Searching for the perfect baby-wearing device

Ever since Esme was born I have been on the search for the perfect sling/pouch/baby-wearing device. Now that I have two children and seen one child through different ages of baby-wearing (we still wear her, even though she is 2 and a half!), I have learned a lot. The biggest lesson is that not one carrier will fit every person or every baby.

When Esme was a newborn, the Kangaroo pouch was one of her favorite places to be. But Emil was born leaping out of our arms, almost literally. He is a squirmy worm, arms and legs jutting out with no warning or rhythm, back arched in defiance. The pouch, which holds a tiny baby in stretchy fleece material is kind of like an artificial womb, and thus way too confining for Emil. He is much more of a Baby Bjorn kind of kid, facing out to watch the world, kicking his legs and punching his arms freely as he sees something that excites him (usually a smiling woman going all goo-goo on him).

But the Baby Bjorn hurts my back, so we recently tried a new carrier called the Ergo. It also serves as a soft (as opposed to hard frame) back carrier. Emil likes it better than the pouch, but not as well as the Bjorn. However, it is so much nicer for my back that I don't carry him in the Bjorn anymore. The Ergo works almost like a good backpack for hiking - takes the weight and holds it in around the waist, reducing the stress on the back. The only problem with it is that Emil can't face outward, but only inward towards me, and he's a little extrovert, always on the lookout for women to flirt with. The Ergo cramps his style a little, but he puts up with it.

The pouch has been a wonderful carrier for Esme even as she has gotten older. She now rides in it on our hips, with the pouch hugging her tight to my body and keeping my arms from doing the tough job of holding her for extended periods of time. Last May, when we were in a small town Mexico for a week, she went everywhere attached to our hips this way, and it was wonderful - much better than a stroller bumping over dirt and cobbled streets.

And so the result of my search is this: different babies might have the different perfect baby-wearing devices. May you find your perfect one sooner rather than later! They make life so much nicer.