Obsessed- how baby carriers are the new purses (part 1)

It's funny how being a mom changes you, in many ways. This is the story of how I became addicted to baby carriers. Admittedly, I was pretty fond of shoes and bags in my past life. I liked finding a deal and having a variety to choose from. Enter Babywearing and Facebook Mom Swaps paired with plenty of time to scan my phone while breastfeeding and you've  litterally got the perfect breeding ground for addiction! I loved finding a deal, and became with obsessed with trying everything and the hunt of finding something at a reasonable. There is a common hashtag in the Babywearing world #wearallthebabies, and while I am very pro Babywearing, my personal hashtag was more #tryallthecarriers! I went through great lengths to find several of my pretties and these are my stories and my opinions on them!

It all started with Instagram and blogs. From the people I followed, I decided I needed two carriers when I was pregnant: a Solly wrap for newborn cuddles and an Ergo for when the babe got bigger. My brother generously sourced me a navy Solly wrap from the U.S. and I put a regular Ergo on my registry with the infant insert. Then Snuggle Bugz had a sale on their travel ergo and after reviewing the pros and cons, I asked my best friend to grab the sale and I took the original off the registry. Fast forward to baby C arriving and we learned a couple things- the Solly wrap is as wonderful as Instagram makes it seem (despite a learning curve), babies born over 9lbs likely won't need an infant insert when you decide you want to start using the SSC, if daddy is going to wear, it's advantageous to get him his own carrier so you're not always adjusting the straps (unless daddy and mommy are roughly the same size). Since we were loving our Ergo and we found out about a massive sale at Target (thank you local Facebook Babywearing group), we ended up scoring a grey Galaxy ergo for $38! 

From there I became obsessed with the need to face C forward, so started looking into carriers that would allow you to do that in ergonomically correct way (i.e. No crotch danglers). The three major options at that point were the Ergo 360, the Beco Gemini and the Lillebaby. I found a lady selling a Beco Gemini for a great deal ($50), so I asked her if she would ship it to me. She said yes! Note:Some sellers on Kijiji are sketched out by the ask to ship- I've lost a few carrier leads this way!

The Beco Gemini arrived and it was love! I loved how padded and comfy it was, I loved having the options to cross the straps (unlike the Ergo) and I loved having the option to face little miss out. The Beco became my house carrier and the Ergo was my go-to for trips outside the house and lived in the car. This was Babywearing bliss until C was about 20lbs (8 months) and the waistbands started digging. I didn't like how they both connected on the side and started looking into dual-adjusting and softer waistbands. I had heard great things about the Lillebaby, Lenny Lamb, Tula and the infamous impossible to score Kinderpack. I may or may not have sourced and tested each of these brands, but that is a story for another day (to be continued in part two)!