Certainly one of the biggest challenges which my husband and I have found during our travels was getting the right baby carrier for what we needed, and I know that there are many parents out there who would also like to travel with their babies, but they too are struggling to get the right carrier. The truth of the matter is that there are a number of carrier types which are right for differing occasions, which is great if you are living at a fixed address and want to go away for a few days, but not so handy when you are actively traveling.
There is much to consider when you are looking for a carrier, you need to think about who will be carrying the child and what their strength is like, think about how much money you want to spend, how heavy the carrier is, what support the carrier gives to the baby and how portable the carrier is. To help you decide let’s break down some of the more commonly bought carriers and see what the best purpose is for each one.
Backpack Carrier
The backpack carrier is the one which we have used most on our travels, and I am including the front loading carrier in this as well, after all the products are the same. Whilst this is the old standard of baby carriers. It’s tall. It’s wide. It’s deep, and it’s bulky as all heck. It has a frame, a chest strap, and an often-floating waist strap. Baby goes in the back and sits in a narrow base that only offers support to his crotch. This isn’t ideal however for long periods of time. Transportable yes, low cost and comfortable for short periods of time.
Papoose
I’m not going to lie, swaddling the baby up in a cool, traditional papoose and taking on the world was something I’d always dreamed about, the image that it conjures up is just so cool. Sadly however I did not plan to have back problems at age 40, which is why the papoose is only used for day trips or heading to the shop. This is bay far and away the cheapest to buy, the comfiest for the baby and the most easy to transport, sadly however, you’re going to need traps and delts like an Amazonian goddess to keep it up long term.
Beh Dais
This one is the winner for me, largely because of the great support which it offers for both baby and me. The Beh Dais is a carrier which is soft, easy to transport and pretty low cost, you can get a great one for around $45. These can be front or rear loaded which of course makes it easy to use all day long, simply switch when you are tired, and the baby sleeps like I have never seen when wearing this.
These are my 3 go-to carriers, but the Beh Dais is certainly my favorite.
