Ergo Baby Carrier; Our Top Essential Gear

Other than the obvious things like diapers and baby bottles, there are a few other things that we have purchased that might be considered convenience items that really are “essential” gear. The number one thing in that category are the Ergo Baby carriers that we purchased and use on a daily basis.

Before we bought our Ergos we looked at Baby Bjorn carriers. My Sweetheart liked the Baby Bjorns because our inquisitive little ones could look outward from their perch in the carrier. Whereas the Bjorns have the baby looking outward, or forward from their perch in the carrier, the Ergos carriers have the baby facing into your chest when on your front or into your shoulder blades when on your back.

However, the choice of having the carrier on your front or back was the deciding factor that made us decide on the Ergo carriers.

We have used our Ergos virtually every day. In the morning when I head out to walk the dog  I quickly slip on the Ergo carrier and plunk one of the girls into it. I find it quick and easy to use when I have the little one on my chest. I can reach around behind myself and do the snaps up that hold the baby on my chest. Which reminds me that when we were  looking for our Ergos we went to the Ergo website where there was a prominent warning about counterfeit Ergos being sold on Craigslist.

I did not think much of that warning until I was using the Ergo on a daily basis. Once your little one is in the carrier you have to be able to trust that the snaps that they have used will hold. If you are buying a counterfeit Ergo then you better be sure that the parts that were used are top quality. Counterfeiters have no worry about losing the value of their name whereas the real makers of things do have that concern. Therefore, counterfeiters may cut corners in their manufacturing processes. Just be sure you trust the product that you are buying. We chose to buy our Ergos new because of the value of the cargo they are carrying.

When we first had the Ergo carriers our girls were so small that they virtually disappeared inside the carriers. To fix this we got the infant carrier insert. It made the Ergo functional for our little ones even when they were itty-bitty babies. Once they grew out of the  infant inserts we just used the carriers without the inserts.

Now that our girls are over twenty pounds it is more comfortable to use the carriers on our backs. When we do this, both girls like to lean way out to the side and watch what is going on in front of us. It feels sort of weird to have them lean out at first but you get used to it once you realize that they are safely inside the carrier. I still find it difficult to put the baby in the carrier when it is on my back. I get my Sweetheart to help me put the baby on my back although she is able sling a baby onto her back with no problem.

The best part of the Ergos is that if you are going anywhere crowded they are ever-so-handy. We spend many weekends at Granville Island and while we love our Mountain Buggy, the Ergos are the ONLY way to travel at places like Granville Island. When we went to San Diego we did not even take a stroller. We “wore” the girls in the Ergos the entire trip. It made us so much more maneuverable.

We expect to get many more months of service out of the Ergos because you can carry a child up to forty pounds in the Ergo. I’m not sure my Sweetheart would want to carry a forty pound baby but I see it as a form of dry-land training for myself.

To us, the Ergo Baby carriers have been a wonderful piece of what we call our essential gear. We highly recommend them.

Disclaimer; these observations are mine and mine alone. (Well , maybe a bit of influence from my Sweetheart as well.)We did not receive any form of compensation from any Ergo Baby carrier (or any other baby carrier) manufacturer or retailers.