When I was pregnant, my Instagram feed was inundated with photos of new moms wearing their babies in slings and pouches. I immediately thought I wanted to do that: It seemed so comfortable, so adorable, so efficient. When my husband and I went to a store to register for my baby shower, I hightailed it to the babywearing section and quickly scanned the carrier I already knew I wanted: the BabyBjörn Baby Carrier Mini.
Small, lightweight, and easy to use, this baby carrier was said to be ideal for petite women (like me) and one of the few more-structured baby carriers out there that could safely hold an infant (starting at seven pounds) without an added insert. I knew I would realistically be doing the most babywearing when she was very small, so it made sense to get something I could use almost immediately. I also wanted something that wasn’t incredibly bulky but still had some structure to it. Other popular structured baby carriers, like the Ergobaby Omni, for example, often come with thick waistbands and straps. I liked that the Baby Carrier Mini didn’t come with that bulky waistband or super-thick straps but still felt like it offered more support than a soft wrap.
It doesn’t come in at a terrible price, either: At $99.99, it isn’t exactly cheap, but it also isn’t nearly as much as the Ergobaby Omni 360 or other BabyBjörn products such as the Multi-Position Baby Carrier One Air, which is more than double that price.
A few months after I bought the carrier, I had given birth to my daughter, and my days were long, exhausting, and overwhelming. A few weeks in, once our family support system retreated from doing all of the cooking and cleaning, I was feeling like a bit of a disaster.
My house was always messy and cooking was an afterthought because I rarely had time or energy. My newborn always wanted to be snuggled. I spent almost every waking moment holding or feeding her, and while I genuinely loved being so close to her, it made it difficult to do literally anything else.
One night, I put her down to nap and decided to actually make dinner for once. I had prepped almost everything when she woke up screaming, demanding to be held. Hungry and tired, I burst into tears myself as I gathered her into my arms. Then I remembered that she now weighed enough to be in the Baby Carrier Mini—I’ve never grabbed anything faster.
Getting her into the carrier was quick and simple: All I had to do was slide it over my shoulders, slide her in, and snap two closures. There was no complicated clip against my back or waistband that needed to be adjusted. She laid her little head against my chest and sighed a happy sigh. She was cocooned against me in the soft fabric, looking all around, and my hands were free—it was truly the best of both worlds.
I started babywearing almost every day. I didn’t do it all day long, only when she really wanted to be held and I had other things to do. While she was snuggled in the BabyBjörn, I could cook, clean, write, and eat. She loved to be able to look at everything, and she often fell asleep in there, taking longer naps against me than she did in her bassinet. The carrier quickly became one of my most-loved baby accessories, and I started to feel like a person again, rather than just a baby-holding machine.
It was also convenient when we went out and my daughter inevitably got sick of being in the stroller. I was able to strap her on to me and move around with ease. I felt like being snuggled against me protected her more from all of the people around us, and it always seemed to calm her down.
The Baby Carrier Mini also helped me immensely with one of my biggest postpartum emotional issues. Since giving birth, I had been feeling devastated over the fact that I was no longer pregnant. I missed feeling my baby growing inside of me, and it felt like a part of me had been taken away. When she was in the carrier, it connected us again, and I always felt better. And to this day, seven months later, we still use it—and I don’t think either of us would have it any other way.
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