Baby wrap recs for petite mom-to-be?

April 22, 2018 3:19 PM

I'm small and petite framed - 5'0, 115 pre-pregnancy. I want a wrap to wear my newborn around the house and out for walks, and I can't seem to decide on one because the choices are overwhelming and the reviews are mostly good, which doesn't narrow the pool much. Details below the fold.

It's going to be warm when she's born so I need something breathable.

I tried the Baby Waybe and I love how soft it is, but it's too heavy and WAY too long (9 ft).

Does anyone have any other recommendations?

posted by onecircleaday to Shopping (19 answers total)

With my second daughter I liked the Baby K'Tan, which had the look of a wrap, but wasn't so complicated--you just pop the baby in. (But this was 10 years ago (!) now, so there may be better options. I'm 5' and ~100 lbs. Can't remember what size I used either.)

I also had a sling that was essentially a tube of somewhat stretchy fabric that went over one shoulder like a cross-body bag, and you put the baby into it and then supported the baby; it was super-convenient, but I think I gave myself some permanent mild shoulder/neck damage because now if I have too much weight on that shoulder I get a headache. So be careful with the weight distribution long-term.
posted by leahwrenn at 3:51 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

Most wraps are going to be hot to wear simply from the multiple layers of fabric. You may want to try a mei tai carrier, they're much easier to get on and off and much less fabric is involved.
posted by OnefortheLast at 3:52 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

Congratulations! I am slightly smaller than you and found that the best bets were the more structured carriers — went with an Ergo ultimately — because the inevitable small bit of slippage/sagging on the wrap kinds had the kid sliding towards my knees. That said...even the best carrier never worked well for me like it did for my husband. With that little torso space, plus enlarged breasts from feeding and a decent-sized baby that was a significant portion of my body weight not far out into his life...I just never got the lovely baby-wearing experience I hear of so often. (And it all worked out absolutely fine, of course, but just a caution.)
posted by LadyInWaiting at 3:56 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

Is there a baby store near you? They often have "try on" sessions where you can experiment with different kinds of baby wearing devices. Sometimes there's a fee but they'll usually apply it to a product.

I had a moby wrap but never really mastered it. My babies were also very large and pretty wiggly and I just never felt like I could go handsfree, but I had friends who really liked theirs. A ring sling was also ruled out pretty much the minute I tried it because it was digging into my shoulder, but again I know people who loved theirs.

I ended up with a mei tai (mine was from Catbird Baby but there are lots out there) that worked quite well. We also had a hand-me-down Ergo that was easy to use and seemed comfortable but was overkill for my kiddo.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 3:58 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

I'm a little smaller than you, and strongly preferred structured carriers (Boba 4g was my choice but there are lots of good ones). Wraps are so pretty but I was drowning in excess fabric. My husband liked them but I just felt like it was twice as much as needed. Fwiw, most of my friends who prefer wraps to carriers tend to be taller!
posted by john_snow at 3:59 PM on April 22, 2018

I'm going to second and third avoiding slings at all costs, your back neck and shoulders will thank you.
I will also second the Ergo, I am very small framed and mine was well used and lasted through 3 kids and worked well until about age 2, but I'll add that for babies under 3 months, it's just not all that secure and left me with a coinstant feeling as though they'd slip out of the side when doing anything other than standing upright.
I also had a Moby, and the fabric relaxes and stretches a little too much throught wearing it and had to be constantly tightened. It was also way too hot for summers.
posted by OnefortheLast at 4:03 PM on April 22, 2018

Oh I so agree with what everyone's saying. I'm super short and had the same issue. For me, success was via a structured carrier. We used the Baby Bjorn (though this was 15 years ago, so I'm sure there are better choices now) and it was good both for me and for my tall husband.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:04 PM on April 22, 2018

I recommend seeing if there is local babywearing FB group in your area - mine has meet ups so you can try them on before you buy. I use a Lillebaby all seasons with my 2 month old, it’s still warm but the mesh is definitely more breathable and cooler than a wrap. I’m 5”6 and it’s pretty big so that brand might not work for you. A petite friend of mine uses a Beco Gemini and is comfortable in it.
posted by tatiana wishbone at 4:31 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

Also had the baby k'tan as mentioned above. I know they have a mesh variant which in hindsight I wish I had bought instead. Good flexibility for multiple positions and I did use it a lot in the first few months.
posted by MandaSayGrr at 6:14 PM on April 22, 2018

Finding a local babywearing group is a great idea. I wish I had done this, but here's what I've figured out the slow way:

The Baby K'Tans are notorious for running large. I'm 5'9" and 140lbs, and the small K'Tan was much too big for me. Maybe an XXS would work for you? But it might still be too large.

