Ergo's, are they "just that good" ?

I am interested in getting an Ergo for Abbey. We have the peanut sling atm and she likes that but it's starting to get abit heavy on my shoulder. So I was thinking of changing to an Ergo.

I searched the baby expo for a stall selling them so I could try one out and hopefully get one. To no avail :(

I am keen to get one though and am wondering are they Just that good ? Are they comfortable ? Do they pull on your shoulders ?

And..... Where can I find one cheaper ??

trish i love mine! not too bad on the shoulders as your waist carries most of the load, there is a website around hopefully someone will come on a tell you about it, that explains everything, bubblbubs have them on sale at the moment for $119 with free postage if you pay by credit, you can get second hand fro around $100 or check ebay

Ohhhh great price too hun. Thanks a heap for that. Now to convince the male that I really do need one.

Damn not having the funds in my own card, I have the cash sitting here. Just not in my account !!

OK, I now have "the" card. What colour do I get :D

Trish, this is an edited post I wrote for another thread.

Ergos are excellent for out and abouting as they have a good sized pocket, a sleeping hood, and are quick and easy to get on and off and to adjust. They are best for back carries though (from six months), but are still very comfy for a front carry. Ergo recommend that the insert be used until four months. I started using it without the insert from three months - my bub is tall with long legs. They have quite a wide base and bubs needs to be able to straddle your waist with their legs before they can sit in a front carry comfortably. So a smaller baby might have a little more difficulty. You can't do a froggy carry in an Ergo (legs tucked in).

The Ergo sits on the hips, so quite low compared to a traditional mei tai which sits on the waist, and the baby does not sit quite as snugly as with a mei tai. They still distribute the weight quite well though (but not as well as a mei tai - I cannot get bubs as snug against my body which creates drag on the shoulders). The shoulder straps are quite heavily padded - I find them quite comfortable but they are a bit awkward if you want to carry a bag or backpack as well. They are very comfortable for long carries and are rated to up to 20kg. You can also breastfeed in them, although I've not had any success doing this as I have small boobs and a long baby, so cannot drop him low enough or lift the boob high enough for him to feed comfortably in the carrier. Personally I find my mei tai much more comfortable than the Ergo though.

Alternative soft structured carriers based on a mei tai are pikkolo, patapum or beco for example; like an Ergo these all support the baby in a sitting position rather than hanging, so their spine is not compressed.

If you want a soft structured carrier (ie: with buckles) that you can position the baby facing out, a Pikkolo (made by CatBirdBaby) is a good option. It has a sleeping hood, and a cinch mechanism that allows you to have baby facing out, or facing in with legs out from newborn. And it can carry up to 20kg (like an ergo).

One thing about Ergo that I personally do not like is that they employ some pretty aggressive business tactics. They have just had a patent granted, which effectively patents the concept of a buckled carrier, as opposed to the Ergo design itself. This is pushing a lot of the WAHMs who make buckled carriers with quite pronounced differences out of the market for fear of litigation, that ultimately they would win, but cannot afford to jeopardise their livelihoods battling in the courts with a large company like Ergo. Others may not have a problem with this - it is business after all, but it's worth putting it out there.

HTH

Trish- I just love my Ergo. It is so comfy on the back and shoulders- in fact I don't feel anything and I have a dodgy back. And DD just loves riding in it. With the colours I got black with the camel insert only because I know the camel one (camel being the main colour) would get really grubby with my hands and also with DD sucking. You can get suck pads but I figured no need to with the black. And it is recommended that they are not washed too often. The mulberry one is nice but I wear quite a bit of pink. And I didn't look at the other colours. I got mine for $129 including overnight post from babesinarms.

I have an Ergo and I LOVE it! After using a Baby Bjorn and wanting to take it off as soon as I'd put it on it is heaven! No pulling on the shoulders. I wore mine for a couple of hours today at a friend's party and I was really comfortable.

I have the black and jade one, so nice!

I got one this afternoon. A black and jade one :D

I really liked the cranberry, but if I have any kind of hope of DP wearing it I thought I should get black.

Suse, thanks a heap for all that info. I am really hoping that I am one of the lucky ones who finds it comfortable.

