Category: Baby Carriers Guides

Wearing your baby using a wrap, carrier, or sling allows you to keep your baby close to you while also keeping your hands free. Carrying your baby has benefits for both you and your little one.

There are so many carrier options too, that you can find the perfect product for you that is safe, comfortable, and easy to use.

But, are baby carriers safe for baby hips? Let’s take a look at what makes a carrier safe for your little one and whether your baby’s hip health is compromised by a carrier.

The Requirements of a Carrier

No matter which carrier you choose, you need to ensure that it provides the following:

Support

The carrier you choose should provide safe and comfortable support for your little one’s head, spine, and airways. Your baby should be positioned high on your chest and snuggly positioned so that their face is visible at all times. The best support is given when your baby is in an inward facing, upright position.

The most important thing is to check that your baby’s head and spine are stabilized, and that the airways are always clear. The carrier must be made to high standards and you must use it properly to prevent accidents from happening.

When using a carrier, always follow the T.I.C.K.S guidelines to ensure that you are carrying your baby safely and securely:

• Tight and secure
• In your view at all times
• Close to your body
• Keep baby’s chin off his chest
• Support baby’s back

Proper Weight Distribution

The carrier you choose must distribute your baby’s weight evenly across the hips, torso, and both shoulders, as this will be most comfortable for your baby. You also get better support when your carrier fits you properly.

The padding and structure of a carrier does not necessarily make it more supportive. In fact, less structured carriers contour around your baby and your body better, offering very even weight distribution.

Easy to Use

Everyone is different, so what you find easy to use may not be the same as other parents in your circle, and vice versa. If you find it difficult to adjust or fasten your chosen carrier, it is more difficult to get a supportive, safe, secure fit for your little one.

Before you purchase a carrier, check that it can easily be adjusted and secured without assistance.

What about Hip Health?

Many carriers now advertise themselves as being hip healthy. So, what is hip healthy and is it as important as many are claiming?

When your baby is first born, his hip joints are not yet fully developed and they are more flexible and soft than adult joints. You will notice that your baby will often hold his legs tucked in the spread squat or frog-legged position with his legs to the side.

When he is in this position, his pelvis and legs are aligned so the thigh bone is located centrally in his hip sockets to support the joint development.

When a carrier is hip healthy, it means that it supports under your baby’s bum and thighs to aid in achieving the correct alignment. These carriers also hold your baby’s legs in the abducted, flexed position with his knees higher than his hips.

This position is very natural for newborn babies. Plus, when your baby is in this position, it is more comfortable to carry him in the carrier.

Can I Damage my Baby’s Hips by Using a Carrier?

Despite the concern of many mothers, it is very unlikely that a carrier can harm your baby’s hips. If you have no family history of issues or abnormalities with hips, and your baby has no other concerns or risk factors with regards to hip development, then you do not need to worry.

There is no medical evidence proving that any carrier causes damage to a baby’s hips when used properly.

If you would like to ensure that your baby is receiving the best support possible for his developing hips, make sure that your carrier is adjusted to provide support that places your baby’s legs in the abducted, flexed frog position that will align his pelvis and hips properly.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Baby carriers have been used for many years thanks to their comfort and convenience. Naturally you always want what is best for your baby.

 But you can rest assured that baby carriers are safe for your baby’s hips and that you can use them safely as you go about your day.

In this post, I have provided a list of 10 essential items or must-haves for newborns.

Whether we like to think about it or not, we are all born completely reliant on others for our basic survival skills and necessities.

Though babies are wonderful creations, they can keep us up at night, have to be taken care of, fed, cleaned, and given the right amount of attention in order for them to grow up to be thriving, confident, capable human beings.

To help baby (and parents of course!) through those tough first few weeks and months there are certain items that are invaluable and that some parents can’t live without.

10 Essential Items for a New Baby

Yes, there are hundreds of items we can purchase for our new baby, and different people will have different items that are more and less important to them.

These are the 10 items that we have found to be essential. Some are obvious, others less so.

1. Washcloths
2. Diaper Bag
3. Gifts for existing kids
4. Water Bottle for yourself
5. A Newborn Suitable Car Seat
6. A Baby Carrier
7. Stroller
8. A Bassinet or Moses Basket
9. Breastfeeding Pillow
10. Baby Bottles and a Breast Pump

Of course, there are other obvious things, like diapers, clothes and blankets (depending on the climate/season). And these will are best bought in advance. You don’t want to have to do a mission to the store just to get these items, when you have a 1 or 2 day old baby to look after.

