My First Attempt at Baby Wearing

I didn't know what I was missing out on with the whole baby carrier craze when I had my first baby. I had a couple carriers and liked the idea but I had no idea what I was doing. Someone gave me a second hand wrap carrier that seemed like I needed to study origami for a few years before I could successfully carry a teady bear let alone a live child.

I tried using another carrier, but as a new parent I was so cautious about holding my baby the "right way" that trying to get her into the carrier one handed by myself while watching a YouTube video just wasn't doing it. I was so overwhelmed by the struggles of life with a newborn that learning how to baby carry just felt like an extra stress for another day.

Once I finally got around to looking up how to use the carrier properly, she was already 6 months old. I was at this point much more confident as a mom and much more confident in my ability to figure out this baby carrier thing. I tried it a few times and it was great! I had free hands and she would fall asleep snuggled up to me (LOVE me some baby snuggles!). By this age, we already had our normal routines and the baby carrier was always an after thought, though I enjoyed it whenever I remembered to grab it.

Second Baby=Time to Really Try to Figure This Out

Now let's fast forward to this past November when we welcomed our second daughter Augusta (read her birth story here). I knew surviving the first few months home with a toddler and a newborn were going to be difficult. If I could have four sets of hands that would be great but unfortunately that was not an option.

I did know, however that if I could revisit this baby carrier thing I could at least have two free hands to better chase the toddler and that was motivation enough for me. Now feeling much more confident in my abilities to hold a newborn without dropping her, I figured out the newborn insert no problem. This is what I was so overwhelmed by the first time!? I started using the carrier almost every day. It made life SO much easier.

Ergobaby OMNI 360 Cool Air Mesh

So when Ergobaby recently reached out to me about reviewing their Ergobaby Cool Air Mesh Carrier, I jumped at the chance. I love my Original Ergo but this thing is a game changer. For starters, when I took it out of the box I immediately noticed how light it was. The mesh material makes it very light and I assumed that would make both of us less sweaty when carrying (SPOILER ALERT! WAY less sweaty...YAY!).

I figured that would be helpful for attending my husband's company picnic at the San Diego Zoo in 80+ degree weather and it definitely was. Our trip to the Zoo was my first time using the CAM carrier. As soon as I put it on, I realized how much more comfortable it was than any other carrier I had previously used. I felt the weight being mostly supported from the waistband and very minimal weight in the straps over my shoulders. There are color coded sections on the inside of the carrier to personalize the fit based on the size of your baby and a sliding tab to adjust fit for inward or forward facing carry positions.

After a little cat nap in the carrier, I turned Augusta around to try out the front carry option. I was really excited to try this, as I had never used a forward facing carrier before and there would be so much for Gus to see at the Zoo. She LOVED it! As we walked around, she could easily look at all the people and animals we passed, kicking her feet and squealing with delight. It was adorable.

Ergobaby at the Airport

I got another great chance to really test out this carrier when we flew to Pittsburgh, PA for the weekend for a wedding. We decided to travel light and ditch the stroller. Perks for traveling using the Ergobaby:

Less stuff to pack- no big heavy stroller for the Airline to lose or break
You can wear baby through security
Two free hands to carry your stuff
Baby can comfortably nap on you on the plane (just take baby out of the carrier for take off and landing)
Easier than pushing a stroller for walking through the airport

Yay Airplanes! This is my hubby...aren't they cute!?

Very rarely do I find a product I can 100% get behind and this is definitely one of them. Juggling small kids can be really hard and anything that makes that easier is worth it in my book.