As the weather warms up here in the sunshine state I am starting to regret the purchase of my black ERGO carrier. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Ergo, it is a back saver, especially when we hit the amusement parks, which is most weekends. But I needed something a little lighter in color.
I told Jodi I was thinking of looking into a lighter carrier and Jodi, being an avid online shopper like myself, went to work and sent me a link to a video Heather at
HomeMadeMom made comparing her
Beco Butterfly and Ergo
That made me look into the Beco brand a little more and I found myself drawn to the
Gemini style, and the pattern Lucas. It is light and I loved that I could place Liam front facing every once in a while.
First, let me recap my ERGO Sport. It is different from a Baby Bjorn because of the waist belt that helps distribute the baby's weight onto your hips, not just your upper back. It also supports the baby's hips and back by positioning them in a sitting posture, legs supported. The hood on the ERGO is great for naptime on the go, a favorite pastime of Liam when he is in the carrier. Both the ERGO and the Beco Gemini can be worn front(facing chest), back and on the hip, although I prefer wearing Liam on my front since he is too little for back and the hip carry seems complicated on both carriers and not good for your posture. There is a 'vent' on the carrier that is supposed to keep the baby cool, I use it to hook my sunglasses into when I am not wearing them! The fabric is thinner than other carriers I have tried, including the Beco but the black color heats up quickly. The Sport version of the ERGO does not come in organic fabric, but ERGO does offer organic options.
On to the Beco. To me, once I had the carrier adjusted properly I felt like the weight was distributed the same as the ERGO and it seemed like Liam was even better supported because his bottom was not sagging a low as in the ERGO. I did notice right away that the part of the carrier that is on Liam's back is padded, thickly. This seems to be where the extra support for Liam is coming from. You can see in the ERGO pictures that there is a strap across his back that makes him arch his back out and this does not happen in the Beco Gemini. The shoulder straps as padded just as thickly as the ERGO although the padded waist support does not extend as far as the ERGO. I thought this would make the carrier dig into my own extra padding(aka stubborn baby weight) but it felt fine even though you could see the extra bulge. The fabric on the Gemini is organic, which means I don't feel that bad when he starts to chew on it.
The Gemini has a snap system that allows you to narrow the seat base and face your child out to see the world. Although it clearly states that it is better to have your baby facing in so they do not get overwhelmed and lose contact with mom or dad. I used this feature while in a long line. He napped for 30 minutes and when he woke up I let him face out to get a different view and cool off(he is a space heater when sleeping on my chest). It was nice but I was happy to turn him back around after 20 minutes. Because you can face the baby out, you have a neck support flap that you can raise or lower, depending on how your baby is facing. This is great but I really miss the hood that is on the ERGO and also comes on the Beco Butterfly II. Although Jodi and I figured out a quick fix and I plan on sewing up a little sleeping hood of my own to attach to the hooks for the neck support flap.
Here you can see two carriers on top of each other. The Beco has a curve to the waist strap but I can't feel the difference when it is on. The body of the carrier on the ERGO is wider but the Beco is more substantial.The ERGO holds up to 45 pounds and the Beco states 35 pounds. I'm not as concerned about the weight difference since I have a 40 pound 3 year old and there is no way I would consider carrying him on my back in this carrier.
I still cant decide on which one I like more, they both have great features. I will hang on to both for a little while comparing them in real life and let you know which one works best for us!
