Customer Reviews

ERGObaby Infant Insert (Heart2Heart Galaxy Print).

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is the second Ergo infant insert I've bought. I bought this one hoping it would work better than the old infant insert. It doesn't. Basically, if your newborn doesn't like the Ergo carrier, it's likely neither insert is going to help. You should test the Ergo with your newborn before spending the money.

My husband and I loved the idea of the Ergo carrier, as the hip belt helps alleviate back problems and is much like our packs for backpacking, so we registered for one. But however much we like the carrier, my eight-week-old, 10.5 pound daughter hates it. I've been trying to get her into the Ergo using first the old infant insert, and now the Heart 2 Heart, repeatedly ever since she was born, but with no success. The moment I put her (in the insert) into the Ergo carrier, she starts screaming and doesn't stop until I take her out. I've watched the video for the old insert (note: there's no video for the Heart 2 Heart) and am following their technique exactly, but still she just hates the carrier.

Neither insert provides enough head support for my daughter, which is why I think she screams. The Heart 2 Heart in particular doesn't work; when she's settled into it as per the instructions, the insert doesn't come up high enough to support her head, and she's not a particularly long child. So her head flops forward when she tries to look around, which frustrates her.

Both inserts feel like a bit of an afterthought -- I'm not convinced the Ergo carrier was designed with newborns in mind. Having the baby's feet out one side in the old insert seemed like a stopgap solution, and the Heart 2 Heart doesn't quite solve the issue, either. Interestingly, I picked up a used Baby Bjorn as a last resort after having spent all this money on the Ergo and the inserts, and she likes the Bjorn, because it's stiffer and provides more support. I think she won't like the Ergo until her head's a bit steadier; we'll go back to the Ergo then.

So it's worth knowing before buying this insert that it may or may not be money well spent -- it all just depends on whether your child likes it or not, and there's a possibility she won't (as I've now seen multiple reports on various sites saying that their newborns also don't like the Ergo; wish I'd done this research before getting the Ergo and spending the money on the inserts). It's worth waiting until after your baby is born and trying out the infant inserts before buying them. Otherwise, you may want to hold off on the Ergo until 4-5 months.

We purchased the Ergo Baby carrier and Heart to Heart infant insert for use with our two-month-old son. Overall, my baby and I are very happy with the product.

Pros:

1. I love that this insert holds the baby upright -- my son definitely prefers being carried this way. (The older style infant insert carries the baby in a reclining position, "sling-style.")

2. The insert positions the baby EXACTLY the way I hold him when I'm cuddling him close to my chest. The little padded seat holds him up the way I hold him with my hands, and his legs are positioned exactly the same way. This tells me that the Heart to Heart insert really does mimic the most natural way of carrying a child.

3. It doesn't put all his weight on his crotch, unlike other front carriers.

Cons:

1. It's very fluffy and padded. This is great for winter time, as you don't need coats or blankets for the baby. But if you were to carry a summer-born infant in this carrier, you and he might become uncomfortably warm.

2. It's a little tricky to position the baby in comfortably, and the directions aren't entirely clear. (At one point, the directions say it's important to put your hands under the baby's bottom and rotate the baby forward, which I'm still not quite sure I'm doing correctly.) But after a couple times, it's much easier.

3. The baby's feet are still inside the carrier and always feel a bit squished. My son seems perfectly comfortable, so I'm sure it doesn't bother him, but they do look rather squished.

Overall, I would highly recommend this product for a fall- or winter-born baby. If you live in a place with very hot weather and your baby will be a newborn during the warm months, you might need something a little more light weight.

I have read a lot of reviews saying that this is absolutely necessary for newborns who can't hold their heads up but I disagree. I bought it and found it completely useless. Now, it may be that with a really tiny baby or with a different body type than mine, it could be useful, but I don't think so and I'm only guessing at that because I am trying to imagine why so many people would think this is necessary.

My daughter was 7 pounds at birth and I used the insert once before I realized I didn't need it. The baby carrier is easily adjustable and the baby doesn't need to be able to hold her head up to fit snuggly, safely, and comfortably in it. You just adjust the carrier so that she is held snug against you and she is sitting perfectly comfortable with her head exactly where you put it, with no danger of her falling out or becoming uncomfortable.

If, for some reason, the baby's head wouldn't stay where you put it (I didn't have that problem at all) then a receiving blanket could be tucked into the right position to correct the issue (without the potential of blocking an airway of course), but you definitely don't need to spend $25 to fix the problem. You could even stick a receiving blanket under baby's butt to keep her higher up on your chest if you wanted to (it would pretty much do the very same thing this does).. but I never needed to do anything like that. I just put her where I wanted her and adjusted the carrier to hold her there and it felt very secure. I had no worries at all.

Again, I don't know if this would be somehow different if she had been under 7 pounds or if I had a different body type. I am kind of average in terms of height and weight. Maybe if someone is very large or very small, or if their baby is very tiny, they might not be able to adjust the carrier with the baby in it as well I am able to, but I don't really think it would be a problem -- just suggesting that it might the reason for other reviewers saying that this is necessary.

Aside from being unnecessary, I found this to be too big, bulky, and uncomfortable for use(this is why I decided to see what would happen if I didn't use it, and ended up finding that it wasn't necessary at all). Even if it had been necessary, I probably would have just waited to use the backpack again until it wasn't.

I definitely recommend trying to use the backpack without the insert before you spend the $25 and if you need to give your infant extra support, see if you can do it using other means before you decide to buy this product. If all else fails, I would even suggest just waiting until your baby is 7 pounds. If the baby isn't 7 pounds already, it won't take more than a month before he or she reaches that milestone in most cases.. and why spend so much money for so little use.

