{Holiday Gift Giveaway #20} BabyBjorn Baby Carrier Active

How it works: You really cannot find a better how-to demonstration than the one on the BabyBjorn website! It includes photos for every step and is very easy to follow.

What I love:

• The style and color selection!
• It does distribute weight evenly and, with a little adjusting, you can make it so that most of the weight is carried using your back rather than your shoulders.
• The carrier comes in two pieces, the front and the back. It all snaps together easily with color-coded parts.

Finding an adjustment that made it comfortable to carry a 23-pound toddler facing out was not easy. Im thinking Emma is about at her limit for being carried in a front pack facing out. It reminds me unpleasantly of being pregnant in the last trimester. 😉 My husband probably could handle it, but not me. Because it is adjustable around the middle in two places (not the shoulder straps themselves), I had to make it pretty tight around my rib cage to get it at a comfortable carrying position. I definitely wont be carrying Emma facing out anymore. This is not the carriers fault at all.

Im not able to test the facing out carry position on a lighter baby (yet), but Im very sure that it would be more comfortable carrying a smaller, lighter child.

Now when I turned Emma around and had her face inward toward me, like I normally carry her in my arms, that was a totally different story. It was very comfortable! Emma was comfortable, too she rested her head against my chest and was really enjoying the bonding time. This is a child who wont sit still for two seconds she liked it! I was delighted as well because her weight is carried just at the right place on my back and I found myself relaxing while walking around with her. I can see myself strolling through the mall carrying her that way, or maybe trying to soothe her to sleep while were out.

Ive decided I need to start bringing this carrier with me whenever we go anywhere because if she gets tired, I can always pull out the BabyBjorn. I can tell you right now that this is a lot more comfortable than carrying her with just my arms would be. Ive seen enough toddlers poop out (hardy har) on a walk or a shopping trip to know that this would be very useful to a lot of moms.

Conclusion: This is the nicest baby carrier Ive come across so far in terms of design, ease of adjusting, style, and general comfort, and I would recommend it without hesitation! My recommendations would be that moms of infants to one year olds enjoy the ability to wear their children facing in or out, and moms of heavier children like mine (probably 20-26 pounds) plan on wearing their children facing inward. I think this is an especially good purchase for a mom of a newborn because theyll be able to wear their baby for a very long time and will get a lot of use out of it! Moms of heavier babies who are active often (hiking, shopping all the time, etc) and want to carry their growing children should also be able to get a lot of use out of the BabyBjorn.