches out after multiple uses, so you do have to wash it to shrink it back to being snug. But, that’s a small price to pay for a cloth carrier that, in my opinion, is easier to use and is more versatile than a wrap.
A structured carrier is a game changer. Justin didn’t babywear until we got the Ergo Baby, and he loves it now! The reason we went with the 360 is because it can be used for children up to 2 years! It’s super easy to adjust to different wearers as well. I love that you can forward face or inward face baby, and if baby falls asleep (they should only sleep while inward facing) it has a neck support you can pop up to keep their head in place! It also has a little cover attached so that if it’s raining you can keep baby’s head dry! The ergo baby is also great for wearing your little one on your back, something you can’t do with a wrap or Baby Ktan.
All in all, having different kinds of carriers has been super convenient. If I had to do it over, I would get the Boba wrap and the Ergo from the start, and possibly skip the Baby Ktan altogether. The Boba is my favorite to wear at home, and is really comfortable to wear for long periods of time, while the Ergo is the easiest to get baby in and out of, as well as the quickest and easiest one to get on in public. I hope this helps you decide which carrier is right for you and your situation, baby wearing has been one of my favorite ways to bond with my girl!
Karli Bri 