{Holiday Gift Giveaway #20} BabyBjorn Baby Carrier Active

BabyBjorn is one of the top competitors when it comes to comfortable baby carriers. They have a nice variety of front carriers that are designed to cater to a mom's specific needs, and it was obvious to me from my first visit to their website that it is very important to them that their customers find the perfect baby carrier for their lifestyle. Check out their comparison guide and take the Which Baby Carrier is Right For Me? quiz, and you'll find the carrier suited especially to you and your little one. Baby carrier shopping can be overwhelming, right? Well, BabyBjorn takes the work out of it!

I took the quiz myself - it asks the important questions that need to be addressed when looking for a good carrier like:

• Will you only be carrying your child only in infancy or do you want to wear him or her as long as possible (25 lbs or up)?
• Will you be carrying your child for short periods or long periods of time?
• What is your height?

My daughter is 23 pounds, so I knew a special baby carrier would be needed. My quiz result told me that the Baby Carrier Active was the right carrier for me, and after reading the specifications and information about it, I knew that the quiz was right-on.

BabyBjorn Baby Carrier Active Review

The BabyBjorn Baby Carrier active is made for moms like me who want to carry their children as long as possible. Some kids just want to be carried, and I figure that if they want to stay a baby for a little bit longer, it's a good thing! Anyway, it has excellent lumbar support and padded shoulder straps, and can carry babies from newborn to 26 pounds.


How it works: You really cannot find a better how-to demonstration than the one on the BabyBjorn website! It includes photos for every step and is very easy to follow.

What I love:

• The style and color selection!
• It does distribute weight evenly and, with a little adjusting, you can make it so that most of the weight is carried using your back rather than your shoulders.
• The carrier comes in two pieces, the front and the back. It all snaps together easily with color-coded parts.

• It is machine-washable.
• It is very sturdy with great lumbar support and carries babies up to 26 pounds.

• The instructions are very clear and are printed on the inside of the carrier, so you don't have to try to keep tabs on a booklet (yay!).
• Child can face front or back.
  

My Experience:

Finding an adjustment that made it comfortable to carry a 23-pound toddler facing out was not easy. I'm thinking Emma is about at her limit for being carried in a front pack facing out. It reminds me unpleasantly of being pregnant in the last trimester. ;-) My husband probably could handle it, but not me. Because it is adjustable around the middle in two places (not the shoulder straps themselves), I had to make it pretty tight around my rib cage to get it at a comfortable carrying position. I definitely won't be carrying Emma facing out anymore. This is not the carrier's fault at all.

I'm not able to test the facing out carry position on a lighter baby (yet), but I'm very sure that it would be more comfortable carrying a smaller, lighter child.

Now when I turned Emma around and had her face inward toward me, like I normally carry her in my arms, that was a totally different story. It was very comfortable! Emma was comfortable, too - she rested her head against my chest and was really enjoying the bonding time. This is a child who won't sit still for two seconds - she liked it! I was delighted as well because her weight is carried just at the right place on my back and I found myself relaxing while walking around with her. I can see myself strolling through the mall carrying her that way, or maybe trying to soothe her to sleep while we're out.

I've decided I need to start bringing this carrier with me whenever we go anywhere because if she gets tired, I can always pull out the BabyBjorn. I can tell you right now that this is a lot more comfortable than carrying her with just my arms would be. I've seen enough toddlers poop out (hardy har) on a walk or a shopping trip to know that this would be very useful to a lot of moms.

Conclusion: This is the nicest baby carrier I've come across so far in terms of design, ease of adjusting, style, and general comfort, and I would recommend it without hesitation! My recommendations would be that moms of infants to one year olds enjoy the ability to wear their children facing in or out, and moms of heavier children like mine (probably 20-26 pounds) plan on wearing their children facing inward. I think this is an especially good purchase for a mom of a newborn because they'll be able to wear their baby for a very long time and will get a lot of use out of it! Moms of heavier babies who are active often (hiking, shopping all the time, etc) and want to carry their growing children should also be able to get a lot of use out of the BabyBjorn.

Buy it!

The BabyBjorn Baby Carrier Active is available in a variety of attractive color combinations and retails for about $129.99. Right now you can buy the black/red baby carrier active from Amazon.com for only $92.50 (free shipping, too!).

The Baby Carrier Active can also be bought organic!

Giveaway Closed!

Prize info: One lucky commenter will win an orange/black BabyBjorn Baby Carrier Active just like mine! Open to US and Canada!

How To Enter (mandatory): Visit BabyBjorn and tell me in a comment what else you would like to own!

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BabyBjorn Baby Carrier #Giveaway - Win a BabyBjorn Baby Carrier Active! http://bit.ly/59J07b @kindred_spirit

Giveaway will be closed on December 15 at midnight and winner notified by email - good luck, everyone!

Disclosure: The review product(s) were sent to me free of charge by the company or manufacturer in exchange for an honest review. This review is 100% my own content, my own true experiences with the product(s), and my own opinion. :-)

See full review, giveaway, and disclosure policy here.