I’ll say it straight up. I spent so much time researching strollers while I was pregnant that I paid zero attention to baby carriers. I was sure it was not for me. “I don’t want to wear my baby after carrying it for nine months in my belly” was my (deeply flawed) logic.
And then our newborn started getting a flat head from me pushing him around all day, and the pediatrician told us that wearing babies is great for reflux - which he was having a little of - and honestly, I wanted to feel my baby close to me and kiss his soft hair.
So without doing any research, I bought one of those wrap carriers that every parent in Brooklyn seems to have, and it turned out to be a massive hit to my self confidence. I could not figure it out, I felt like my kid was going to fly out of it at any moment and I hated every second of it. My husband—the saint in the house—took me to a store for me to try on all types of carriers. I was reluctant, but it ended up being life-changing.
I told the lady working the shop that I wanted something easy, a plug-and-play sort of carrier where I didn’t have to worry about losing my tiny baby on the streets of New York. She suggested the Tula. I was sold, mostly because of their cool prints to be honest, but also because it actually was easy for me to use it.
Tula Free-to-Grow
We started our baby wearing days with the Tula Free-to-Grow model, which allows you to carry your baby from the newborn days until the toddler days. The key is to keep adjusting the base (also known as “the seat”) so your baby’s legs are always in an “M” position which is what’s recommended for their hip and joint development.
Tula Free-to-Grow Mesh
When summer came around and both baby and I were sweating like crazy, I was sure that he was going back in the stroller. But once again I was wrong. Tula offers a summer carrier with a mesh panel that makes it much lighter and allows breeze to come through. I took this bad boy to the beach without a problem.
Tula Explore
But then tiny baby turned into a toddler who wanted to look at the world and take it all in with his big brown eyes. Again, Tula had a solution for that (I swear they can read my mind!) and we went with the brand new Tula Explore which is their only model which allows baby to face out - although it should be noted that once kid hits 22 pounds, they can’t ride facing out anymore.
Now that he’s a big boy, I wear him only in certain situations - like at airports, which is what every parent should do if they want to be able to have free hands to do other things like carry bags or buy a snack - because my shoulder and back get tired (yes I know, I need to work out.) But I’m so grateful for every single Tula carrier that I’ve had along the way.
My husband is now venturing into the world of shoulder wearing, which, if you ask me, it’s such a dad thing to do. He is very into the MiniMeis, which he found after doing a lot of research on the matter, and has successfully used twice during fun hikes.