As a passionate advocate of babywearing—and a CBWS-trained babywearing educator—I’ve posted an in-depth babywearing carrier guide, ways to belly-wrap using baby carriers; how to babywear while pregnant; how to babywear a newborn; breastfeeding while babywearing; a babywearing safety guide; how to babywear in the heat of summer; and benefits of babywearing. All of which I’m proud of, and I hope are informative and helpful.
With all this babywearing content, though, you may have wondered what carriers I have in my personal stash. I first got really into babywearing when my oldest was around 6 months old, and I spent the next couple of years trying a bunch from my local babywearing chapter, and building up a collection of carriers I really liked. These day, I’m actually pretty pared down. Back in 2018, I actually sold the vast majority of my carriers (primarily ring slings) to fund my absolute d r e a m woven wrap. Since having my second child, I have hardly added to the stash, but I thought I’d share with you what I personally have on hand.
soft structured carriers
Though I admit SSC can be very useful, when I had just one little, I mostly avoided them. Largely for functional (they have more to adjust than, say, a ring sling), and aesthetic reasons. However, once we were introduced to Happy Baby carriers, we finally found a SSC we liked. Todd especially. Once my son was born, we almost exclusively wore him in Happy Baby’s—though his first carry was in a ring sling!—because he was so heavy, and l o v e d sleeping in the carrier. Now that he’s a wiggly toddler, when we wear, there’s a 99% chance it’s in a Happy Baby.
We’ve got a standard size (gorgeous cream woven, but it became our beater, so it’s not in great shape), and two toddler-size.
ring slings
Ring slings were my ultimate go-to with my first, and I still pull one out on occasion. I am holding onto a custom double linen sling I had made when my daughter was a baby to pass on to her when she’s grown up. I’ve also got a stunning black and white Swiss cross I use with my son that I hope to pass down, as well as an off-white super-soft modal. All are from Wildbird, though my favourite sling brand for the softest carriers is Loveheld.
woven wraps
As of recently, I only have the one. Woven Wings “Here Comes the Rain Again”. The colors (or lack thereof) and pattern make me swoon. 57% Egyptian cotton, 20% Linen, 15% ethically sourced merino wool, and 8% silk. So not too bulky, but still very supportive. This carrier was very hard to find, especially in a longer size. I think the one I have is a size 6, but it’s a tad on the short side; the person I bought it from said only a handful that long were ever made. Gwendolyn very much preferred ring slings by the time I got this, and Harry hasn’t the patience for a wrap job these days, unfortunately. I love it too much to part with it, so I’m not sure if I’ll turn it into a blanket in the future. If I were to have one more child, I’d probably have it turned into a Meh Dai to maximize its usage.
And that’s all I have in my stash right now! I do still have my eye on a particular Happy Baby green colorway; and I’d love a big kid carrier, so we have to option of wearing Gwendolyn comfortably, but otherwise, I feel good with what we’ve got.
What’s your favourite carrier in your stash?
