Carry On..

We have always been baby wearers. While I love strollers and definitely believe there is quite a useful purpose for strollers, there is always a time when my children want nothing more than to be held or carried. Usually when I’m trying to get something done or need both of my hands. Finding the right carrier has been a nightmare. Just when you think you find the perfect carrier, that moment comes when you are required to wear it for more than 30 minutes and instantly realize how terrible it is. With our youngest son, we realized quickly how important a good carrier was going to be.

Our youngest son has some gross motor delays. He has laxity of the ligaments in his hips and ankles as well as hypotonia.  He’s 22.5 months old now and his little legs give out after 30 minutes of being on them. He still can’t run and he prefers not to wear shoes as it seems difficult to lift the weight of the shoe. Combine all of this and together you get a toddler who requires being carried or in a stroller a lot.

This is where a good carrier is so critical. If he is tired or doesn’t feel well, his legs just refuse to work. Then he gets clingy. I often need to wear him around the house just to manage to get anything done or spend time with my older kids. He also has to go to physical therapy weekly and afterwards is worn out. The carrier allows us to still accomplish things even after a long physical therapy appointment. As you can imagine.. with all of this carrying going on, it takes a lot of effort to find one that can comfortably work. I was given the opportunity recently to use the Boba Carrier 3G. I was very excited to try it out! The first day I used it I was a little nervous. It definitely had more adjustable clips than my other carrier. I put it on, adjusted it to fit me just right and then grabbed our son. He wasn’t feeling well and his legs were particular bothersome, so I strapped him in onto my back. I was instantly impressed by how easily I could get him onto my back and adjusted by myself. I have some practice with this from other carriers, but I usually find myself having to wiggle and jiggle him into it properly.  However, with this carrier it seemed quite natural. The height of the carrier also supported his back nicely and the width of the seat made sure that his legs were in the appropriate position. I also immediately noticed how easily the chest clip was height adjustable. It slides up and down on the piping of the carrier. Very easy to adjust. Within 10 minutes of being in the carrier, he was sound asleep and not flopping around at all. I carried him around in it for about two hours and didn’t have any shoulder discomfort or back pain.

We have used the carrier a lot since receiving it. Around the house. To the park. A two mile family walk. We even used it to get him to and from his recent MRI’s. Because of his age, his MRI’s had to be done under general anesthesia, so once he awoke, he was very clingy, tired and weak. I put the Boba Carrier on, snuggled him into it on the front position and he calmed down quickly. It managed to get a lot of compliments from the nursing staff, too. Our Boba Carrier is the “Tweet” print and it was definitely popular. There are a lot of features about this carrier that I think are extremely useful! For instance, it comes with these optional foot stirrups that hold your child’s foot. This helps them not feel like they are “dangling” and gives them a place to put their feet other than on your hips. I also love that it can be an infant carrier without the use of an insert! While I don’t have a small infant right now, that would definitely be useful. Add to that all the fun prints, (I really want to get my husband the Diaper Dude Special Edition Pinstripe!) it’s quite an amazing carrier.

Another thing that makes this carrier fabulous is all the zipped storage. There is a zipper pocket that holds the hood, and when the hood is out it makes a fabulous place to store things in. At the bottom of the carrier, on the lumbar support there is another zipper pocket. This made the best place to put my drivers license and debit cards. Nothing bulky, for sure, but it allows me to not bring our whole diaper bag when I take him to physical therapy.

After about a month of using this carrier, I can’t find anything really bad about it. It is comfortable to wear for long lengths of time. It adjusts easily and gets a near perfect fit because of all of it’s individual adjustable straps. The excess straps roll up neatly and are well secured by a fold over elastic cover. My only downside is this: It is not recommended to be machine washed. Spot cleaning is preferred. Normally this isn’t a huge issue for a carrier, but there are times when you really just need to deep clean them. Either it’s covered in dirt or it falls on a bathroom floor. (Not that I did that last one or anything.. Nope.) That said, for reasons I will not admit to actually doing.. (read: bathroom floor.. shhh!!) I did throw it into the wash on a hand wash cycle and air dried it. It washed well. The straps actually managed to stay in the positions I had adjusted them to and the fabric washed really well! It even dried quickly! So, while not recommended.. it is possible to wash if you must.

The Boba 3G accommodates a wide range of people. It fits heights from 5’0-6’3 and has a waist band range from 25″-58″. As I stated before, there are so many adjustable areas to achieve the perfect fit for you. The body of the carrier also rises 2-3″ higher than most other brands, as well. This means it supports babies better and for longer. It also has high grade military buckles, so you can rest assure that even if you are carrying the maximum 45 pound weight, your child will be safe. (The carrier also starts at 7 pounds! That is small enough for most newborns!)

All in all, I really love this carrier. I love the height of it. I love the quality of it. I love the comfort of it. It was equally comfortable in both front and back carrying positions and for long term wearing. I highly recommend this carrier.

How many of you use carrier’s on a regular basis for your babies? What made you decide to purchase the carrier that you use? How many of you own Boba carriers? What is your favorite feature of the carrier?

Enter for your chance to win a Boba Baby Carrier, a Boba Wrap or a Boba Air! All products can be seen at www.bobafamily.com. With Boba products it is easier than ever to enjoy Freedom Together as a family and Boba wants YOU to get a chance to use their products. To enter to win, “Like” them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

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Note: Boba Carriers provided the Boba 3G in “Tweet” print for me to review. This is not a paid review and the opinions expressed are my own. The giveaway is provided to you by Boba Carriers, NOT by The Diaper Bag Confessions.