FreeHand Mei Tai Baby Carrier, Elizabeth

I am a mother of 3 and have gone tried many different types of baby carriers, and this is by far my favorite one. To be fair, I did not buy from Amazon, but directly from BabyHawk. Their website is awesome & I was able to design my own. If you don't mind waiting a little longer, its the way to go.

I have used, the ring sling, the Baby Bjorn, the pouch sling, to name a few, but the Mei Tai is by far my favorite. My first child LOVED to be in a carrier, but the ring sling started to really hurt my back once she was a few months old. I couldn't carrier her in it for more than half an hour or so. My second child HATED all carriers - but I hadn't tried the Mei Tai - I bought a pouch sling (Hotsling) which he screamed whenever I put him in. So we tried a Baby Bjorn, which he liked for a week, then screamed. With my third, I decided to wait & try out all those above. The Ring Sling was too bulky to take anywhere (its a padded style). The Baby Bjorn was just plain...Read more

I really loved this carrier - for MYSELF. It makes carrying my 17 pound baby SO easy! However - since day one, he's hated it. He's really uncomfortable in it, and I can see why:

-The strap that you can either wrap around the baby's back or legs seems to keep him in a rather uncomfortable position if it's on his back, and if I try wrapping at the legs, it digs into them.

-He also doesn't like to be held right up against me, he likes to be able to see what's going on around him, and this carrier doesn't really allow for that.

-This carrier is also made of very thick fabric, which doesn't really allow for air flow, so even in decent weather, I'd pull him out and he'd be sweating.

-I also find that I have to readjust and keep retying the carrier every half hour or so. He just keeps slipping down and getting more uncomfortable.

We've tried 3 carriers now, and the one he likes best is the Baby Bjorn Air Carrier...Read more

I love this carrier for three things 1) there are other carriers similar to this but more expensive, like baby hawk or the ellaroo (i also bought this product on sale. there was also one advertised for cheaper on green baby bargains) 2) can be worn in many ways and 3) even a male partner can use it without feeling too girly simply by reversing it and it works the same (although, my husband has only one complaint - it gets a little itchy for him when he wears it on the front - but that's not the fault of the carrier, its cause hes particularly hairy). actually there is a fourth - 4) you can use it from newborn to toddler or well, until you can reasonably carry a weight/age appropriate child.