BabyBjörn One Carrier

I’ve always liked baby wearing and had two different carriers knocking about from when the boys were little. First I had the original BabyBjörn carrier that was given as a gift and with my second son, I decided to buy a Moby wrap after reading about how comfortable they were to wear. So this time around with our baby girl, I knew that one of the carriers would come in handy, especially with having two boys to look after as well as a baby that wants to stay close to me. It’s all about being handsfree really.

My previous carriers

First of all I took my daughter out in the Moby wrap for our first proper family walk as five. I was so out of practice that I needed to look at a You Tube clip of how to put it on and then I remembered that I always found it a faff to actually put on in the first place. I’d forgotten how much flipping fabric was involved with the wrap and remembered that putting the wrap on outside of home was an absolute stressy nightmare.

Anyway I did manage to wrap it around me, swinging the material on the ground in a car park first (not ideal) and off we went for our walk. I didn’t feel it was tight enough, which was down to my technique and I always felt like I actually had to support her bottom as I didn’t feel she was secure enough.

Second up was the BabyBjörn which I instantly remembered how to put on, as it’s so easy with clips and straps. This I just wore in the house to actually get some things done, like sorting out dinner or the washing. However, I’d forgotten though how much the design of the carrier really hurt my shoulders and that it’s best used for short periods – certainly for me. This made me assess what I really needed with baby wearing and that purchasing a new one would be the best option for me.

Why the BabyBjörn One Carrier?

This is where I came across the BabyBjörn One Carrier and saw that it accommodated the favoured ‘wide leg’ position and has been acknowledged as a hip-healthy baby carrier by the International Hip Dysplasia Institute. Then I spotted the limited edition ice cream collection. Clearly I had my priorities right here *cough* and as a marketeers dream, I was sold straight away with the baby pink shade. In fact, anyone that knows me, will know that I love the colour mint and would instantly have opted for that shade had it been available to purchase anywhere in this country. However, the pink seemed perfect for my very own pink bundle and I searched and searched until I discovered it had sold out across the UK more or less as soon as it hit the shelves in the summer.

A carrier is a carrier, I know that. It’s the functionality that’s important after all but when you’ve had two drab colours of carriers and a husband that has no interest in babywearing, then it was always going to be a girly option for me. So when I was very kindly offered one of the few remaining beautiful pink ones to review, I couldn’t believe my luck.

My initial thoughts

First impressions did not disappoint! The carrier is a gorgeous baby pink shade and is extremely soft to the touch being made of certified cotton. Anything pale in colour with babies is going to get a little mucky from time to time, so it’s great that it’s fully machine washable, especially now that she’s starting to chew a lot and dribble on things. There are also no nasties to worry about with the material with it being cotton – so it’s safe if they do happen to have a little gnaw on the straps.

Babybjorn

Size and ease of use

It’s quite large and bulky in size, so not as portable as some carriers but this wasn’t a negative for me as it can be easily rolled up if you need it to. It didn’t take too long to familiarise myself with how to put it on and where it fastens at the back – always a bonus to me as I’m terrible for fathoming how to work things with manuals as I’m far too impatient.

More often than not, I also don’t allow myself enough time to work things out and that’s never good with a screaming baby. This one simply slips over your head and around your shoulders, like putting on a backpack backwards. Once you’ve clipped the waist band together, all that is left to do is to tighten the straps around your waist and the joining strap between your shoulders – which will need adjusting depending on what you are wearing.

BabyBjorn One Carrier

BabyBjorn

It’s ergonomically designed and the added waist support alleviates a lot of the strain from your shoulders and upper back that is a fault with some carriers. It has a nice padded waistband and the inside is covered with a satin type fabric which helps with positioning and comfort. The straps can then be tucked into loops to keep them in place too.

Safe for hips

This carrier was developed alongside Paediatricians to ensure safe positioning at all ages and stages. It has four carrying options from carrying a newborn higher up facing towards you, then lower down as they get bigger, facing outwards (from around 5 months) and on your back when they are 12 months.

What I love about BabyBjörn carriers are the clips to secure your baby once they are positioned. They feel nice and protected with the all important ‘click’ sound when clipping into place. There are two lower clips and two that attach to the shoulders. Inside there is a clever zip system so that you can adjust the carrier to the size of your baby, so that newborns can sit higher up your chest. As your baby grows you then can move to the next zip so that they sit further down your body. For your baby’s comfort there is a padded seat, outward facing seams and adjustable width leg holes.

BabyBjorn One Carrier

As my daughter is only 10 weeks old, we are yet to try out the other positions but I suspect she will enjoy facing outwards as she gets a little older. She’s already becoming quite nosey now and once she’s bigger and supporting her head well she will be able to try it out. I’m really hoping that she will like being carried on my back when she is a year old as this will make family walks an awful lot easier and will mean we aren’t restricted so much with where we can go. Although she’ll most likely be toddling by then, we all know that little legs will only go so far…

BabyBjorn One Carrier

Keep them close

Young babies love to be close to you and it was no surprise that my daughter took to it really well after some initial wriggling and protesting. She slept soundly out for her first walk and I didn’t feel the strain of her weight during our walk, I also felt confident to have my hands down by my sides when walking which helped with my posture, which is something I rarely did with the wrap as I always felt I needed to keep my arms around her, just in case.

I really wanted to join the boys trick or treating on Halloween, so she got another outing in the carrier for this.  She was warm and snuggled and I was able to go everywhere with the boys without being restricted with a buggy. Having freedom from the buggy every now and then is a must and it’s always nice to be able to have your baby nice and close to you for warmth and reassurance.

BabyBjorn One Carrier

The cost

This four way carrier retails at £119.99, so it isn’t a cheap option but then you very much get what you pay for. Comparing it to other popular carriers that offer the recommended hip support, I believe that this carrier is more than fairly priced. Where I think this carrier has the upper hand is that it’s extremely well made, very supportive and comfortable for both parents and baby and it’s user friendly. Oh and it’s pink, which was pretty crucial. Did I mention that?

Nb. I was kindly sent this BabyBjörn One Carrier for the purpose of this review but all views and opinions are entirely my own.