Finally got my Ergo today. I tried Abbey in it when she woke up. I have hung out the washing with her in it and then I came inside. She is fast asleep in the Ergo right now and has been for about 30 mintues or so. Snoring away :D

I will say that it does still pull on my shoulders and upper back though. But any way I carry the baby is going to do that anyway.

Glad to hear you like it Trish!! I've got the black and camel, but really liked the cranberry too.

If you're getting drag on the shoulders, try flattening Abbey's body against yours as much as possible, and do a couple of little bounces to settle her into the seat as you tighten the shoulder straps. If she's a leaner, lean back a bit as you tighten the straps to flatten her against you more. The flatter she is, the more her weight is carried on your hips, not on the shoulders.

BTW, Abbey is just gorgeous! Can you believe our little bubbas are six months old already. Whatever happened to the time!

I find mine pulls on my shoulders if I make the straps that you tighten under your arms too much. It takes a while to find a good balance and then DH changes it when he wears it :doh:!

I agree with Suse, the more weight you can carry on your hips the easier it is on your shoulders and back. Maybe play with the height around your waist too?

Glad you like yours, they're so wonderful! (Great taste in colours too ;))

Ohh thanks for the tips Suse and Trish. I will try doing those. I guessed it was a bit of trial and error.

And Suse, nope the last 6 months has gone way too fast. My little princess is growing up. Pretty soon she'll be walking and talking and annoying just like the rest of them ;)

I went to my local baby shop to find out a bit more about baby carriers . the sales lady was trying to push an ergo and telling me it can be used up to 25kilos - I said are you joking - I certainly don't want to be carrying my child when they are that heavy!!!! Look I know some people might - but not me. I think 10 kilos would be my limit. My husband could manage to carry for longer though. I will stick to my sisters Babybjorn. i see heaps of them around, but not anything else.

I have carried my 3 year old niece in it on a back carry and she was no problem (about 14kg). You may not want to carry them to that weight however it is possible to do so and much easier to pack a carrier than a pram you may not use for a 2 year old who wants to walk and then gets tired. I have a BB and an ERGO (and a peanut shell and a HAB :rofl:) and I find with my nearly one year old I can't use the BB because it drags on my shoulders and hurts my back. I have found this for a few months and he isn't 9kg yet.

You still need to pick up your child after they reach 10kg and if, like me, you often do the shopping etc on your own, having a comfortable carrier means you can get things done without having both hands tied up carrying the child. At the moment I use the peanut shell in a hip carry for short trips but the ERGO if we are doing the groceries.

I love mine too! Like Trish and Suse said, I'm still trying to figure out how to get him in the best positoin, the first time i used it it hurt my shoulders a bit, but I've since pulled him in tighter and it takes the weight off the shoulders.

Question - had him in it when I went shopping the other day and had my nappy bag too. Seriously didn't work. Defeated the whole purpose of having him in the ergo rather than the pram, too much to juggle. What do you guys do? If we are just going to the park etc I just chuck my keys, phone etc in the front pocket, but what about longer trips?

i love my ergo!!
i use it more than my pram. i could seriously live without a pram and just have the ergo instead.
willow- i just put ds in the front position and then carry the nappy bag over my shoulder. seems to work fine. obviously it's better if you can do it without the bag- so when i'm in supermarket etc. i just leave the bag in the car and put my wallet in the front pocket.

Willow - I leave my nappy bag in the car LOL! You can buy an Ergo backpack that clips onto your Ergo so you don't need to carry a nappy bag. Not sure if you really want to fork out the extra $$$ though! You can just wear a normal backpack otherwise, sometimes I pack DH up with the Ergo on the front and backpack on the back ;)

I second and third and fifteenth all this - I love the ergo. Sometimes i have a hard time getting the adjustments right so the weight is carried well, after DH has been wearing it. But it's very comfy and DS loves it.

He didn't love it for a while when he was in between the newborn insert which was getting squishy and sitting up - but he's 8+kg now and going great. He smiles at ppl much more in the ergo, I think because he feels secure next to me?

I also send DH out for walks with him in the early evening/late arvo if he's unsettled and he calms down and naps a bit which is great.