Probably seems a little harsh to say about a pretty decent, ergonomic, simple carrier aimed at newborns but I don’t generally recommend the Baby K’Tan for one simple reason – It’s sized. It does not adjust to fit different sized parents, instead you need to buy the correct size to fit you. There are a few problems with this:
- Unless you and your partner are exactly the same size it’s unlikely you can both use this carrier. You’d have to buy two – one for you and one for them. Likewise it might not be possible to share this carrier with anyone else who might carry your baby – grannies, granddads, aunts, nannies etc.
- While this can be a great carrier if you do have the right size for you, many people find they fall between sizes. Or outside the sizing. K’Tan actually make a total of 6 sizes, however, at the time of writing this only 3 of these seem to be readily available in the UK. Small, Medium and Large which apparently correspond to dress sizes 8-10, 12-14 and 16-18 respectively. But in practise many people who follow this guide still find they end up with a carrier that is slightly too small or slightly too big and as a result can not use the carrier at all.
- If your size changes significantly you may find the carrier no longer fits you. This might sound unlikely but it’s very common to gain or lose weight quite a bit of weight in the months after birth. Women’s bodies change loads in the postpartum period and men may find their body shape changes too with the new routine (my marathon running husband put about 8-10 kilos on in the months after the birth of each of our children until sleep and routine settled down enough for him to get back to running as much as he was pre-birth).
- As baby’s size changes you might need to buy a new carrier or find that they no longer fit. In theory, because the K’Tan is made of stretchy fabric, baby’s size shouldn’t matter. Bigger children should simply stretch the carrier out more so that the same size carrier that fits the adult should worth whether carrying a newborn or a 1 year old. However, in practise this is not the case at all – the material just isn’t that stretchy at all and many parents report baby no longer fitting without sizing up.
Ultimately, all these problems are solved by having a carrier that is adjustable rather than sized.
I mean don’t get me wrong, if this carrier does fit you well – if you do have the right size, you don’t lose or gain lots of weight, your partner is the same size as you and your baby doesn’t grow too much (!) this is a really nice carrier. It gives a lovely snuggly fit that’s perfect for the newborn period and it’s really simple to use.
But those are massive ifs, and the simple fact is there is another carrier on the market that does all the same things, that offers the same carrying position, offers the same ease of use, the same softness AND is adjustable. And really that is why I don’t recommend the Baby K’Tan – why spend £50 on a Baby K’Tan when you can buy the Close Caboo and have all the pros without the massive cons for £55?
– Madeleine
The Baby Bjorn One offers 3 carrying positions. Baby facing parent on the front, Baby facing outwards on the front and a back carry. Although in practise, while the 2 front carrying positions are pretty straight forward, the back carry is a bit more tricky! Because of how the straps are configured, to get baby onto your back on your own you need to first place baby on your front and then get your arms out (walk like an Egyptian method – one over, one under) swizzle baby around to your back then put your arms back in. Its a mega faff, and most babies complain alot during the process! The lower waist band position of the Bjorn One also means this carry is pretty low and so its harder to monitor your little one once they are back there. Consequently, Bjorn don’t recommend the back carry position before 12 months.
In many ways the Beco 8 is the Beco Gemini’s big brother. The Beco 8 shares so many of the features that
All of which is good stuff! But the downside is that with all these added bits this carrier takes up quite a lot of space when folded! Roughly about twice the size compared to the Gemini. It’s also correspondingly more expensive.
The first time I ever saw a Connecta my first thought was “I bet that’s uncomfortable”. At that point I’d only ever tried fairly well padded carriers like Ergo’s and Manduca’s and the thought of carrying my then 9 month old something with a completely unpadded waist band and barely-there padding made me shudder. I was, of course, 
The other thing to be aware of is that the shoulder straps adjust in one direction only. This means that while they are very easy to tighten while back carrying, when front carrying you need to work against your wrist joint to tighten. There are ways around this (reaching across your back from behind or doing the “chicken dance”) and while most people don’t find this an issue at all, some people really do struggle to tighten and for them this is a total deal breaker. I’d say this is the case for about 1 in 20 – so definitely worth trying and seeing if this is OK for you or not. If it is a deal breaker, the Kahu Baby and Intergra baby carriers both have two way buckles and can be a good alternatives.
This was the second wrap I ever bought and is still one of my absolute favourites. I adore this wrap. It’s just perfection. I’ve used this with both my children and its proved itself to be absolutely perfect for tiny tiny newborns and heavy older toddlers/preschoolers alike.
But this diagonal stretch sometimes worries people in terms of longevity – some worry that it won’t be supportive enough for an older baby or toddler. But I don’t find this to be the case at all. And I guess it depends on your definition of supportive. Some of the wraps that are described as “toddler worthy” are very rigid! They are supportive in a cast iron, never yielding, toddler prison sense! Didymos Lisca weaves are not supportive in that way – instead they are supportive in the same way a tubular grip style bandage is … shaping its self to you, giving you optimum support where you need it while still moving with your body. Before I bought this wrap I had often heard the term “wraps like a bandage” and didn’t really understand it, but Didymos Lisca weaves really do wrap like and offer support akin to a super soft bandage.
Although I do think it helps that I have this wrap in a long size. Mine is a size 7 (which is a base +1 for me). This wrap absolutely shines in a multilayer carry. It’s relatively thin (215 gsm), with a fairly loose/airy weave so even in warmer weather its not too hot to wear in a multilayer carry and it’s those layers that really contribute to that feeling of support when it comes to wearing a fast asleep toddler! And to that feeling of security with a brand new newborn! It is worth noting that you get thick and thin Lisca’s, and while the thicker Lisca’s may well work well as a midlength or a shortie, I’d always choose a long length for a thin Lisca.
There is much to love about it! It’s soft and malleable so it fits a wide range of babies and a wide range of parents and doesn’t skimp on comfort. It’s lightweight design means it won’t make you or baby overly hot and it will fold up small enough to fit in the change bag or under the buggy. Not to mention – it’s simply beautiful!! I went for the “On The Wing” print and when it turned up it took my breath away! This must be the most beautiful carrier I own, and the colours are just perfect… blues and greys that make this a wonderful combo with jeans (for those who – like me – like to match their clothes to their carrier!).
The three babies I’ve tried forward facing in the Kahu have been uncomfortable and quickly made their discomfort known. Most hilariously and dramatic was my own daughter who screamed “I stuck, I stuck, I stuck!” and pointed to where the carrier was cutting into her thighs for the 30 seconds until I took pity and released her!! I did find rolling the carrier in on itself to releive the worst of the cutting in helped a bit but she still hated it. She was as happy as anything in the other three positions (as were the other babies), it’s an issue only with the forward facing position in this carrier. It seems to stem from the way the carrier adjusts, ultimately it appears the adjustment strap isn’t quite in the right place to really change the inward facing seat into an equally comfortable outward facing seat.
In terms of age, the Kahu Baby works well from about 6-8 weeks or so through to about 2 years. In theory the Kahu Baby can be used from birth although in practise I am finding the integrated synching strap doesn’t quite go small enough for a brand new newborn. However, once baby is a few weeks old (depending on size of course, some will be earlier or later than others!) the Kahu baby works really well because the synching strap can size down the seat width, you can control the height by the depth you put baby into the carrier and then there is a lovely little strap at the top which can tighten up the top part of the carrier making it a bit snugger and providing support to baby’s neck. There is also a lovely shaped hood that can be used in a number of ways to provide more neck and head support as need. Then as baby grows the synching strap can be let out and this carrier will last really well till about 2 years ish child depending… my daughter Rachel is a relatively tall 20 months and is still fitting quite nicely.