If you’ve ever worn a hiking backpack, you already understand the basic logic of a soft structured carrier. Weight on your shoulders, support at your waist, everything buckled securely in place. It’s familiar, it feels secure, and it’s probably the carrier type you picture when someone says “baby carrier.” There’s a reason they’re the most […]

If soft structured carriers are the workhorse of babywearing, stretchy wraps are the warm hug of the newborn stage. They're snuggly, forgiving, and remarkably good at soothing a baby who just wants to be held. Many parents describe them as the thing that got them through the first few months with their sanity intact. They […]

If there's one carrier that consistently surprises parents who try it, it's the ring sling. It looks deceptively simple – just a length of fabric threaded through two rings – and yet it's the carrier that ends up living permanently in most diaper bags, long after the stretchy wrap has been retired and the buckle […]

Fair warning: this is the post where babywearing gets a little more involved. Woven wraps and meh dais have a steeper learning curve than anything else we've covered in this series — but they also offer things no other carrier type can. More versatility, more carry positions, more ways to distribute weight comfortably, and for […]

If you've made it this far in our babywearing series, you've probably noticed that onbuhimos don't come up in mainstream baby gear conversations the way buckle carriers or stretchy wraps do. They're not in big box stores. They're not on most registry checklists. And yet, in experienced babywearing communities, they come up constantly (usually from […]

You’ve made it through the whole series. You know what a stretchy wrap is, you understand the difference between an H-back and an X-back, and you’ve learned that an onbuhimo is not, in fact, a type of sushi. Now comes the part everyone actually wants: just tell me what to buy. Here’s the thing: there […]

Your stroller is already doing a lot of heavy lifting. But a few well-chosen accessories can take it from "fine" to "how did I ever leave the house without this?" I've been writing about baby gear since 2010 and have two kids who have put a lot of strollers through their paces, so here's what […]

Easter is coming right up, so it’s time to get cracking (egg pun intended) if you’re thinking about doing Baby’s First Easter Basket. Baby’s First Easter Basket Ideas: I’ve tried to pick things that are relatively inexpensive, small, useful, and have an Easter vibe but can often be used long past the season. Cuddle + […]

I’ll never forget the well-meaning coworker who showed up unannounced three days after I brought my firstborn home. She arrived with a cold, stayed for two hours, and expected me to make coffee. I spent the visit fighting back tears of exhaustion while she dominated the conversation with unsolicited advice. That experience taught me everything […]

Look, we get it, babies are cute. Those sweet cheeks, that sweet baby smell, those tiny fingers wrapped around yours – it takes everything not to smother them with kisses. (They really are yummy.) But a baby's immune system is brand new, like, literally just unpacked from the box. What reads as a minor sniffle […]