I love holding my babies, being close to them, able to kiss them, touch them, smell them, whenever I want. It comforts me – and I know it comforts them. Aside from that, there are tons of benefits to babywearing – they sleep more, eat more, cry less, mommy can accomplish things, and a million other reasons!!! Plus, wearing my little one calms me down. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love our stroller – we have about 4 different ones and they all serve their purpose. Our double stroller is especially wonderful during softball season so I know the kiddos are safe and away from foul balls. But, I love babywearing! LOVE IT!!! When Maggie was born, I bought a wrap, and was not confident in it at first. She cried whenever I tried to put her in it. Very seldom did she calm down at first, but after trying it again and again, eventually she didn’t mind it. Thank goodness! This girl never slept, wanted to nurse constantly and really loved being held. So I held her and she napped and all was right with the world. Then she realized that it was awesome being that close to mommy all the time. We had our garage sale and she couldn’t walk quite yet so I put her in the carrier we had. She babbled and looked around and nursed. When she was tired, she slept. It was amazing! But I wanted something different. I didn’t love the carrier that we had.
When we found out we were having another baby, I knew without a doubt that I needed something I was confident and comfortable wearing because there was no way I would survive with a 20 month old and a newborn baby without it. I wanted a carrier that was easy to take with and store, as well as put on. Well, my search took me to Hug-a-bub.
Suzanne and Tania are the wonderful ladies behind hug-a-bub. After seeing how other cultures carried their babies and how little they cried, they both realized that this was what should be happening. Suzanne and Tania as well as the rest of the hug-a-bub team are advocates of attachment parenting. Read more about how they got started
here. Their passion is to bring the joy and ease and freedom back into mothering while ensuring they are getting their most important biological needs met at the same time. Hug a bub is in it’s 14th year and are the original creators of the pocket wrap.
The hug a bub is designed to support baby’s neck and spine as well as distribute the weight equally across mom or dad. The hug a bub is recommended by midwives, obstetricians, physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths because of how it works. You are able to have your hands completely free while baby is wrapped securely and firmly against mom. It is even recommended for kangaroo care and other similar programs for premature babies.
The hug-a-bub is available in three different styles. The Hug-a-Bub Original Wrap, the Hug-a-Bub Certified Organic Wrap, and the Hug-a-Bub Pocketless Wrap.
You can wear your baby in 4 different positions. The peapod, heart to heart, on the go, and koala cuddle. While this wrap style carrier is a one size fits most, they also have two other options for people that need more fabric and I love the names for them. The huggable (one size fits most), the very huggable, and extremely huggable for people that need more fabric.
We don’t use the on the go carry much because it pulls on my back more and isn’t as comfortable for me, and it doesn’t look as comfortable for her. We did try it out though and it was fun for her when I put her in it to play the piano.
The Hug-a-Bub comes with the carrier, the attached pocket to store it in, and a dvd with complete instructions and tips for all different carry positions.
Here are two videos of how I put on the hug a bub and how to carry your baby or toddler. The first video is the heart to heart carry ( my favorite – and Charlie’s). The second video is the koala cuddle carry for an older infant or toddler.
I was super excited when the mail came and I could finally check out this carrier. My first thought was wow – this is a really soft carrier. It is made of the world’s most highly certified organic interlock cotton which gives it the soft luxurious feel. From doing my research on the website, I knew I wanted to try the peapod carry right away with Charlie. We like to go for walks and play outside, so I wanted an easy way to breastfeed the little guy. That was a must for me to love a carrier, so we gave it a shot. To put him into the peapod carry was very simple. Charlie however wasn’t interested. We tried again and again, but he just doesn’t care for the position. He prefers to be more upright and snuggled against my chest so we went for the heart to heart carry. This is one he loves! He is able to breastfeed from this position and when he is finished with his meal, he just turns his head to the side and goes to sleep. To breastfeed him from this position, I did need to loosen the wrap just a bit to let him slip down a little lower. Putting the carrier on and him in the heart to heart carry takes some getting use to, as with any wrap style carrier. There is a learning curve when using a wrap style carrier and it can be intimidating. Don’t let that stop you! After our first couple uses, I was able to remember how much fabric I needed up top to hold him in securely. As long as I have him in there as snugly as he needs to be, he really enjoys the carrier. There have been days where he has taken a 2 or 3 hour nap snuggled up against me in our Hug-a-Bub. When he falls asleep, I simply pull the fabric over the side of his head to hold it steady while he sleeps. Don’t mind the wet slobbery fabric – Charlie man loves to chew on the wrap when he’s awake.
I like how I can pull the pocket a little lower to cover his feet and legs which was important to us because we wanted to protect his newborn skin from the sun. It has also been really great to protect him from the wind.
Now, what did Maggie think of it and how did it work for us with her?
I don’t wear Maggie all that often anymore. She loves to be on her own walking. When I did wear her, she loved it! And wants to be in it a lot now. She loves to be up close and be silly with me. Plus, she gets a different view than when she climbs up somewhere on her own.
I love the flexibility in sizing with this wrap. Not only can I wear both of my kids in it, anybody else can too!
