Customer Reviews

Freehand Baby Carrier, Brown

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think that I have tried nearly every baby carrier product on the market. And I kept trying them because I couldn't find a good fit. All of them made my back hurt, and some of them the straps would catch my son under the arms and make his hands turn purple, even though I was wearing it correctly. Ultimately I KNEW that I had to find something that would not hurt my baby, or my back. I'm a nurse, I'm on my feet all the time, I'm lifting patients all the time, and my son is, thankfully, very healthy, but that means very heavy, 100th percentile here we are. So my back has enough strain on it, and I plan on keeping it healthy for years to come, so excess strain and pain needed to be eliminated.

The sling: I have a sling and love it for itty-bitty babies to snuggle and toddlers when they are old enough to sit on your hip. The cross legged position for a front carry just made me feel like I was putting too much pressure on his hips, and at an odd angle.

The snugly/infantino front carrier: Also not bad for newborns, but when they start to hit 6 months or upwards or 15 pounds, hard on the lower back because all of their weight is on your shoulders. And the snugly straps kept catching my son under the arms in an awkward way that made his hands turn purple. Points for super easy to get into, but not easy on baby, and no easy to wear.

The baby Ergo: good for heavier/older babies because it has the parent "seat belt" that puts the babies weight lower on your center of gravity and not solely on the shoulders, but you can't do a front carry forward facing, only front carry inward/chest facing and back carry.

This brings me to the freehand: It has the parent seat belt that goes all the way around the waist so the babies weight is distributed lower on your center of gravity, ELIMINATING my back pain. The straps are cushy and don't dig into baby or you. I was so excited when it arrived in the mail I tossed the whole box into the car on my way to Target, I didn't even try it at home first. I was able to put it on and get my son into the chest facing front carry the first time, unassisted, WITHOUT WAKING HIM UP in the Target parking lot. The "sternum" strap as it is called in the directions (which is a misnomer because it is usually in the back if you are doing a front carry, but I digress) is a little difficult to fasten the first time, I recommend lengthening the "male" buckle strap as long as you can, and lowering the "female" buckle as low as you can *before* putting it on, then once you have it on, it is way easy to buckle, and then a cinch to tighten (pun intended). I did have a harder time with the front carry forward facing position, it seemed very difficult to get him into and cinched the first few times, I would recommend having help the first few times that you try this position. Or as I did, using the glass on the side of you car as a mirror to see what the heck is going on in the front to figure things out. I haven't tried the back pack type of carry yet, my little one isn't old enough and my oldest is to old, but I think that it will work very well. Once baby is in the carrier though, I swear I could wear him all day, no problem. I imagine that it would do well as a newborn carrier, it is very supportive of baby, and very sturdy.

I give it 4 stars only because it takes a little getting used to...but then again doesn't everything. If you are the type of person that is easily frustrated, do not try it alone the first time, try it at home, with help. You will love it.

My son is 4 weeks old, and this is a great carrier to put him in when he's fussy and wants to be snuggled but I need to do other things around the house -- like make dinner for my toddler.

One warning, however: the waist strap is not particularly large. I wear size 16 pants (maybe 18 now, with the baby weight), and the waist strap needs to be pulled out to nearly its largest option. I'm no skinny-mini, but I know that plenty of people have a larger waist size than I do. I just think it's good to know about the waist strap before you buy.

Overall, the carrier is good for us so far. We also have a mei tai, but it doesn't hold my sons head securely like this freehand carrier does.

I had high hopes for this carrier but unfortunately it didn't really work for us. It is nice and versatile with the different positions, but it seemed like there was always a strap or an edge digging into my daughter's legs. She seems more comfortable in the Ergo and the Moby.

It carries your baby safely and oomfortably for the parent. For the baby not so comfortable. The mesh chaffed on the baby's legs and the bottom piee that holds the crotch is very bulky. The top hit right under the baby's armpiuts in an awkward position also. Granted this could just be the geometry of our child but we just wernt thrilled with it. It works, we still use it but its no the greatest.

I researched all sorts of carriers and own the infantino, New native carrier (sling) and another front carrier. My 14 month old loves to ride on my back while fussy time occurs around 5pm daily. He thinks it is a game while I get to clean up and make dinner! Would definitely recommend for anyone looking for good back support while carrying your toddler! Easy to use, Sturdy construction, Great price! Love it and I am hard to please!

I'll start by saying that I have a quite few babies carriers (most made by smaller companies and not sold in stores). I have wraps, slings, mei tai's and pouches but the only carrier I ever really use is a SSC (soft structured carrier). I love the ease of buckles and straps to get the right fit. They just work for me. When my daughter was born 11 months ago, she was IUG (severely growth restricted) and born 3 weeks early at a bit under 4 pounds. I tried all of my carriers but NONE worked. I even tried taking a towel and stuffing it in the bottom of the carrier to prop her up a bit but the sides were too wide and the whole carrier would engulf her. I took her to a nearby carrier shop and some awesome ladies who worked there helped me out. I tried EVERY carrier on. Even the beco was too big for her. The freehand was the only one that supported her tiny little body and even her head. She's now 11 months old and about 20 pounds and I still prefer this carrier over my others. The narrow shape really works well for her as she is still petite.

A feature that I LOVED that I never thought I would admit to is the front facing feature. I feel that that front facing carriers are not safe b/c of this feature as it usually has the poor babe hanging by it's crotch (i.e. bjorn, snugli, infantino etc) and is really bad for their hips and usually really uncomfortable for the mom as the weight is usually on your shoulders and not in your hips... not to mention babies get overstimulated by looking out at everything all the time. However, this carrier keeps them in a sitting position even when facing forward so they are NOT just dangling like those other carriers and the weight of the baby is distributed mostly on your hips. My girl absolutely LOVED it especially at the park or in a store. If she ever got overstimulated I could easily take her out and turn her around.

FYI - I never had any issues with straps digging into my daughter or anything like that.

I bought this carrier to use with my son since it said it went from newborn on. It worked great with him when I'd need to be handsfree to grocery shop, finish getting ready in the mornings, or to do stuff around the house. Only bad thing is with the triple digits we had this summer he'd get a bit hot as he got a bit bigger, but worked. I am larger chested, and could still easily use it to carry my son and didn't give me back pain (he was almost 9lbs when I started using it, currently 15).