As a vendor, and a very special person, hahaa, I tried on a prototype of the new carrier from Beco last September at the ABC Kids Show. I have been waiting patiently, OK, not so patiently, for more information! We now know that it will be called Gemini and is due to be released this spring!

The Gemini is a smaller bodied carrier than Beco’s previous models, and designed to carry babies on your front, back, hip, or, gasp!, front facing out! The facing out position is somewhat controversial, but some mamas swear that their babies will not tolerate facing towards them. So, a great rule of thumb for younger babies to avoid over-stimulation is to limit facing out time to 15-20 minutes and if you see baby’s head turning to the side, that usually means that they are trying to block out some of the action and should be turned back around to face mommy.

Although the Gemini can be used with young babies, I comfortably wore my then-10 month old on my front and back in this prototype Gemini!  In the tradition of the Beco 4th Generation, the shoulder straps could be unbuckled under the arms and re-fastened as crossed straps across your back.  The headrest can be folded down, and the edges of the body of the carrier can be folded inwards and fastened, making the body narrower and more comfortable for smaller babies. (All of these details were true for the version of the Gemini I tried in September 2009. We will, of course, give you the full scoop on the Gemini as soon as more information is released!)

Only time will tell if mainstream moms will adopt this new chic baby carrier for their front facing babies, or whether the blase Bjorn ( that’s bla-zay, ladies!) will continue to be the generic go to carrier.

The part I’m most excited about??? The luscious purple straps that may be available on the first round of Beco Geminis!  Stay tuned for more information, a pre-order special, and more Beco news!

My family and I headed to the mountains for 8 days at a friend’s cabin, THANK YOU, Sarah!!!! for a refreshing vacation from life!

Green Valley Lake was the PERFECT place to hang out, play board games, and work on my tan!!!  We did a lot of hiking, and only used the car 2 days!  Once to go to Big Bear Lake and a surprise visit to a water park, and once to get to Lake Arrowhead for church and pizza!

My husband and I each brought a Beco (OK, I’ll admit it, I brought 2, LOL) and we USED them!!!  Only our oldest child has legs strong enough for the long hikes we were taking, so we rotated through the other kids and everybody had a chance to ride in daddy’s Beco!

Me?  I was in charge of our youngest who has gotten so heavy and so tall, I think that it’s time to switch him over to back carries only!  The only place I had cell reception was on top of a mountain, so there I was, making my busniess phone calls from a boulder!

On April 22, 2008, the CPSC issued a recall (read the official CPSC recall) on the Beco Butterfly. (Now referred to as the Beco Butterfly I Model, all current products are the Beco Butterfly II) 

Unfortunately, moms still ask me about this recall and are still worried about their buckles :(  ANY Beco carrier being sold through a retailer RIGHT NOW has the upgraded safety buckles and you don’t need to worry about buying a carrier that was involved with the recall.  BUT, if you are buying a used Beco Butterfly I, you will need to ask the seller to make sure that it was either retrofitted in 2008 (sent back to Beco and had the buckles replaced) or made originally with the safety buckles since any Butterfly I manufactured after the recall were made automatically with the safety buckles.  And if you have any ?s, feel free to ask us!

This is the buckle from the original Beco Butterfly:

And here is the retrofitted buckle which is standard now on all Beco carriers produced:

Once again, all NEW Beco Butterfly carriers that are for sale now are the Beco Butterfly II Model and were not part of the CPSC Recall. The Beco Butterfly II has been in production for two years now, and still going strong! You can be confident your carrier is safe and the best way to carry your infant or toddler!

Happy Beco mommas make ME a happy Beco momma!!!

Thank you, T.,  for the wonderful fan mail, “it is Wonderful!!”

And thanks to S., for “a couple pictures from our zoo trip recently!”