Looking for a wonderful way to comfortably carry baby close to you while you go about your day? Baby wraps are the ideal solution. This buyer’s guide will help you make an informed purchasing decision based on your exact needs. Ready to wrap? Let’s get stuck in.
What is a Baby Wrap?
Let’s start with the basics. Other names for baby wraps include a baby sling or a baby carrier. The difference between a baby carrier and a baby wrap is subtle. A baby carrier refers to any type of over the shoulder or round the body carrying device you use for your baby. A sling or a baby wrap will always feature one long strip of fabric and potentially handles to loop over your arms. The idea is that you simultaneously swaddle the little one while you hold them. The wrap cradles your baby close to your chest, allowing the little one to take comfort from your heartbeat while you go about your day.
While we can all accept that baby wraps are an excellent way to both nurture and carry your child, we can’t all agree on which one works best. To this end, we created this baby wrap buyer’s guide to help you chose a product which is perfect for you. Ready to begin? Let’s start with the ways you can wear a wrap and eliminate the competition as we go along.
Shop Based on Carrying Style
Fabric wraps for your baby have a little stretch to them and come in varying lengths. The lengths relate to how you plan to use the wrap to carry your baby. There are different carrying styles, all of which you can perform using different lengths of wrap. Here are carrying styles that you can use:
- Carrying on your hip – wrap the fabric around you and baby while baby has their legs around your body, balanced on your hip
- Carrying on your back – you can carry the baby on your back by wrapping the fabric around your front
- The Kangaroo wrap – the baby balances on your front as if it were a baby kangaroo
- Cross wrap – you can wear the fabric asymmetrically, with the wrap crossing one shoulder either on your back or on your front
- Double or single hammock carry – where the baby sits inside two hammocks crossing your chest or back
Once you have decided which carry style will work best for you, you can shop based on size of the wrap.
Shop Based on Baby Wrap Size
How you plan to wrap the fabric to carry your baby relates to the size of the baby wrap you will need. Try these lengths of fabric based on the style you intend to use most:
- Hip wrap – you may need as much as 4 metres of fabric if you are a larger sized person. If you are petite, you could use 2.7m
- Carrying your baby on your back requires at least 3.7m of material
- You may need as much as 4.7m of fabric to perform a kangaroo-style wrap
- Cross wrapping and Double hammock carrying take the longest fabric, your baby wrap may need to be 5.7 metres.
Standard baby wrap size guide
Baby wraps usually follow a standard sizing guide. This is the internationally accepted international standard of sizing. Find your corresponding length and choose the number of wrap size that you need. Baby wraps start at a small size and work up to larger sizes in the higher numbers. The largest size is typically an 8 but you can have a custom wrap in a longer size made.
The international sizing for baby wraps is:
- Size 2 = 2.7m
- Size 3 = 3.2m
- Size 4 = 3.7m
- Size 5 = 4.2m
- Size 6 = 4.7m
- Size 7 = 5.2m
- Size 8 = 5.7m
What size baby wrap to buy?
Consider your own size when it comes to buying a wrap. Those who are a size 14 (UK) or under can use any size of wrap from size 3 upwards for basic carrying such as a hip or back carry. If you want a more complex carry method, like a double hammock or a kangaroo, increase that size to a size 6 or greater. Petite users will fit a size 2 wrap and may wish to scale down a size for complex carries. A petite parent can do all types of carry with a size 6 and most with a size 5.
If you are of the larger persuasion make sure you have enough fabric to perform the carry style you are most comfortable with. This might mean you need a size 7 wrap to perform all types of carry. If you are over a size 26 (UK), you will need a size 8 wrap for most carry styles. If this applies to you, do not use anything smaller than a size 5 wrap for basic carrying styles.
Shop Based on Strength of Materials or Size of your Child
It stands to reason that the same fabric wrap your baby used as a 2 month old will not be the same fabric wrap they need as a 6 month old. The bigger baby gets, the stronger the material you will need to wrap them with. You can get around flimsier fabrics if you have extra length for wrapping in layers. However, we recommend tougher fabrics for bigger kids as a golden rule.
Fabrics which wraps are made from consist of cottons, wools, hemp, silk, and poly blends which are part plastic. Although these are toughest, many women prefer a natural cotton or silk wrap. Of all natural materials, hemp is the toughest. We also recommend bamboo fibre wraps for the eco-conscious. If baby has sensitive skin, cotton may be best.
Other Considerations When Buying a Baby Wrap
Once you have worked out your preferred carry style, fabric choice, and size, the rest is down to personal preference. Do you want a brightly coloured wrap or a soothing one? Patterned or plain? Woven wool or silky satin? The options are endless and the decision is all yours. Choose something you love and scale up if you need to.
