When my son was a baby we used the
Over the Shoulder Baby Holder with good results. I liked it enough that I actually held onto it, which is more than I can say for the majority of our baby gear. Of course, no sooner did I get rid of everything did I end up pregnant again. But, figuring that I still had the OTSBH carrier I didn't put a baby carrier on my list of things to buy. As it turns out, I should have put it on my list because the OTSBH carrier did not work at all for me and my daughter. How could something that worked so great for one child work so different for the next? Ok, Ok.. kids are different kids and with 4 years in between my body had become a totally different shape - bigger in some spots, smaller in others... ahh aging. So, on the quest for a perfect baby carrier we went.
While she was a tiny baby she did great in a standard front carrier from
Infantino. But, I was still looking for something more "long-run". One of my girlfriends pointed me in the direction of the
Moby Wrap. She's one of those moms who doesn't believe in using strollers and has used just about every carrier, wrap, or sling that is out there. Since she gave this one so much praise I figured I would try it out. I googled it, found it, and bought one for around $35. The wraps can be purchased directly from www.mobywrap.com or thru various boutiques and resellers.
What's the Moby Wrap
The Moby Wrap is a wrap style carrier. If you are new to baby carriers and are thinking to yourself.. "Whats a wrap?" A wrap is basically a big piece of fabric that you can "wrap" all around you and your baby to carry them in a variety of positions. The Moby Wrap comes in several different color choices (their website currently lists 12 different colors), and now fabric choices (Moby D is a 2 tone with specialty fabric, and there's one with UV protection). The standard Moby Wrap is 100% cotton, and essentially is a big piece of fabric approximately 18 feet long by 2 feet wide with slightly tapered ends. There's a single "moby" logo at the very center of the fabric (when its folded) to use for positioning purposes. Because its a single piece of fabric with no padding, plastic or what not - its machine washable (on cold) and can go right in the dryer on gentle cycle.
You can use a Moby Wrap comfortably with a newborn up to 35 pound child in it. The fabric is supposedly rated for up to 45 pounds, but I can't imagine any child that size being wrapped or carried willingly or comfortably. The carrier only comes in one size which is "one size fits most".
The Moby Wrap comes with instructions (that are also shown at www.mobywrap.com) showing several of the ways to wear the wrap and carry your baby. First, the standard "wrap" as well as hug, cradle, joey, twin, hip, lotus, and hike (on the back). The instructions are written out step by step and have pictures for each step which are extremely helpful. They've even got instructions and tips for nursing in the Moby and also exercising in the Moby (though, not both at the same time!).
Our Experience
Ok. So I received my Moby Wrap in the mail and was so excited to try it right away. It looked so great on the website and my girlfriend swears by it. So, I took it out and grabbed the instructions and my daughter (who was a lot smaller than she is now) and wrapped her right up and we were good to go, happily ever after. HA HA HA! Yeah right. Not quite. Well, what I should have done was pick up the phone and ask my friend to come over and show me how to do this. But, did I do that? No. I was stubborn and determined to figure it out on my own. So here I am, sleep deprived with a fussy baby who wants to be held and an 18 foot long piece of pink fabric that completely overwhelmed me. I put it away for another day, and read up on the directions a bit more to try again some other time.
Determined to do it, I tried again and I'm glad I did. The instructions are very easy to follow and I appreciate that they have a picture with text for each step. Here's how to do a basic wrap:
1. Position the moby so that the logo is at your waist/belly button.
2. Cross the 2 ends of the fabric around your back bring them up over each opposite shoulder.
3. Coming down from over your shoulder to your front run each "tail" of the carrier UNDER where the logo is (the wrap that goes around your waist)
4. Cross these 2 pieces in the front under the logo and then wrap them around to the back. (optionally you can tie a knot here, I never did)
5.Wrap the pieces back around to the front and double knot here.
6. Spread the fabric out so that the weight is evenly distributed over your shoulders
Place your baby in to your position of choice.
The manufacturer suggests practicing 3-5 times and you'll "get it". I'm a visual learner so having the pictures there really did help. A few of my friends have wanted to try it out and I've shown them how to do it in a matter of minutes.
My daughter loved to ride in the moby wrap when she was an infant. The wrap allowed me to hold her comfortably in whatever position suited the moment. Snuggly time, and she could be held vertically with her head close to my heart, or cradled. The stretchy fabric allowed for me to cover her up if she was sleeping, or breastfeed discreetly. When she got a bit older and was more curious I could turn her outwards and have her in the joey hold. My older son went thru a period where he wouldn't stay in our Sit N Stand stroller (on the back standing portion), and so I used this wrap to carry the baby and still have my hands free to chase him or hold his hand.
I absolutely love that this carrier is 100% cotton and could just be tossed in the washer and dryer. Considering that it got sweaty, faced leaky diapers, and spit up on more than one occasion - the fact that it is super easy to clean is a blessing. I did sometimes regret my fabric choice which was the light pink one. Yes, it was super girly but I probably should have opted for a darker more neutral color for practical reasons.
My pink one cleaned up nicely but it got dirtied more than a few times simply during the "put it on" process. Considering its such a long piece of fabric there is absolutely no way (for me) to put it on without the ends of it touching the ground or floor at some point. Its just cumbersome to deal with such a big long piece of fabric. Add an impatient older sibling who is running off in a parking lot or busy place and the put-on process for this wrap became even more challenging for us.
Overall
I'm torn on my recommendation for the Moby Wrap. On the plus side its comfortable to wear, easy to clean, has clear instructions, is inexpensive when compared to other wrap carriers, and it comes in lots of fabric choices. Still, this is essentially just one big long piece of cloth that comes with instructions on how to tie said piece of cloth up to hold your baby. And, when I think about it like that I laugh that I paid $35 for a piece of cotton fabric. All in all, while we were using it I found it served its purpose well. My recommendation is to try this if you are looking to enter the world of wrap style carriers with the understanding that there is definitely a learning curve involved.
Happy Baby Wearing!
My Other Baby Carrier Reviews
Hip Baby
Over the Shoulder Baby Holder
Playtex Hip Hammock
Infantino Baby Connection Cozy Carrier
http://www.mobywrap.com
BabyEarth
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