Customer Reviews

Ergo Baby Carrier: Black-Camel

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

When our daughter was born we were given a sling as a gift, bought an Ergo, and were later handed-down a BabyBjorn. While each has its virtues, if you are deciding which to buy - get the Ergo.
ERGO:
*Is the most comfortable of the 3, like a good backpack distributing the baby's weight down to your hips
*It is also the most versatile, allowing you to use the carrier as the baby moves into the todler stage
*It is hard to get on and it took us a week until we realized that the back clasp needed to be moved up the arm straps. Be sure to watch the video or ask a friend who has one for instruction
*Don't waste your money on the infant insert, just use a blanket or towel
SLING:
*Is perfect for the baby's first 2 months - when she weighs less than 12 lbs and sleeps frequently and irregularly
*The simple design allows you to easily put the baby down to sleep when you get home or transfer her to the other parent's shoulder without waking the baby
*Once she is a bit larger the sling will put too much stress on your shoulder and back
BABYBJORN:
*Once your baby has good head control and she can ride "face out" - she has the most fun and can interact with the world
*You can also put her face in when she's tired or overstimulated
*It is easy to put her in/out by yourself
*Your back will start to hurt when your baby is about 15 lbs (or at least ours did)

I was ready to purchase a Bjorn but then a friend of mine registered this for herself so I checked it out and found all the positive reviews. I ended up getting one for her baby shower and one for myself. My baby is now 3 months old and weights 16 lbs. And this is definitely great for me to use, I use it when I take her groceries shopping; since she's a winter baby the materials on the carrier keeps her warm & cozy without needing much else (other carriers out there don't seem to have as good of a coverage in blocking freezing wind) plus she is snug against me so my body temperture keeps her warm. She loves it and falls asleep in it. When she was a newborn in the middle of winter I would sit her low in the carrier so that her head doesn't poke out, on top of it I would use the hat to block the wind from blowing into the carrier.

Since this product was built/design with much more considerations than other carriers, it is a bit more complicated and much more materials were used. My brother-in-law who is single & without kids says it seems too much trouble to put on and that when he has kids he'd prefer the Bjorn for its simplicity. However, both him and my husband are tall strong guys (6'1'' & 190 lbs); this carrier is great for me (5'3'' & 120 lbs) since I'm not strong enough to carry all of the baby's weight on my shoulders. The only down side is that this does not allow forward facing. For this reason along, my husband purchased a Bjorn so that he can carry the baby forward facing so that she can look out when we walk around the mall...however we limit the use of that to short length of time since we do have concern about the impact the Bjorn has on her developing spine.

I have heard good things about the Belle Baby Carrier but are not sure if it's the exact same thing as the Bjorn- carrying the weight on the baby's crotch, if so then the Ergo is the best bet in ensuring your baby's weight is evenly distributed on his/her button instead of being suspended in the air by fabric across his/her crotch.

I have used a ring sling, pouch sling (which I liked just fine for hip carry until my son got too heavy), and a wrap carrier (which was great...again, until he got too heavy), and this is BY FAR the best carrier I have ever tried. I just wish I hadn't waited until my son was 17 months old to buy it!

I bought it to bring on vacation instead of a stroller, and it was an absolute lifesaver when our connecting flight was delayed six hours. DS napped peacefully in the Ergo for most of it! I have used it for hikes and it is much more comfortable than the metal-frame style backpack carrier. I have also used my Ergo while teaching parent/child music classes, where it kept a sleepy and grumpy toddler content and cuddled without my having to take my attention off of the class.

I have to admit that it is tough to get it on in the back carry position without help. It takes a lot of practice. Hip carry is easier (although you have to reposition the straps first) and front carry is super, super easy.

Of course you're still going to get tired if you carry your baby for hours and hours - like I always say, a 30 pound toddler is still a 30 pound toddler, no matter how good the carrier is - but compared to a Bjorn, which puts all of the weight in your shoulders, or a sling, which puts all of the weight on ONE shoulder, this thing rocks. The weight is nicely balanced on your hips. Compared to holding my toddler on my hip (where he tends to lean all of his weight back into my arm), I can hardly tell that he's on my back at all when I'm wearing him in the Ergo. And not only is the Ergo better for YOUR back than a bjorn-style carrier, it is better for the BABY'S spine as well - they are sitting with their knees higher than their bottom, rather than dangling by their crotch, which compresses the spine and is bad for their development.