We have been so thankful for the heart-2-heart insert as our son has loved his time spent in it. He's only 4 days old and the insert is just perfect for his little body. It's supportive and comfortable for him. He sleeps like a champ whenever he's in it :-) We are grateful that Ergo came out with this new insert as we were hearing that their previous insert was not really working with newborns.

I was a little skeptical after reading some reviews of the infant insert, but I decided to try it out anyway. I have used the Bjorn and various maya type slings, and this is by far the most comfortable carrier. I'm prone to plugged ducts and mastitis, and this carrier with the insert puts no pressure on my chest, so it's great in that regard.
I started using the infant insert when my newest was almost 3 weeks old. It was a little hard to figure out where her feet and legs go at first, and she was really uncomfortable when I tried to splay them out and have her feet poke out the sides. That's definitely not the way to do it with such a little baby. I found that the trick is to have her knees up following the line of the fabric just along the inside of the padding and her feet almost touching and down at the V shaped base. You may think they're getting squished but she doesn't complain at all so it must be comfortable for her.
I also couldn't figure out whether she was supposed to have her head resting on the top edge, kind of sitting away from my body or resting on my chest. She took care of that for me. When she's awake her head is up and she's peering around. When she gets tired she puts her head down on my chest and rests very comfortably.
The hotness factor was also something I read about. My daughter was born in mid June and we live in Maryland, where it's pretty hot and humid in the summer. Yes, the insert is hot. But so is the Bjorn, and so are slings. I just put her in a onesie and we're both a little damp on the chest when she comes out. No big deal, really. I think the pros outweigh the one con that it's hot.
So it does take a little fiddling to get it just right, but once you do it's super comfortable for you as the wearer, and a nice little nest for the baby to ride around in. I definitely recommend it!

I was happy to see this new type of insert for thr Ergo baby carrier. The old insert looked like the baby could slide out. With this, my little guy is wrapped in a cozy shell and he sits on a pillow bench. His feet are tucked between the pillow and my body. I like that this keeps him upright and laying against me and does a pretty good job supporting his head. My baby falls asleep almost instantly in this and he feels secure.

I gave it four stars because the insert makes the carrier very warm. The insert is quilted so when it is combined with both our body heat, we're both sweaty after a while. I feel lucky it is winter while I use this insert because I think we would be too warm to use this in the summer.

Other than that, this is well designed and made and I recommend it.

I have a 3-month old who loved being carried around in the Moby wrap, but it can be a bit of a hassle to put that wrap on. I wanted to be able to use my Ergo, but couldn't get him comfy in it sitting sideways, he likes to be upright. This is perfect, the cushion under the bottom lifts him up just the right amount, so the back of the carrier is just at shoulder level, and his little legs sit at right angles, so he's not putting all his weight on his crotch. The back of the insert can be folded down over the Ergo, or propped up. When he's sleeping, I prop it up, when he's awake & wants to look around I fold it down. This is a good quality item, and worth the $$ so you can use your Ergo while your babe is little. I often see cloth items and figure out how I could sew them myself, but this is not one of them. I recommend buying this, and I would prefer this over the old Ergo infant insert.

Just to add, the first 4 times I tried using this, my baby fussed and didn't like it. But I kept trying it, and found that by catching him in a good mood (instead of trying to put him in when he was fussy) we were able to get him used to it, and now he loves it.

A must have if your infant is the type that must be held constantly!

This insert is easy to use. It's like a padded taco shell for your baby, with a little pillow at the "down" end that supports the infant's butt. There is an adjustable strap that can hold it snugly against the baby, or you can leave the strap undone. The insert basically stabalizes and "bulks up" the baby so they can be held securely in the Ergo baby carrier without sliding out. It's like a soft baby splint. I like how it puts the baby's head up against my chest where I can see her clearly, and her head is well supported even when I bend forward a little.

Best of all, my infant loves to be held all the time and there are periods where you cannot put her down without her crying. With this, I can easily "hold" her and still use my hands, walk around, even cook and do housework. She usually falls asleep after a few minutes. Later I can transfer her to a swing smoothly by removing the baby, still in the insert, and setting baby and insert into the swing. A great way to get fussy baby to sleep!

The infant insert is like wrapping your baby in a down pillow. The air flow is VERY limited and the baby gets hot quickly -- based on my reading for SIDS, this is not a great combination. I was trying the insert with my 4 week old son in warm conditions (75 degrees F) and he became unresponsive for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably 30 sec. My doctor was very concerned and ran an EKG to see if he had a heart condition - and he did not. Overall, it was a strange incident, but I would not recommend the infant carrier as it does not seem like a great idea to have such limited airflow for an infant. I did file a report with the manufacturer and they gave me a full refund, but I have yet to see a posting on CPSC. I'm thinking I should file a separate report so that others are aware of my experience.

The Ergo with the old-style insert was invaluable to us back in 2008: our daughter practically lived in it from age 2 wks until 4 months.

We now have a 4 wk old baby, and a friend lent us the heart-to-heart insert. So far it doesn't work as well for us: it seems harder to get the baby properly into it, and it doesn't seem to hold the head as well (his head flops forward against us, or side-to-side, or back against the edge of the insert).

Using the Ergo with the old insert continues to work some serious magic for us, however. An added bonus with the first kid was that we continued to use the Ergo with her until she was past age 2.

Overall we've been really happy with our Ergo. The inserts don't work for everyone, but they are certainly worth trying (start by borrowing one from a friend if you can).