Get Your Arms Back And Keep Your Summer Baby Cool And Comfy

Although I am a first-time mother, I already have experience with the various kinds of baby carriers because I spent a year working in what I like to call a “SAHM internship”. The baby I took care of had two slings- one was too big for my petite frame and the baby and I could never get comfy in the other. So, when it was time for me to think about the things that I wanted for my own baby, I knew that I did not want a sling. One of our playdate friends had loaned us a Snugli brand carrier, and that was very easy to use.

With that in mind, when I was putting together my baby registry, I knew that I wanted a baby carrier as opposed to a sling. As we wandered through Babies R Us with the scanning gun, we stumbled upon the display of baby carriers.

There are a lot of baby carriers out there.

The most famous name in baby carriers is Baby Bjorn- pronounced be-yorn. There are many different kinds of Baby Bjorns- and not just different colors- they actually have different kinds of Bjorn.

The one that caught my eye was the Baby Bjorn Baby Carrier Air. My baby was due at the end of April, so keeping cool during the summer was very important to us. The ׁD mesh” material felt soft and comfortable on the display model and we were very impressed with the declarations of increased air flow and heat reduction.

So we added it to the registry and we received one as a gift. I have been absolutely thrilled with my carrier, and we use it almost every day.

Putting it Together

The Baby Bjorn has gotten a bit of a bad reputation in the past for being difficult to figure out. Unlike Ikea furniture, this other Swedish import was not always so easy to assemble.

This Baby Bjorn was a breeze. The Bjorn is composed of two parts:

The first part goes through your arms and across your back. You put it on like a vest- an x-shaped vest. The front of the “vest” has three places on each side for the other Bjorn piece to clip in. There is a coin shaped piece towards the bottom that clips into the other piece, some grooved plastic that the other piece slides into, and finally, a snap clip on the top.

The best part is that you cannot lose the instructions because the instructions are attached to the unit in tag form. These picture directions were very easy to follow.

I tend to leave the left side clipped together instead of disassembling the unit entirely. Leaving the one side clipped in makes it very easy to get my baby in and out of the Bjorn without any assistance. It also saves time. Although it is easy to do, having it clipped together already is one less thing that I have to do when I am packing the camel with the baby’s necessities. Of course I don’t really have a camel, but with all the stuff the baby needs every time we go out, a pack animal might be useful.


Is my baby ready?
If your baby is 8 lbs and 21.5 inches, then yes, he or she is ready to use the Baby Bjorn. The carrier can be adjusted to accommodate babies of different heights.

There are additional leg straps that are to be used for the smallest of babies- 8-11 lbs- but they never quite worked with my little stringbean who is 9 weeks old and only about half-an-inch shy of two feet.

One of the best things about the Bjorn is that the baby can be carried forwards facing and backwards facing. The fabric comes up to the top of the baby’s head to provide support to the back of the head and the neck.

Older babies who have control of their necks can face outwards, and this gives them a wonderful view of the world around them.

My Experience
I have used my air carrier just about every day for the past six weeks. First of all, I love the color scheme- the grey and the white go very well together.

I have a very snuggly baby. She loves being held and I love holding her, but I am still building my mommy muscles and my arms get sore when we are walking around. By putting her in the Baby Bjorn, we can both have the feeling of closeness, but my arms get a break. I can even get some work done with my free arms.

As she got older, we began to venture out more. Now, she and I do the grocery shopping during the week instead of on Sunday. This frees up weekend time to relax. Grocery shopping is no longer a production with one parent pushing the grocery cart and the other parent pushing the stroller. And of course, if I went on my own, I would still have the stroller and there wouldn’t be anywhere for me to put the groceries!

I just pop the baby into the carrier, and grocery shopping is a breeze. I also find myself using this at some of our local libraries which have stairs and are not accessible to those in wheeled vehicles like strollers.

After dinner, we like to go for a walk as a family. At nine weeks, my baby has very strong neck muscles, so we will sometimes have her face outwards for short walks. It is very easy to fold the neck support piece down so that a baby can transition from inward to outward facing.

My baby does not fuss when she is in the carrier. Sometimes when she gets fussy, I will put her into the carrier and she is soothed. Regardless of temperament when she goes into the carrier, she invariably falls asleep.

It is summertime- and we are out and about a lot- but I try to avoid spending too much time outside. Nevertheless, my baby stays cool and comfy in her air carrier. She does not get hot and sweaty after being in the carrier. I cannot say the same about her carseat which plus into her stroller frame and her larger touring stroller!

Best of all, the carrier is machine washable. I have not had reason to wash it yet- although it is probably due for a routine cleaning. But it is nice to know that should disaster strike- diaper explosion, spitup, etc- a revitalized carrier is only a spin cycle away.

I highly recommend the air carrier to anyone who has a spring/summer baby. The Baby Bjorn is a little on the expensive side. I was fortunate enough to receive one as a gift, but I would not hesitate to buy one after using it. This is truly a Divine Gift. It frees up my hands, lets me bond with my baby while on the go. I can take the baby to places where strollers are not accessible or not convenient. She is soothed in the carrier and falls asleep. And I’m still not sure what 3D mesh is, but it sure keeps the two of us cool and comfy!