The Best Baby Carrier Or Soft Structured Carrier - What Features Are Priority?

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Choosing the BEST baby carrier for you and your baby can be a daunting task. With so many to choose from, and so many features to pick from, it's hard to know what is and is not a priority. Well, let me break it down for you.

SAFETY is the number one concern, and the best baby carriers are made from high quality materials such as 100% cotton, 100% polyester, or a mix of lycra and mesh. Strong fabrics ensure that there will be no rips or tears in the material. Verify that the buckles are durable and well made. Some soft structured carriers offer safety buckles that prevent accidental opening, which are great, but they can also be a pain when it takes two hands to open it instead of one. Also, the best baby carriers offer several different carrying positions, such as front, back, and hip carry. Make sure each position provides an ergonomically correct sitting position verses a hanging crotch position, which can actually cause damage to a developing spine if positioned for long periods of time. Proper head support is also an important feature, especially if you intend to use it for a newborn.

COMFORT for both you and the Baby is the second concern. The best baby carriers offers wide, padded shoulder straps, and a wide padded waist belt. The waist belt should offer lumbar support and serve as a balancer for distributing most of the weight to your hips verses your shoulders and neck. Also look for a sternum strap, these help maximize the weight distribution and provide better security. Make sure all of the straps are fully adjustable too. Some baby carriers offer shoulder and waist belt extensions, however, if you can find one with plenty of room for adjustment already built in, than you won't have to spend the extra money later on down the road. The best baby carriers are easy to adjust as well, offering an easy transfer from one person to another without a whole lot of fuss. As far as Baby is concerned, aside from an ergonomically correct sitting position, make sure that the leg wholes are wide enough that they won't rub uncomfortably on chubby little thighs. The soft structured carrier should also have plenty of room to grow, whether an infant insert is included, or it offers a width alternating base.

Check the WEIGHT LIMITS. The best baby carriers are rated to carry up to 40 or 45 pounds, however, there are a few that are only rated for 26 pounds, so make sure you check the maximum weight capacity if you plan on using it for an extended period of time. Also, some soft structured carriers are only rated to carry a minimum of 15 pounds, but also offer the option of purchasing an infant insert sold separately that goes from 7 to 15 pounds.

POSITIONS are very important when searching for the best baby carrier. Some only offer two, front facing in or out, while others offer up to 5 positions, front facing in and out, back, hip, and cradle. Knowing which positions are most important to you before you buy can help a great deal. For instance, my daughter loves the front facing out carry position, and there are several soft structured baby carriers that don't offer it, therefore that would have been one of my main priorities.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES that may or may not interest you are, sleeping hoods, and storage pockets. Many soft structured carriers offer removable sleeping hoods, or hoods that are attached and store in a pocket when not in use. Some also offer storage pockets for carrying keys, wallet, cell phone, etc.

CHECK FOR RECALLS. Lastly, check to make sure that the soft structured carrier you're interested in has not been recalled for any reason. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission offers a list of "Infant/Child Product Recalls". I would suggest reading through this list to verify that the baby carrier you have in mind is not included.

Tasha Franklin is a Stay-At-Home Mom from Montana, as well as a Professional Product Reviewer specializing in Baby Products.

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