When Kathleen of Kathleen’s Blog Spot asked me to review a baby product to keep with the theme of the Ultimate Baby Giveaway, I thought sure! I have 4 kids, surely there is something that I have enjoyed enough to write about. And then it came to me. My Moby Wrap! Our youngest is almost 20 months old and I had to pull it out the other week to use it.
So, what is a Moby Wrap? Well, I had never heard of one until after my 4th baby was born. I can’t tell you the number of times I could have used that with the other three and so wished I had heard of it back when our 1st was born. The Moby Wrap is a long (and I do mean L-O-N-G) strip of stretchy material that wraps around your torso to create a carrier for holding your baby. Here is a great image from Moby Wrap (used with permission) showing you how the wrap works.
The Moby:
- It’s a “one size fits most” (the material is several yards – 5.5 meters to be exact)
- The material is doubled over creating extra strength and support
- It hugs the shoulders nicely when properly adjusted which adds support to your shoulders and back (this is important, if the shoulders are rolled up and not adjusted like the image, it will add strain to your back)
- It crosses over on your back and shoulders helping distribute the weight more evenly
- You can carry the child facing you or facing out
- There is no stiff plastic or frame to cut into you or the baby
- The material is soft and stretchy
- You can secure your infant’s or sleeping baby’s head by position it sideways and placing part of the wrap over the head – loved doing this as it keeps the baby’s airway open and yet their head isn’t wobbling around (see image below)
- The baby’s legs can be out or tucked into the wrap for warmth
I have tried cheaper carriers and they were just that, cheap. They dug into my neck and shoulders despite the repositioning and adjusting. I also felt like our babies weren’t positioned close to me which caused constant strain on my back and shoulders.
After the other carriers, I decided to try a sling. It still strained my upper back and I was so uncomfortable with how the face of our infant was covered. I kept trying to prop it open so I could see her. A couple of years later, that very sling was recalled because of suffocation issues. π
Along came baby #4 and I knew I needed some sort of carrier. I couldn’t afford anything really expensive. My limit was about $40-$50 (thanks to the baby shower). I was at Target one day and browsing their baby section. That’s when I first say the Moby Wrap. It was one of those situations where you pick it up and put it down, pick it up and put it down. I was trying to decide if I wanted to spend the rest of the baby shower money on that or figure out something cheaper. I finally decided to put it in my cart and there it stayed. lol
I have heard wonderful things about other wraps and carriers that run around $80. That wasn’t feasible for me at the time but the Moby Wrap was. I used my wrap at home, wore it to church, out shopping and even got my husband to use it. π I found it easy to wrap at home (or out) and leave it even if I wasn’t putting the baby in right away. It was also easy to get him into the wrap once it was on.
The wrap comes with step-by-step instructions on how to wrap it and which way to wrap it for the proper positioning you’re looking for (you can also find instructions online). It took me about 2-3 times to figure it out and after that, I no longer needed the instruction manual to wrap. It was easy to get the hang of it and now it only takes seconds to wrap.
As our youngest grew and became more mobile, I used my wrap less. He was happy and content to be exploring and no longer needed me all the time. He is now almost 20 months old and weighs just over 26lbs. We were at church one day a few weeks ago and I decided to pull the Moby out because he was just so heavy. Unfortunately, I wrapped quickly and didn’t position the shoulders right but even so, it still took some time for the strain on my back to start causing pain.
I have heard things like how the Moby stretches out over time but in the almost 2 years that I’ve had mine, that has not been the case. If it does need some tightening, washing it has always helped. Overall, I love my Moby and like I said, I’ve heard wonderful things about some of the more expensive ones but the Moby Wrap is great and a bit more affordable. π
I would love to hear what you like or dislike about the Moby Wrap (or another wrap that you’ve used). Thanks for reading!
*Disclosure: The Moby Wrap referred to in this post is one I purchased myself. I received no compensation for writing this post. All opinions expressed are my own.*
Amanda Peterson says
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