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Lucia,

I've worn my son since he was about your little one's age, in a mei tai. I have weak shoulders, so pouches and ring slings weren't comfortable for me for the amount of wearing time I had to do. Some other mei tai options besides those listed above:

sachi (www.sachicarriers.com)
beanslings (www.beanslingsandseats.com)
bamberoo (www.bamberoo.etsy.com)
kindercarry (www.magicsling.com, and a photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/23526316@N06)

for buckle carriers, I've loved my olives and applesauce: www.olivesandapplesauce.com, I've found it to be less bulky than the Ergo and Beco and yet more supportive.

some of these options are pricey, but I've had luck finding gently used carriers on the "for sale or trade" forum at thebabywearer (www.thebabywearer.com). They're always in terrific condition as many moms on these boards have larger collections of slings with a high turnover of each one.

Phew, that's more info than I intended to write, but I hope some of it helped! I have loved babywearing with both my kids; it's promoted such a bond and made for many memories.

After trying a slew of slings, we settled on a pouch sling. I found it more comfortable, and liked that there was no swing (like with the ring slings).

I still use a ring sling at times with my almost-two-year-old.

i love, love, love my serene sling. i used it from the moment he was born. it is a thick stretchy material and comes in various sizes.

http://www.serenesling.com/


i am tall and had a very large baby, so i alternated that sling with the moby wrap, which i love, love, love. he is too heavy and is destroying my back in the moby, so now i use the ergo and the serene sling.

my problem with the ergo is that he cannot face forward and see what's going on. as far as weight distribution and fit, i find this the best. it is not as cuddly as other carriers, but my back is thanking me.

i also had issues with over heating in the moby, so i used the picara baby http://picarababycarriers.com/catalog.php?item=8&catid=10&ret=catalog.php%3Fcategory%3D10 in the summer. the fabric is a lot lighter and shorter.

anyhoo, i just wanted to chime in as wearing my baby was the only option for us. he screamed otherwise. i've tried many many carriers and these are what i loved.

good luck!

The Ergo is hands down my favorite. I can wear it on the front, side and back and both baby and I stay comfortable. We just did an all day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I carried my 30lbs 20 month old on my back for 6 hours, and felt fine the whole time.

http://www.ergobabycarriers.com/babycarriers/category/carrier/

I second the Ergo. It has saved my back and continues to be comfortable as the baby grows. It's easy to put on and take off and I think that the body to body contact helps our guy sleep.

my son practically lived in his sling for the first four months of his life. it was a lifesaver! i'm petite too and i really like the rockin' baby sling. it has a long tail, but it was easy to twist up and tuck under the pouch.

http://rockinbabysling.com/

What's the best option for a pair of larger parents with a newborn? I'm just under 6', my husband is 6'2", I'm not skinny and he's a serious weightlifter. I'm due in the next two weeks, and I was planning on using an Ergo eventually because I have some abdominal issues that might make the other slings difficult for me when the baby get bigger. But now I read it might not be good for larger parents. I'm thinking about getting a sling to wear around the house while she's still small. Or should I get a pouch?

I totally suggest going to www.thebabywearer.com. It has tons of info about all the different kinds of slings.

Pencils, I highly recommend the Kangaroo Korner fleece pouch for you and your husband. Because the two of you are about the same height, you two can toss it between you and not have to readjust each time. The fleece is incredibly cozy. My little guy used to just about let out a sigh of contentment each time I put him in it.

When he was about three months I added the Ergo in the mix. There is a fair amount of adjustment possible with the waistband of the Ergo. Don't rule it out - just wait until you've had your baby and go to a store that sells them. They should have one you can try on to make sure it fits.

I've done a whole bunch of carriers, and I used an Ergo the longest. I tried the Bjorn, too, but after I found out how unnatural crotch-carry was, I ditched that thing. Good riddance. Months ago I bought a Calyx carrier and think that carriers that allow you to put your kiddo on like a backpack are a huge boon.

Pencils -- I am 5'10" & my husband 6'2". We use and like the Ergo. My husband is a 34" waist band (and at 6 months (when we bought it so was I). As the Ergo comes out of the box it would be a tight fit if he was any bigger; however, they do sell an extender for the waste band, so if needed I'd look into that. I've found it really easy to adjust when we switch who is carrying.

I started with a Moby and moved to the Ergo when he was bigger as it is easier on the go and more supportive -- my son is very tall and a heavy little guy! The Moby was definitely the most cozy and flexible sling I found for the first few months. A few times I even nursed him straight through a meal in a restaurant and no one was the wiser -- even the friends we ate with had no clue!

Thanks for the article. I hadn't heard of Beco before. It looks like exactly what I was looking for.

I was given 2 different pouch slings (Peanut Shell and another one) and my baby HATED them both. Even from a young age, she liked to see out and be upright so I purchased the Moby Wrap. She loved the Moby and so did I (after getting familiar with how to wrap it); I wore the Moby with her everyday until she was about 4 months old.

