BabyBjorn WE Carrier Review
BabyBjorn WE Carrier
Reviewed Amanda Hayes
I spent a fantastic couple of hours at the launch of the new BABYBJORN WE carrier in London last week. I was made to feel extremely welcome and was soon provided with a choice of refreshments. The entrance to the room was decorated by an adult size baby bouncer and inside the room looked fantastic with the new carrier laid out down one side, the new Dots range the other and various BabyBjorn products laid out within. The new Dots range looks fabulous in black and white and is a specialist collection for the WE & ONE carrier’s and the Bouncer Balance Soft available at selected stores. View the range at www.babybjorn.co.uk/campaigns/dots.
Some mothers had their children with them to test out the WE carrier, but if not there were realistic dolls to use instead. These were weighted so that you felt you were picking up a real baby instead of just a doll, apart from they stayed still and didn’t wriggle!
Within a few minutes I was walking around with the WE carrier on, baby fitted first to front and then I tried the back position which is more suited to my little boy who is 20 months. Like any carrier it does take a few attempts to get it right, and that was with the doll, with my son it was a bit harder as he doesn’t stay still while you put his legs in. Once you have yourself organised though it’s pretty simple to go through the steps, put the baby/toddler in on the front, secure with two clips, take a shoulder out and swivel round to the rear, popping the straps back over your shoulders. First time out on my own though I managed to put my son in backwards so he was on my back facing out not over my shoulder. It resulted into a trip to the baby changing to take it all off and start again, so I made sure I got it right next time!
There are lots of great points to mention about the WE carrier, its extremely light, its machine washable, organic cotton, folds very small when not in use and holds a child from 0-3 years negating the problem of changing carriers at 18 months. We do a fair amount of travelling and were very pleased to find that the WE fitted easily into hand luggage and didn’t add a lot of weight. Yesterday we took it with us out walking in our rucksack as Ethan was convinced he wanted to walk and not use the buggy, we knew that wouldn’t last so as he got tired we just pulled out the WE and off we went, saving the hassle of taking the buggy.
When my son was newborn we used the BabyBjorn Carrier Original and loved it, the WE is a great alternative for us with a toddler and fantastic for mums who have children of different ages. It’s marketed as an entry level alternative to the ONE Carrier and at around £85.00 it’s a similar price range to others on the market. The downside is it’s not quite as supportive to the person carrying as some of the carriers marketed for toddlers and older children and I would probably find it hard going to carry my son for longer than a couple of hours. The front position is fantastic, and for lighter babies I found it easy but a 3 year old would probably be too much, I think that’s because I am fairly short and so even with the straps tightened my son sits a little low on my back.
Also just a quick mention about the Travel Crib Light which I was lucky enough to get a demonstration of at the event. Having struggled with my existing travel cot late at night I was amazed at how quickly this cot went up and down and packed into its own bag with mattress. It looks like there has been a lot of thought into the design of all BABYBJORN product’s, making them easy to use for families.
All in all I found the WE carrier easy to use with lots of plus points, the harness was easy to do up and Ethan felt really secure in it. A perfect carrier for lighter babies and although for me personally, not quite so supportive for heavier ones it maybe fine if you are a little taller. The BabyBjorn WE will be accompanying us on our travels over the next year or so as it’s so light and easy to pack compared to most other toddler carrier on the market.
Suitable for 0-3 years.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £85
For more information and stockists visit www.babybjorn.co.uk.