Washcloths

This one is less obvious and we didn’t think about it initially for our first child, until the nurse visiting us told us that our baby’s diaper rash was from continuing to use wipes from the hospital as opposed to cloths.

Washcloths are nicer for baby, not to mention a lot cheaper in the long run than using wipes.

Fortunately, my brother had given us washcloths at the baby shower (he has kids – he knew!)

But not only for wiping the bum, washcloths are also great to have on hand for washing their face, wiping their hands.

But do get colored cloths – so that you can assign a certain color for each job. You don’t want the same cloth used for wiping the bum also used on the face! We use blue cloths for bum, red cloths for face, yellow cloths for hands and white cloths for wiping down the high chair.

Diaper Bag

A diaper bag is essential, especially for those moms/dads that like to be on the move. But a diaper bag isn’t just essential for a change mat, diapers and wipes. You can also bring a spare set of clothes, pacifiers and anything else you might need for baby (or yourself).

And once baby is bigger you can also carry snacks in it.

But definitely do keep a change mat in there. The amount of times we’ve had to change baby on the floor due to a lack of change tables in restrooms in cafes, restaurants etc.

Gifts for Existing Kids

This third item is only a necessity if you have other children. They may not like the idea that there is now another small human in the household who will take away your attention.

If you get your existing child or children a gift and tell them that it comes from the baby, it will help to let their guards down and know that there’s nothing to worry about. They will especially like the new-born if the gift is something that they really wanted.

Water Bottle

This might seem silly but if you’re like us and like to move around a lot, it’s essential to have water on the go. You’ll need a water bottle and some fruit for yourself as a mother. If you’re breastfeeding, this will take a lot of fluids out of your body. The water bottle will keep you hydrated

Newborn Suitable Car Seat

The fifth item you will need before bringing your new-born baby home is a car seat. Even if you don’t own a car, you will need one for taxis, friends/family driving you around etc.

There are car seats for every stage of a child’s development. For now, you will need a new-born car seat that will support their head and will keep them safe from any harsh movements since they are especially vulnerable at this young age. You can get all-in—one car seats that can be adjusted as babies get bigger. We have a newborn seat for our youngest (who is still just 2 months at time of writing) and an all-in-one for our older son (3 years).

Baby Carrier

Now, we wouldn’t be running a site about baby carriers, if we didn’t think that they were an essential item!

But seriously, we have found carriers to be lifesavers.

Being able to still get stuff done, with hands free, whilst keeping baby calm and bonding with them  is priceless.

We’ve also found, especially with our second, that it’s the only reliable place that he will sleep every time – and it’s the best way to calm him down when he’s upset. He also has silent reflux and our pediatrician recommended to keep him upright as much as possible. Much easier when you have a carrier.

Stroller

Whilst, baby-wearing is highly recommended, there are certainly times when you need to transport your baby in a stroller. Although we are avid baby wearers, sometimes it’s easier to have them in the stroller

For example, if they fall asleep in the car and you can easily transfer them onto the stroller, if you have an integrative stroller/car seat setup.

Which leads me to my other point – get an integrative stroller/car seat setup! It’s so easy and convenient.

Bassinet or Moses Basket

Whilst a crib is great for when baby gets bigger, we’ve found that they are too big for newborns and prefer to have them sleeping in a bassinet. They also take up less room – so you can save some space before you bring in the crib.

Breastfeeding Pillow

We never had a breastfeeding pillow for our first – but we got one for our second and looking back, we wish we’d gotten one straight away with out first.

Yes, you can use any old pillow, but it’s a lot easier to setup with a breastfeeding pillow – especially if you are breastfeeding for the first time.

And once your baby has sufficient neck/head control you can also use a breastfeeding pillow as a seat for your baby.

Baby bottles and a breast pump

If you want to continue to breast feed your new baby – but want a break from them every now and then (which is only human!), then pumping is a lifesaver. You can pump milk and store it in the fridge (or even freeze it for later).

Then you can give it to your partner for night feeds, so you can some extra shuteye or give it to a baby sitter, so you can go out for dinner. I don’t think you need any more convincing as to why a breast pump is a good idea! ?

Of course, you’ll need bottles too – and nipples. Try to get good nipples that best imitate real nipples so that delivery of the milk is as similar as possible. Some babies don’t take to bottles that well, so you want to make it as easy as possible for them.