Then, summer came and it was just too warm to be constricted in that much fabric. We turned to the Baby Bjorn which we had purchased before she was born. It took some getting used to, but our baby warmed up to the Bjorn and enjoyed facing outwards, although it does make for a bit of a jostling ride and I don't recommend it for babies who are spitters. My husband finds the Bjorn comfortable (he's 6' tall and fairly broad), but I LOATHE wearing it. My 7 month old baby is 20 pounds and I'm 5'7" with small to average shoulder width and a small waist... even with the lumbar support, I find the Bjorn pulls at the back of my neck and shoulders in an excruciating way.

About a month ago, I was fortunate to borrow an Ergo carrier from a girlfriend to try it out for a weekend. I LOVED THE ERGO!!! I've done a good amount of trekking with a backpack and the feeling of wearing the Ergo with a baby is similar. You feel the weight of the baby, but it is distributed in all the right places: on the outside of your shoulders and hips. My baby is now 8.5 months old, about 22 pounds and 30 inches long. I've been using the Ergo for a month now with both the front and back carrying positions and it is my hands-down favorite of all the carriers. It's also the only carrier I could easily transfer our sleeping baby from into a crib without major fuss to continue her nap. If I could do it all over again, I would buy the Ergo and forget about all the other carriers on the market. The Ergo also has a handy zippered pocket in the front, so if you just need to run out for an hour or two, you can leave your diaper bag at home.

As my doula said, every baby is different, every every wearer is different. You really have to road-test a sling before knowing whether it will work for you, despite everyone's recommendations. Our doula had many slings that she lent to us to try out -- is there someone you know who can let you try theirs?

Pencils, I'm not tall, but I'm not skinny. As a size 18 I don't have to use the waist extender, but I do because it makes the carrier easier to take on and off, and switch from front to back, back to side, etc.

You should definitely try the Ergo out if you're petite. I am 5'3 and a size 4 and find it a little bulky with my six month old. I tend to use a ring sling more often now that he's bigger. When he was smaller, I used a wrap sling (the Moby) every single day.

My favorite was the zolowear sling. I loved wearing my youngest. I started with the kangaroo korner fleece pouch, but once summer hit we moved to the zolowear cotton sling. Then a wedding in the fall and I knew I wanted one of the silk slings. I can't say enough great things about Darien and her fabulous slings. www.zolowear.com

I agree with many of the others. I think that a wrap (moby style) is perfect for birth to about 6 months. It is easy to wrap, though not always convenient because of the length. A friend made me one out of stretchy cotton.(instructions at www.thebabywearer.com) It was essential for us to have it at all times and I was free to do so many things while the baby head is supported to well.
When my daughter turned about 6 months and 15 lbs, we purchased the Ergo which is great as well. You have to figure out how it fits best on your body and you will not have hardly any weight on your shoulders. I hike with my 18lb daughter in it either in the back or the front.
I also recommend borrowing other peoples to try them out even for just a couple hours. But I truly believe you cannot go wrong with either of these two methods! PS: I also have a sling and anything over just one should is simply not as comfortable!!

What about the Baby K'Tan? Its similar to a Moby Wrap, except its really simple to use, with two interlocking loops--check out their website. www.babyktan.com

I've heard good things about them and they have a simple instruction video on the website.

while my son was young i used a ring sling and at 8m we bought a bjorn for a trip out of state.. both were awesome, but i prefered the sling over the bjorn mostly because i was able to nurse while wearing him. and yes, the extra flap of material was good for cover up. friends of mine had an ergo and used it up til their baby was well over 12 months. also, dont just buy something because you think it looks cool.. comfort is soo much more important when it comes to your back and baby.

Another vote towards visiting www.thebabywearer.com for more info and options. We decided to use a fitted pouch sling for our baby and it's been great for us. Bought it from a really nice mom on Etsy (www.smallwish.etsy.com). Now that the baby's 4 mo. and 17 lbs (!!!), I'm looking for a 2-shoulder carrier to help distribute the weight.

My husband and I both love our Ergo - we've used it since our baby was a newborn. He needed the infant insert for the first four months and then was okay on his own in it. I also have a sling, which is great for hip-carrying and older child around the house, or for newborns. Plus, I used a wrap when he was small - it was SO comfy. Still, if I were allowed only one, it'd be the Ergo.

Sutemi Pack, from Sutemi Gear. It's been discontinued, but you can find them on ebay etc. Best ever. So comfortable for both my wife and I. We used a sling until babes had good neck control then switched to Sutemi Pack. I've carried my 2.5 year old daughter all around a holiday parade in it. We kept each other warm and it was comfy.

baby bjorn lovers here, though I note they're not popular on this board. We used our bjorn right through to age 1 with both our little people (who are now not so little anymore!). We tried other slings (maya wrap and something else) but could not for the life of us make it comfortable for baby or for us. The bjorn was perfect: we felt comfortable and the peanuts loved it.

I dig the modmum baby slings www.modmum.com you can even purchase them wholesale http://www.modmum.com/content/Wholesale/1007