Half Buckles or Meh Dai style carriers are extremely versatile, offering a range of carrying positions and options for tying. Fitting tiny newborns and growing toddlers alike. Often parents don't realise that these can be used for back carries, when in reality it is often easier to get a baby onto your back in a half buckle or Meh Dai than it is in a full buckle carrier. The reason that they are easier is to do with the straps - you don't have to worry about when to get your arms in or need to let go of anything to get your arms in, you simply tie the straps around once baby is on your back.
While there are various methods that will work, my favourite is the secure hip scoot method because
- you can check baby is well positioned and comfortable in the panel before you bring baby onto your back
- it feels secure at all times so you know baby is safe and securely held even if they wiggle or start to fight when you are bringing them onto your back
Here is my full video tutorial, including 2 ways of tying the straps at the end - a straight forward knot at the waist and a "tied Tibetan" style knotless chest band which is helpful if you find the shoulder straps are liable to fall off your shoulders or dig in:
This carry can be used once baby has good neck and trunk control, typically around 6 months. Although it is worth mentioning that many babies don't enjoy this position until they can see over their parents shoulders, typically around a year. Placing the waistband higher on your waist can help give them a better view earlier, although many parents simply choose to wait until baby is taller.
It is worth noting that generally most parents will find baby feels lighter on their back, because as a species we generally load bare better on our backs than our fronts. So mastering the back carry can be a really good option if your starting to find baby is feeling heavy on your front. Back carrying is a skill and does take practise, so if you are finding it hard it is well worth looking up your local babywearing consultant for a face to face consultation or booking an online consultation as often one to one real time help can really flatten the learning curve.
The carrier shown in this video is the Limas Baby Plus carrier, but this same method will work with many if not all half buckles and Meh Dai including the Didymos DidyKlick, DidyTai, Hoppediz Hop-tye and many many others.
-Madeleine