When my baby was a newborn, I used a ring sling and a Solly Wrap. I liked the ring sling for quick trips to the store and around the house and used the Solly Wrap for longer outings. The Solly Wrap is pretty similar to the wrap you're looking at, and it is quite long, but you can just tie off the extra length by doubling it around your waist. It seems like if you were crafty you could hem it as necessary as well. I had an August baby in North Carolina and went with the Solly over other wraps because it's supposed to be cooler. I used it on all but the hottest of the days, but on those days there's no way having a baby snuggled up against you isn't going to be a sweaty affair.
posted by radiomayonnaise at 6:25 PM on April 22, 2018

The Moby was our go-to wrap, but it was best for cold weather. We tended towards an Ergo baby carrier for both our kids, and my wife is 5'4"
posted by nickggully at 8:10 PM on April 22, 2018

I've used all kinds of baby carriers over the years with 3 kids, and tho I often chose one carrier over another based on circumstances ( Boba wrap over moby for early tiny baby days as I liked the stretchiness, Ergo 360 for lengthier baby wearing) there was one I seemed to reach for most often. Sakura Bloom. It's linen so very cool and breathable. Simple colors matched easily to what I wore. Can wear newborn up through toddler. If you place the rings carefully high on shoulder, kind of by tricep, it doesn't seem to be uncomfortable. I have chronic neck and migraine issues and once I played with positions of ring sling, and kept the baby snug and tight, I didn't have any pain. I'm also very petit, and found the long wraps to be a little too much fabric for me.
posted by Rapunzel1111 at 8:53 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

+1 try before you buy
My kid haaaaated wraps as much as I wanted to wear them it didn't happen.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:59 PM on April 22, 2018

N’thing trying before you buy. Our daughter was a big baby and the sling was useful for a very short period. The baby Bjorn was useful for a bit longer, but eventually she got so big that we’d get back pain if we went for too long. My wife went to a lillebaby which she loved and used for much longer, while I went to a Kelty hiking backpack carrier. She outgrew all of these at about 18 months.

So basically my only note of caution is that there may be a ratio of your baby’s size vs your size which can make the baby wearing options obsolete. Some of these options can be sort of pricey so it may make sense to plan for the future.
posted by Comrade_robot at 4:13 AM on April 23, 2018

I’m 5’3” and on the slight side, and my favorite carrier was hands down a sling, Sakura Bloom (linen and “theory” bamboo) in particular. I didn’t even start using a sling until my son was around 22 lbs at 6 months and wore him until he started walking around 15 months. You need to distribute the weight evenly across your shoulder and pull tight. Definitely a learning curve but so worth it in my opinion. It was a lifesaver on solo flights.
posted by permiechickie at 7:41 AM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

solly baby! i have an ergo, a beco, two ring slings (cotton and silk), and a stretchy wrap. wore my second baby, born in september, in the solly for the first ~4 months of her life. soft, thin fabric, yet supportive. my favorite for the hot newborn stage!
posted by sabh at 11:45 AM on April 23, 2018

A sling workshop will be able to give you advice based on your build and your baby’s size - we had a lovely stretchy Hana wrap when Baby Timkletown was little, then a Manduca carrier once he was bigger (we were recommended the Manduca as I’m short with narrow shoulders but BT is pretty big and we wanted the sling to last until he is three or so).

I went into the workshop intending to buy an Ergo, but it just didn’t fit as well. People suggesting that slings give them backache or neckache probably weren’t using a well-fitting sling - you should barely be able to feel the child once the sling is adjusted properly.
posted by tinkletown at 4:19 PM on April 23, 2018

I really like our JJ Cole carrier that is soft like a wrap, but with less fabric. Also really easy.
posted by oryelle at 4:51 PM on April 23, 2018

So I was the same height and weight as you and I bought and returned almost every carrier on the market. Here is my rundown:

Moby wrap, any other wrap, lillebaby, ergo, boba, tula - freaking giant, made me look like a space man, front panels on the structured carriers were way too wide for me, ones that had padded waist support belts were actually more uncomfortable because the belt was more huge that a wcw championship belt. I do not understand what giants walk among us and post the numerous glowing reviews of these things.

Baby Ktan - worked, but only for a short period of time due to increasing weight of baby

meit tai style - i actually liked these as long as it had cinch-ability a the bottom, but they were inconvenient to put on in say a parking lot because the long ties drag on the ground and that was sort of gross, but easy to wash and dry in a machine. Sort of needed to finagle to get head support. Kid got bored of facing in all the time.

Cheap carriers by infantino and chicco - often actually felt better than whatever big name they were trying to know off because they were lighter. Buckles and staps tended to be a little more stubborn and hard to adjust, but they were generally worth the money and functioned.

Beco - nice! Narrower front panel made sense on my body, wearing the back straps criss-crossed worked well for support and the waist belt isn't ginormous. kids got tired of facing in though.

Baby Bjorn One - this is the one i ended up keeping after the baby ktan was outgrown. narrow front panel, no insert necessary for infants, good neck support, slip on over your head style so you arn't reaching for giant straps behind your back, straps easily adjust, baby can face in or out. machine washable. I like the proprietary buckle design. easy to adjust between myself or dad. can be worn equally well under or over a winter coat. This carrier is just the best and it gets no love. It deserves high praise. As another petite person, this is the one to go for.
posted by WeekendJen at 8:55 AM on April 24, 2018