Freehand Mei Tai Baby Carrier, Theresa (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

I have been babywearing for a few years. I started off with Ring Slings, which I love for the first few months. However, I switched it up with Mei Tais with my newest daughter. The first two I purchased used off of DS (DiaperSwappers) and they worked fine. However, as she got heavier, I wanted something more substantial. This was a hard purchase for someone as cheap as myself but it was SOOOO worth it! The others do not compare in grade, construction or beauty. Dense, soft and substantial cotton fiber, excellent placement and level of padding, wonderful length of straps (I am 1x-2x plus-sized momma and have comfortable length to spare) and the design is GORGEOUS! I will say I thought the design was embroidered and it is not...but that is a minor point.I also researched a good number of different Mei Tais...I like the flexibility of a traditional tie carrier over buckle, but getting a buckle tai for my husband. This was a very good price as well. You do get what you pay for and with a nearly 1yr old, I am SO glad I am comfortable going for long walks with the kiddos again!

It's very sturdy. My 2 month old loves it. I look forward to when baby is bigger and I can wear him on my back. Definitely a carrier that supports the back, legs and hips properly, and I love the pattern. As soon as I put baby in it, he falls asleep - it has saved my sanity more than once. I wish it were easier to take him out so I don't disturb him, but that's just part of the mei tai design - I have to untie and unwrap for a while before I can actually get him out of it; there's a lot of fabric that wraps around you to keep it secure. Even when I untie everything, he won't budge, which shows how safe and secure it is. Babies love to be worn, and it's great for their development and for bonding. If it were easier to take on and off, I would use it every day.

I have tried a couple other carriers and I am selling them and keeping this one. In comparison to ones like the Moby or Snuggli, I like that the Mei Tai is not stretchy, has a lot less fabric to deal with, and has no clips or buckles. I watched the online tutorial videos to learn how to put it on properly and have loved using it ever since. If you have any trouble with it, it's likely because the waist tie is too low. Baby girl fussed when I first got it, but now she likes to look around from a new perspective. She even eats and sleeps in it when we're out. It's great! I recommend it.

I thought this wrap was very pretty but never used it. Too complicated to put on. I actually had 3 different wraps (different brands) as I thought they would be practical and ¨cool-looking! -ha!¨ but in the end the wrapping, knotting, tying was just not easy for me so I ended up using a baby bjorn harness which has straight-forward clips,snaps and adjustments. With these wraps, you finally get them on and a short while later your baby needs to be changed or needs to be fed and you've got to go through the whole process of ¨wrapping¨ again. Too much effort and for me, not practical at all.

I got both the Freehand and BabyHawk mei tais before my baby was born and tried them both. I liked how the top of the Freehand was just the right height to cradle the baby's head and didn't have that extra material of the BabyHawk's flap covering her head. Even when my baby got bigger, I still found the BabyHawk flap more cumbersome than useful (I could never get it to stay down even when I folded it over). However, I really did like the toy ring on the BabyHawk and wished the Freehand had one. In the end though, I got rid of the BabyHawk and kept the Freehand for the next baby and loved it the second time around as well.

It is very well made. I think it will work best when my daughter is older than 6 months. She is 4 months old right now, of average height, and her eye level is still below the top of the carrier. So, she is not very happy in it and too small to safely have her on my back. So, I have to wear another wrap until she gets taller.