I’m working on a series of posts for the second half of May. First up, Beco Ergonomics. Watch for the next installments, including Beco Baby Carrier Economics and Beco Ecology in the next few days.

Beco ‘E’ Series - Article 1 - Baby Carrier Ergonomics

Every day I get to help parents, caregivers and sometimes grandparents, carry their babies comfortably and safely. Sprout Soup has the best baby carrier selection in our area, probably the best in our state (Ohio) and perhaps even the best in the Midwest! Sometimes I will overhear moms saying they wish they had a baby carrier when their child was younger or smaller, but what many of them don’t realize before they step into Sprout Soup is that children can be carried and worn in baby carriers for years! In fact it’s perfectly comfortable to carry your 34 pound three year old in a good carrier like the Beco. I know that firsthand! So it’s not too late to start using a carrier and give your arms a break, as long as you know a few things about baby carrier ergonomics.

First, positioning is very important, both how the baby carrier is positioned on you and where your child is positioned on your body. It’s easiest and most comfortable to carry weight on your back, and once your baby is in the 15-20 pound range you will notice a huge difference if you can shift the weight from your front to your back. The great thing about the Beco Butterfly II is that the safety seat makes back carries easy and safe. Between 4 and 5 months, which is when many babies are over 15 pounds, is the right time to try putting baby on your back in the Beco.

Whether baby is on your back or on your front, the higher they are the easier it will be to carry their weight. A baby who is riding low around your waist will pull on your shoulders and create sore muscles. Keeping your baby high and secure on your mid-section, where it is easy to kiss the top of their head, is the most comfortable. On the Beco Butterfly II, take care to adjust the front safety buckles so your baby is riding high. As your child grows you may need to let out these buckes to accomodate their height, but for the majority of wearers, keep the straps tight so you need to pull up on the top of the carrier to clip the buckle back together. This ensures that baby will be held securely against your body and not hang away from you causing strain.

The waist of the Beco Butterfly II is padded and structured to take weight to your hips. Where you position this strap and how tightly you fasten it will change the way it feels on you. If you find your back or shoulders are getting sore, you might try securing the waist belt a few inches higher or lower and see if that helps transfer the weight to your hips.

When you are walking or sitting with your baby in a carrier, whether they be on your front or on your back, keep posture in mind. If you feel you are hunching your shoulders, leaning forward or backward, or otherwise compensating for your child’s weight with your posture then something isn’t right. With many different ways to adjust your Beco Butterfly, you may find that a slight tightening or loosening of a buckle will completely change the way the carrier is on your body and you can stand straighter.

One final note on the ergonomics of baby carriers. The human body is not meant to carry weight on the shoulders near the neck, and doing so will cause sore muscles and pinched nerves. There is soft tissue at the base of your neck that extends down your shoulders. How far down your shoulders it extends varies for different people, but you should be able to feel where the soft and muscle part of your shoulder ends and the bones of your shoulder continue out to the shoulder cap. The Beco is ergonomically designed so that the straps should not sit on this part of your shoulder but rather further out on the bony part. Although since everyone’s body is different, you might find that you need to make minor adjustments to the length of the Beco should straps or the chest clip to make sure the straps stay off of this soft tissue on your shoulder.

I hope this has helped you get comfortable in your carrier!