October 21, 2013 Dana

After the ABC Kids Expo: Taking Ergo in a new direction

When we first encountered Ergobaby, back in 2004, Sheri described the company as “so small… I placed my first order with the founder’s dad.” Not anymore! Ergo is now a baby industry giant, and the luxuriously-sized and well-appointed booth that they shared with Orbit Baby at the ABC show was both a demonstration and a celebration of their success.

Ergobaby is most famous for their soft-structured baby carriers, but while millions of parents and babies love the classic Ergo Carrier, no two parents and no two babies are quite alike. So this year, Ergobaby is providing some new options that bring the comfort that made Ergo a household name to different babywearing styles.

The Ergobaby Wrap Carrier

Classic Ergobaby carriers can be used from infancy with an infant insert, but some moms and babies prefer a wrap carrier for the earliest months. Wrap carriers keep infants well-contained and snuggled up really close to your body, maximizing the calming effect of carrying.

The new Ergobaby Wrap Carrier combines an ergonomic fit with that wonderful intimate feel, and it’s already getting great reviews: moms love the new 4D Stretch material! Made with a carefully selected blend of cotton and spandex, the new material has just the perfect amount of stretch to hug moms and babies together without sagging over the course of the day or requiring retying (who has time for that?). Just tie your Ergo Wrap on, snuggle your kiddo into the frog-leg position, and you’re ready for your day, with a wrap that fits like your favorite T-shirt.

The Ergobaby 360 Carrier

The biggest change from Ergo this year is the launch of their first four-position carrier, which adds a front-facing option. Ergobaby writes on their Facebook page,

“We have responded to parents’ requests to have an ergonomic fourth position option for babies over 6 months who are clearly communicating: “I want to see the whole world!” … We are giving those parents an ergonomic option to respond to this plea in some babies over 6 months old. Our message is simple: follow your baby’s lead and respond to her cues. We acknowledge that parents know their babies best, so choose the position that works for you and your family.

But it’s absolutely crucial to make sure that an Ergobaby carrier is still ergonomically correct for both you and your babe, so the Ergo 360 features a unique, carefully designed bucket seat. As you can see from pictures of the carrier in use, the baby isn’t dangling: he’s sitting on his rear, with his little bottom supported, legs outward, thighs supported, and knees up. As blogger Xza Louise puts it:

“Their new carrier fixes the issues that other forward facing carriers have not been able to accomplish. The knees are supported, baby is not being propelled forward, and the wearer is not being strained by 15-30 lbs of child dangling off of them. The child literally sits in the carrier. Their knees are up, their butt is seated in a nice little cushioned pocket, and the child’s weight is equally distributed on the wearer’s hips or waist.”

Of course, some babies who are clamoring to be facing outward will get a little overwhelmed after a while, but that’s easily solved: if your child is demonstrating his displeasure with a front-facing carry and needs to snuggle in towards you to feel more secure, just turn him inwards. With Ergobaby, you’ve got all the positioning options you need!

We also really like the new wide waist belt on the Ergobaby 360 Carrier – it does a great job at weight distribution, and the Velcro is easier to adjust for a perfect fit.

We’ll be offering a full variety of Ergo options in the next year, so you can choose what works best for you: after all, nobody knows your baby better than you do. Regardless of your preferred Ergo (and a variety of other carriers, too), we’ve got what you need at Magic Beans!