By far the best $92 I've ever spent.

ETA (6/27/08): I've now been using this carrier for two and a half months with my second baby, and it's still my favorite! I bought the infant insert for it, which did its job well, although it made it a little hot and sweaty for my baby in the tropical Hawaii climate. I used it a little differently than you're "supposed" to, though; I would put him in a tummy-to-tummy position with both legs tucked into the carrier - he didn't like the cradle position much - although it was necessary to switch him to a kind of diagonal position (with both legs out the same side) in order to nurse. The infant insert was awesome for nursing in the carrier, it gave a great amount of support and coverage - I could nurse my hungry baby while pushing a shopping cart, and you couldn't even tell! Now that he's outgrown the infant insert (big baby!), it's so so super easy to get him into the front-carry position that I don't even use my wrap carrier (even though he's still light enough for it).

I bought this baby carrier when my daughter was about 13 months old. I have tried both the baby bjorn and a sling.

I bought a baby bjorn when my son was born 4 years ago and he pretty much lived in it for the first six months of his life. Unfortunately, both my husband and I suffered from back pain the entire time. In addition, even though my son is little, he outgrew the baby bjorn pretty early on.

I bought a sling when my daughter was born almost two years ago and that worked okay for a while, but she grew uncomfortable and my husband absolutely refused to wear the thing.

So back to the ERGO. A friend of mine owned one and I thought it looked great and her 6 month old son was riding on her back very comfortable. So I immediately bought one. I will list the fantastic things about this carrier.

1) Versatility: My daughter can ride on the front, side, or back for hours without complaining.

2) My daughter is almost two and she can still ride in it. Traveling through airports and busy streets is a breeze because I don't have to worry about her squirming to get out.

3) Price: This is less expensive than a lot of baby carriers that don't last nearly as long.

4) And of course Back Issues: I've stated before that this carrier has not caused any additional back pain. I'm not saying that your back won't hurt if you're carrying your child all day, but it certainly minimizes the issue.

5) My husband will wear it.

There is one area that is a bit of a problem:

It takes A LOT of practice to get the sucker onto your back with your child in it. It can be done, so please just keep trying. The rest of the package is well worth it.

I would recommend this carrier to anyone and everyone.

This is absolutely the best baby carrier ever created and is worth every penny! I had a baby that literally wanted to be held 24 hours a day for the first year of his life--the first 6 month were exhausting and really unenjoyable. I also have a bad back and had tried other 3 carriers that just made my back ache even worse. The Ergo gave me and my husband back a life---I could wash dishes, brush my teeth, do things that required 2 hands that I had been unable to do for months. And my baby loved being strapped on my back as well! And it never caused my back to hurt--even after hours (and I mean hours) of carrying my son around. My husband and I joke that even if the Ergo cost $5,000.00 we would have been glad to pay it for the sevice it has given and continues to give us. But thank goodness it's only around $100. It really is a steal for what you get!

We just bought this carrier 2 weeks ago for our 5 month old son. We previously had the baby bjorn but he would cry every time we put him in it. I don' think he was very comfortable hanging in the front of us. He does not hang in this carrier...he sits in it. It seems much more comfortable for him. I also love that this carrier works on the hip and back as well.

