review: BabyBjörn Active vs Ergobaby Original

I loved the idea of baby wearing before our boy arrived. I'd seen mums carrying their babies close to them and thought it looked like a wonderful bonding experience. Not to mention too that baby wearing looked practical - allowing you to be hands free.

Then I had an emergency caesarean. And my plans for baby wearing were put on hold.

Eight weeks later I'm back in the gym (Pilates and yoga) and I'm feeling really well so I thought I'd finally give baby wearing a go - and I love it!!

We did some research (via blogs, obviously!) on the type of carrier to get. We bought the Ergobaby Original within days of the baby arriving. Complete with Infant Insert. Our baby hated it. Whether it was because he was too little and didn't really appreciate being held too close or swaddled in the beginning or it was too hot in those early weeks, I don't know. All I know is, he screamed from the minute he was put in and until the minute he was removed. So we sent it back.

We'd been given a BabyBjörn Original so we tried this. It worked! The baby didn't complain and it was so easy to put on by yourself. The only snag - no lumber support and a big baby meant that the hubby was very quickly experiencing back pain. We quickly found that BabyBjörn do the Active version which offers lumber support and is still so easy to use. Even better - you can get a BabyBjörn Active for just £5-10 on eBay! We snapped one up and have been using that for the past seven weeks.

Then came the time that I'd been signed off by the doctor and wanted to try baby wearing myself. I decided to read about the Ergobaby again and discovered that at 7 weeks, our baby was big enough to use it without the insert. This time I went straight to eBay and found I could pick up a lightly used Ergobaby Original for under £50 - less than half price! Fortunately it came with the infant insert as although the baby is big enough, he's not old enough to hold his head and needs the insert for this support. This time round though, he loves it!

We're away on holiday this week and will be using the Ergobaby for walks along the beach and trips into town.

I would totally recommend both carriers. The BabyBjörn Active is a great cheap option to try out baby wearing and is so so easy to use if you're on your own. While the Ergobaby is definitely more padded and better for wearing for longer periods. It's also not quite so easy to put on by yourself but with practice it can be done.