While we all sit and wait for the Butterfly’s new little sister, the highly anticipated Gemini,  to arrive, I invite you to walk down my Beco memory lane with me…

This was Beco’s first BIG trade show in Las Vegas.  Of special interest are the discontinued Obi carriers on the wall, the VERY popular Joshua Butterfly I on the left, and the Avocado Bird on the right!  I love the tiny Echino Dove Mini Becos hanging up on the walls looking like little birds, and the bright color-blocked walls look fantastic!

Walk with me to 2006 when I bought my very first Beco. Back then, the world was a more simple place!  Want a Soft Structured Carrier?  There were really only 4 good options!  Organic versus non-organic?  Nope.  Infant insert, nope.  Integrated seat, foot stirrups, detachable umbrellas, or military grade parachutes?  Nope, nope, nope, hahaaaaa!!!!  These carriers were no muss, no fuss.  Until Beco Baby Carriers changed the world of babywearing and blew the other SSC brands out of the water!  I mean seriously, Beco’s 4th Generation carrier became so popular that a large corporate baby carrier company decided to mark their territory and pulled patent on the poor unsuspecting 4G.

This was my very first Beco ever!  It was the 4th Generation in the Spa print which Gabby had helped fit to Baby#4 and I earlier that day!  He was 3 months old, and I had deliberated over which carrier to buy since he was born.  He was a BIG baby, and that’s when I realized that I would need something more supportive that my ring slings which had worked great with my previous 3 babies!  He actually cried the first time I put him in my new Beco at the Beco Head Quarters, but he quickly learned to love being worn in a SSC, and Baby #4 is still happy to be worn even at 3 1/2 and close to 40 pounds!

I guess Gabby Caperon was no longer just any ol’ WAHM!  If such a large corporate baby carrier company was coming after her, she had earned her title as “superior baby carrier creator,”  but now, she needed a new plan!  With the remaining 4th Generations locked up (wouldn’t you just LOVE to get into THAT warehouse!) Gabby formulated a plan!  Her new Beco Baby Carrier would be so different that the former top dog in the baby carrier industry wouldn’t be able to come after her with their threats, and the babywearers would be forced to try it because it was so new, so different, so revolutionary!!!!

The infant insert was not technically a new concept.  Gabby had discussed the insert with her friend who designed the German Manduca baby carrier, but the Y harness was a new addition that babywearers had never experienced before.  Suddenly with the help of the integrated insert, moms didn’t need to learn to hip scoot, superman toss, or any of the other ridiculously named methods of getting your baby on your back that were part of every babywearers’ skill set.  Now,  you simply buckled baby in and popped on the Beco like a backpack! Anyone can do that!  Plus parents could remove the baby carrier from themselves and re-buckle it on someone else!  This was a fantastic new concept that rocked the babywearing world and made the Beco Butterfly a household name (in babywearing houses!)

The Beco Butterfly debuted with a bang, and a sizzle, due to a voluntary recall.  I visited Gabby’s shop in Southern California the week the carriers began flooding back in to have their new safety buckles added.  The shop was overflowing with packages, and in the middle of it all was the always calm, always smiling Gabby enthusiastically telling me about the upcoming design changes and fabric options!  Not letting a little thing like a massive recall get her down, Gabby had already figured out how to make the Butterfly even better! And so, out fluttered the Beco Butterfly II showing off its loveliness and featuring just a few fabulous upgrades that made the Butterfly II unique in a market now flooded with Soft Structured Carriers:  unparalled features, unequivocal beauty, one stop shopping for the babywearer who only wants/ needs 1 carrier, and that special fashion style that only Beco Baby Carriers possess!

I have no doubt that the Gemini will be just as lovely and just as sought after as the Beco Butterfly because with Gabby and her Beco Baby Carriers, there is only the Beco way to wear your baby - in style, in comfort, and in love!

*happy babywearing*

Just a little sigh and a quiet sob for the loss of one of favorite SSCs ever!  The Beco 4th Generation was easy to use, fabulously stylish, and quick on & off!  Just wanted to say, Beco 4G, we still miss you, but we are enjoying your new friend, the Beco Butterfly II!

The Beco Butterfly has so many wonderful details that make this SSC  the top of the line!  Removable hood for shade or to prevent noggin sagging with a sleepy baby!  Removable infant insert for wearing baby straight from the womb!  Integrated insert for easy peasy back carries and transferring baby to another wearer!  Comfortable Y panel absorbs the baby soup inevitably created by wearing a baby in warm weather!  Handy dandy stay put strap for wrapping up the Beco into a neat bundle.  And of course,  the sensational prints and organic styles have made the Butterfly a big hit with me!

From the desk of a very busy mommy!  THANK YOU to Robin K. for taking the time to provide such a detailed comparison!

“I purchased the Beco Butterfly II from Paxbaby.com after seeing how much Beco had improved the carrier since my 4th Generation Beco came out.  My 2nd daughter was born in March, & I was desperate to use a carrier/sling again especially since I have a 2 year old to keep up.  I tried several other slings I have including my 4th Generation and either it didn’t ‘feel right’ or my baby was just not big enough for it yet.  Even with the infant insert for the 4th Generation I felt my daughter wasn’t as safe b/c of her small size.  After receiving the Butterfly II I was amazed at the improvements!  It feels more comfortable which I didn’t think was possible, the back/chest clasp is now sewn on, the clasps have an extra safety feature, the infant insert is a great bonus as it didn’t come with the old version plus it actually raises the baby higher, and now you can switch the baby from front to back with the baby in the carrier.”

Beco Alice hard at work