The West Village Carrier of Choice

I currently live in the West Village, a neighborhood that is family heavy, particularly the blocks surrounded mine.

On a typical day I see no less than 6 babywearers (yes, I do take count!) and it became instantly clear that the carrier of choice for this neighborhood (and possibly all of NYC) is…

THE ERGO!

(Pictured:Petunia Picklebottom for Ergo Baby Organic Carrier in Heavenly Holland.) I am in love with this print!

Before I came up to NY this fall, I was very curious to see what the “carrier of choice” would be. Honestly, I was expecting more variety for a city of this population.

In my hometown Chattanooga, TN I typically see at least 1 babywearer a day when out and about. I have seen every carrier type, so I wouldn’t say there is any preferred carrier. Wraps, ring slings, bjorns, ergos, mei tais, pouches…seen them all in about equal representation in Chattanooga.

So I was pretty surprised when out of the at least 60 people I have seen babywearing in NYC this month…I have only seen 6 carriers that are NOT Ergos. Those would be a WAHM Mei Tai, a wrap, 2 bjorns and 2 ring slings (Sleeping Baby Productions and MayaWrap)

I will post a personal review of the Ergo…when I finally get to try one!

Ergos are Excellent!

If you are interested in the Ergo, which is a soft structured carrier, there are many reviews (almost all positive!) available on the web. It is a highly recommended carrier, especially because the design is quite “gender neutral” as are some of the color and print options.

Things I commonly hear about Ergos are that they are comfortable for parent and baby, well constructed, easy to use.

While not the best option for the newborn stage, they do offer a newborn insert that will allow you to use your Ergo from birth to the end of your babywearing years.

Buyer Beware of…

Fake Ergos 🙁

In general if you are going to purchase a new Ergo you are looking at $115+ for the cost. I have seen new Ergos around $75 on daily sale sites, or other recommended baby carrier websites having sales.

Recently there have been Ergo knockoffs coming in from China. Sometimes it is very hard to tell if it is a knockoff or not, I will be posting a link soon on how to tell the difference.

Knockoff baby carriers are a very serious problem as they do not under go any sort of safety testing and could pose extreme danger to your child…also it’s just plain illegal!

If you find a brand new Ergo listed at $50…it’s probably a knock off, definitely if it is not on a big-name, recommended baby carrier website.

Buying Used

I am typically a big proponent of buying used baby carriers, especially when you are figuring out what kind works best for you and if you need to be on a budget.

However, because of the amount of fake Ergos that have been entering the US’s babywearing scene, you must take special caution when buying Ergos used.

I would recommend only purchasing a used Ergo from a seller with numerous positive feedback on the swap board on The BabyWearer. Even still, as with any swap purchase, you should check the carrier for any irregularities (if your Ergo has any misspellings on the tags…it’s fake.) and of course for wear and tear.