Product Description

The ERGO is the way to go when it comes to baby carriers. It's the best all around choice for carrying a baby anywhere from around the house to public places. The ERGO baby carrier is conveniently compact, comfortable to wear and provides sturdy support for your baby. The ergonomic design of the carrier ensures that your baby is in the correct sitting position to encourage proper hip, pelvis and spine growth. It does this by distributing most of the baby's weight between its hips and thighs. The design also considers the health and comfort of parents. The carrier balances the baby's weight to the parents' hips and shoulders, reducing physical stress. The padded waist belt supports the lumbar area plus 1" thick padding in the shoulder straps. It can be worn on front, back or hip and can easily be changed from one to the other. Ergo is perfect for when baby is too heavy for a sling or for when you plan on carrying your baby for extended periods of time, especially for hiking and walking. Unlike other frame back packs, with the ERGO the baby is right against your back so their weight seems less. When carrying a traditional hard frame back pack, your baby's center of gravity is further from your body and can be awkward and feel heavier. For comfortably carrying your infant, try the ERGO Infant Insert (sold separately). It supports your newborn like a baby sling while having both hands free to work. This lightweight carrier lets you carry your baby comfortably for long periods with your hands free and it looks great too. Features: Recommended use from newborn (with additional Infant Insert sold separately) up to 40 lbs Adjusts for most sizes, waist circumference extends from 25" up to 43" Attached Sleeping Hood supports sleeping baby's head and expands with the growth of your child Convenient pocket on back of carrier with side zipper for easy acce

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11184 in Baby Product
• Brand: Ergo

Features

• Fits from 5' to 6.5' body height with adjustable shoulder and chest straps
• Waist belt circumference from 25" to 43"
• Durability/strength tested up to 90 pounds
• Sleeping hood adjusts in length to growth of baby
• machine washable, gentle cycle

Customer Reviews

Ergo, Bjorn, or Sling
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)

Comfortable but a little bit more complicated
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 could not love this thing more!
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).