I love to "wear" my baby. From the time she was born I have used some sort of baby carrier or sling. When she was first born I was crazy about the Peanut Shell sling. It is so easy to use and quick to put on. However, when my little girl got to be about 5 months old the Peanut Shell started to really hurt my shoulders. So, I purchased the Moby Wrap. I loved how much better the wrap felt on my back. The problem I found is that the Moby is not something that you can easily put on/take off several times while running errands. I have found that I love it for at home use, but it is not a carrier that I use while "one the go." My husband and I being new parents, going from two incomes down to one, decided that we didn't want to pay for an Ergo and instead purchased a Snuggli. BIG MISTAKE! The Snuggli hurt my back and shoulders from day one. My daughter is now 8 months old and about 20 pounds. We just recently bought the Ergo carrier and LOVE it! It is so comfortable and the baby is a happy camper too. I can wear the Ergo for extended periods of time and not have a shoulder ache. It is also easy to put on and take off. No wrapping myself in 18 feet of fabric. I haven't tried the back hold yet, but I can get my girl in and out of the front hold with ease.I also love the pouch on the baby's back where I can carry my wallet, keys and cell phone. There is a reason these carriers are hard to find in stock! They are wonderful. I will be using the Ergo carrier with a smile on my face for this baby and the next.

~As for the review that someone else wrote about the Ergo not fitting beacuse of their size, I never had that problem. I am a fuller figured mom, slowly but surely shedding my baby weight, and am fine with the way the Ergo fits. I am bigger busted, but my baby fits in the carrier fine and never seems squished. If the carrier is too small for you or your husband, there is a waist extender that you can buy. The botique I purchased the Ergo at said they sell a lot of the extenders for postpartum moms or taller/bigger dads.

I tried many, and so did a lot of my mom friends...and all agree, this thing is a back saver! I have using it with my daughter since she was 5 months, and still use it with her at 2.5 years/35 pounds comfortably. It is compact, comfy, and even lets us hike for miles with her on our back ((we last longer then she does!)

Just got in the mail and had to try it out. Took my 13 month old, 26lbs. boy to the beach for a walk. We walked for a distance and I didn't even notice him on my back. He also really enjoyed himself on my back, being able to look around at the people and the water. I suffer from minor hip and back problems every once in awhile and this carrier didn't effect that at all, it felt like he wasn't on my back at all. I absolutely recommend this carrier and can see that I will go nowhere in the future without it! AWESOME!

I am a bit of a carrier product junkie. I have almost tried them all. I purchased the Ergo and was disappointed. Like you see on the product packaging, if you are a normal sized male or a thin flat-chested female you won't have the same issues as I did. But I am a curvy post-partum mommy! First, the padded shoulderstraps! Yuck! They are so thick and bulky (remember your school backpack? Thicker than that) -- they make me look like I am wearing ugly shoulder pads. They also cut across the side of my breast and that is uncomfortable. Second, that front buckle! It connects one shoulder pad to the other -- for extra stability, according to the package. But when I do that, not only does the baby still not feel secure but my breasts feel even more squished. It snaps rather awkardly right at your decolletage area. Uncomfortable and highly unflattering. Third, that waist belt it just, ugh! It goes across your waist and it is also thick and padded. The last thing I want is to add bulk to my waist, of all places. One part of that belt is a thick black nylon piece that goes across your front if you are back-carrying. Once that is buckled, with the weight of the baby and all, it digs into my squishy belly and it is very uncomfortable, not to mention gross-looking. It creates this weird "muffin-top" look to my belly, as if I am wearing too-tight low-rise jeans. Looks aside, and more importanlty, I feel my size keeps the Ergo from sitting properly on my body. For a baby that cannot hold onto me yet, that is an issue. Therefore, I feel like the Ergo is not secure for a 5 month old or younger. I constantly lean forward or backward because I sense that he is falling away from me. I am guessing it can be appropriate for an older child who can grasp onto you. Still, the overall look of the Ergo it what bugs me the most. I think it is just not made for bigger bodies. 4/09: Hello, for those of you still reading this, I would like to say that I wrote this review a year ago and my son is now 19 months old, and I feel differently. Yes, I am still overweight and the same problems I had before I have now. But I have to say that my Ergo is currently that one carrier that I STILL use -- all the others he refuses to sit in because he is apparently uncomfortable in them. Now that baby can hold on to me, the ergo is actually very easy to use. My son seems very comfortable and I even use it to help lull him to sleep. I must say though that it is highly unflattering for some heavier women to use, and for that reason I don;t dare to leave the house with it on unless I am doing something mundane like picking up the paper. The big difference for me is that my baby can hold on to me while I am placing him in it, and he will naturally lean forward or backward as I move.