One of my favorite features of this wrap is the self storing pocket. Not only does the wrap fold up into the pocket when we are done, but I can store my phone or keys in there without them pushing up against his back. This pocket also adds an extra layer of warmth to baby as well as extra support and strength which make it more comfortable for carrying heavier babies. In the DVD that comes with the wrap, they also show how you can pull the pocket down for more breathability. When doing so, please use extra caution as this takes away a layer of protection and security. We didn’t do this, I like the extra support for his little neck since he’s so young still. The drawstring on the pocket can be pulled shut when storing it, or we have used it to tie it around the strap on the diaper bag. It does fit nicely into our diaper bag, but I have two in diapers and need that space for diapers, sippy, snack, etc..
Overall, I really, really, really love our hug a bub! We use it almost daily if only for a short time. Lately, little Charlie man has been really sick.
Since it is International babywearing week, head on over to hug a bub’s facebook page and post pictures of you babywearing for a chance to win more great stuff!
Shop Hug a bub – Facebook – Twitter
Win one now!
Giveaway open Worldwide
Ends 11:59 pm October 23, 2012
Must be 18 + to enter
*Disclosure: I was provided with the hug a bub baby carrier for the purpose of this review. All opinions are 100 % my own and only influenced by my experience with this carrier.*
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I would choose the pistachio color. My first is 2 months and I’d really like to try babywearing, since he loves to be held all the time!
This looks like an amazing wrap. I’d love to have it!
Oh, and I love the raspberry one you’re wearing. The color is beautiful!
Red would be great! I love having my son sleep on me 🙂
I love how it makes parenting 2 easier. 🙂 I like the mocha hazelnut color.
I like the versatility of the carrier, and I love the raspberry color, too!
Id pick the Rasberry/Rasberry one. I love baby wearing so much because I can always have my baby close to me and still get things done around the house. Its also easier to breastfeed. 😀
amymccarty at hotmail.com
I’d choose Raspberry. I love wearing my daughter because it often helps calm her down.
I LOVE the pistachio color, but it’s more expensive! Next favorite is the raspberry 🙂
I like babywearing because it allows me to tend to my son’s need of being held while still getting things done. And with another little one on the way before my son’s 2nd birthday, I’ll REALLY need a great carrier!
I like chocolate/French beige. I love wearing my baby for the closeness and convenience!
I like the chocolate/french beige or the raspberry
Great review. I love the videos you’ve posted, and the chocolate would be a good color for a guy to wear without much protest 😉
love the review i would pick the raspberry color!
I love the French Beige/ Vanilla! I love baby wearing because I love being close to my baby, but also love to be able to get things accomplished!
I like the chocolate/french beige. I love babywearing because it keep smy daughter so close and snuggly to me!
Raspberry. It’s allowed to choose the colour based Mommy rather than baby’s gender, right? I like the idea of baby-wearing because it is warm (especially for winter-time in a cool apartment), and comforting.
I like the raspberry one. Babywearing is survival for me. I have a 1 year old, a 2 year old, and I am pregnant with #3. I don’t have 3 hands so I have to wear one right, lol.
I always go for black on black- it matches everything.
Baby wearing is really important to me because I’m hands free, I bond with baby and am able to pay attention to my toddler, and its easy. Lovr it.
I like the chocolate and pale sage one. I love babywearing because it allows me to nurture my baby and still be available for my other children.
Rasberry or black. I love baby wearing because not only does it free up my hands but I’m able to still nurture my baby and tend my toddler.
I like the pistachio! This looks great and not so cumbersome – I can never figure out these carriers! Thanks for the great review.
I like the chocolate. I love babywearing because I love to snuggle my baby.
I am a huge fan of babywearing and I love the beautiful raspberry color! A friend loaned me a Moby Wrap when my son was little, and I fell in love… but this looks even cooler! Since I have 4 older kids this would be an awesome one for us to win! My newborn loves to be snuggled in close to me, so if we could win this she would be in heaven!
I like green tea/barley!
i like the Black one or the Raspberry one! I like Babywearing because it is so simple, and nice to not have to worry about strollers!
-Hannah Avery
hannahavery85@yahoo.com
Rasberry! It’s so pretty! I love babywearing because it allows me to be close to my daughter AND to have my hands free!
I am in love with the Mocha Hazelnut color.. so beautiful, works with my skin tone, and is gender neutral (which is great because we aren’t finding the gender until baby is born)
Oh, I forgot to add.. I love babywearing for several reasons: 1) people are less likely to touch the new baby when you are wearing them. 2) It is a great way to bond with baby while getting other things done. 3) You can still soothe/love on your baby while still using your hands for other things:)
I’m loving the chocolate 🙂
I don’t know what I love about babywearing yet, because I’m still pregnant (only two weeks left!)
I love babywearing because it keeps people from touching the baby and I can actually grocery shop with two hands!
I like the blue one! I love babywearing because I can hold my baby close without having my arms get tired.
If this baby is a girl, then I’d pick Raspberry – but you can’t go wrong with black!
What’s NOT to love about babywearing? Sleeping baby on your chest, bonding, discrete breastfeeding, constant baby smell access, multi-tasking, keeps people from holding my babe, comfortable, baby is in your sight, and my babies love it!
black! It goes with anything! I love babywearing bc it keeps the baby calm and frees up your hands
I like the raspberry and I love babywearing because it keeps her so calm and it helps me get things done.