My name is Gillie. I am a 30-year-old, Canadian mumma living in Vietnam. I met my incredible Kiwi husband in London, England, eight years ago and he has been my life and travel partner ever since.
Our remarkable son was born 10 months ago in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — our home for the past four-plus years. This little travel companion has already visited numerous countries and has filled us with a new sense of purpose and exploration.
Gillie received an Ergo 360 baby/toddler carrier in exchange for her honest review. She has been testing it between Canada, Vietnam and other Asian travel for six months.
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“Two babies? You have two babies?” the Vietnamese nurse asked me as I entered her office.
“No, just one very big baby,” I responded, looking down the gigantic basketball I was smuggling beneath my T-shirt.
What was once a joke was now becoming a bit of a concern. This baby wasn’t just huge by Vietnamese standards; this baby was just straight-up huge. My back was already struggling to make it through month seven. How big is this baby going to be?!
By the time our wee man was three months old, he was a 14-pound handful. He loved to cuddle and to be rocked to sleep. Unfortunately, my post-cesarian condition meant that my core was not as strong as it once was and rocking the babe for longer than five minutes was beginning to take its toll.
Our baby carrier was just not cutting the mustard. It was uncomfortable and difficult to get the wee man out of; which made the sleeping-baby-transfer act near impossible.
Enter the Ergobaby 360 carrier.
THE GOOD
This carrier is the most papous-like product I have ever come across. As a couple who have practised kangaroo care (skin-to-skin contact) since the beginning, our wee man loves this carrier.
The waist belt, deep pouch, adjustable arms and two-setting neck roll means that it is comfortable for parents and baby.
Comparing it to our first carrier (a Chicco model), it’s a complete 180 to the 360 (see what I did just there…?). Where we could once feel every bit of the baby’s weight, it was now distributed evenly throughout the carrier. The Ergo 360 made it feel as though our baby was only six pounds — which was amazing!
Although the 360 boasts being a four-way carrier, the front setting is by far the easiest and most comfortable. The adjustable straps and built-in shield makes for easy feeding on-the-go. I just drop the dude down a bit lower and untuck the shield to nurse on the move!
The fact that the shoulder clips can slide up or down makes clipping and unclipping the arm straps super easy. This also makes the sleeping-baby-transfer a piece of cake!
On the whole, the Ergobaby 360 carrier is incredibly comfortable, supportive and easy to get in and out of. We have even nicknamed it the “sleep machine” in our household, because our baby is so comfortable in it that, with the help of a little bounce, he falls asleep in a matter of minutes. And as someone who has back problems (made worse after pregnancy), it has virtually no impact on the person carrying the baby through the ingenious weight distribution of the design.
THE GAFFE
Although I understand that the purpose of the hip strap, which clips over-top of the giant Velcro weight-bearing hip piece, is to ensure the weight-bearing section of the carrier is doubly safe, it just gets in the way. It’s way too long! No matter how you use the carrier — front-facing, cradle, etc. — the additional waist strap just dangled awkwardly between my legs.
THE GEARS
4.5/5
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