Moby Wrap Baby Carrier Giveaway and Review

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to SillyGeese for winning a Moby Wrap of your choice.

Isabella sleeping in the Moby

Having  Isabella has reminded me how much time, love and attention a new baby needs and how thankful I am to be a baby wearing mom.

Babies  need to be held. Babies need to be held a lot.

It’s a beautiful privilege to be needed so, but with other responsibilities vying for my time it can make me feel a bit stretched.   Baby wearing gives Isabella and me the closeness that we both need and want, produces a strong bond, a happy baby and still allows me to fulfill my other responsibilities.

It took me a long time (7-8 kids) to find baby wearing solutions that were practical, comfortable and worked for me. I needed a good, “comfortable-for-everyday” carrier that allows me to carry my still-floppy baby and have hands free to accomplish other tasks. I needed something for the under 6 month crowd.  That’s when I discovered the Moby Wrap.

Nicholas in Moby after a 6 mile hike

What is a Moby?

The Moby is a wrap.  This means there are no stiff pieces, buckles or fasteners.  It is a large piece of 100% cotton knit fabric that you wrap around you and baby.  The Moby goes over both shoulders and around your waist distributing the babies weight very evenly and making it possible to comfortably wear your baby for hours without tired shoulders or a stiff neck.

Isabella getting ready for a nap in the Moby

It is possible to carry your baby in several different positions with the Moby.  I regularly use all of the front holds.  I use the back and hip carries occasionally.  (I can not get the baby into the back carry position without another person helping me.)

The Moby is for newborns up to children weighing 35 pounds (about 3 years) and is machine washable.  I use the Moby almost exclusively for those early months or when our little one is napping.

Our Moby experience

We got our first Moby when Nicholas (baby #9) was 2 months old and I wore him around the house in the Moby throughout the day.  He would snuggle in contentedly while I washed dishes, taught school, took kids to the bathroom or switched the laundry.  When he got tired, he would put his head on my chest and go to sleep not waking when I needed to sit down or get back up again.

Now I’m using the Moby with Isabella.  The Moby holds Isabella close to my body as if she were swaddled in a blanket and it provides wonderful head support.  When she  falls asleep in the Moby there is no flopping of her head as I move around causing her to stir or wake.  Bella’s  head is held securely against my body.

Even as our babies get older I put them in the Moby if I know that they are going to (or should) nap in the carrier.  Both Bella and Nicholas get/got some of their best naps in the Moby.

Sweet Bella in Moby

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Comfortable for mom- no shoulder or neck strain
• Terrific for baby naps – baby is wrapped close and does not usually wake with mom’s movements
• Keeps baby close to mom’s body – Other carriers protrude out in front making it difficult to work in the kitchen or read a book held in front of you.   The Moby keeps baby close in to your body making these tasks much easier.
• Wrap it once and take baby in and out as needed
• Comfortable for baby even newborns
• Flexible – able to wrap the baby many different ways and if they fall asleep it is simple to pull some extra fabric up to support their head.
• Nice selection of colors and designs

Cons:

• It takes a while to get the hang of wrapping.
• The ends drag on the ground when you’re wrapping it.  (When I go out I try to remember to wrap the Moby before we leave the house, then I just put Isabella in and out of the Moby as we get to each stop.)
• It can get hot.

Double baby wearing

For those of you with more than one small child, I regularly wear our two youngest children (Nicholas 2 and Isabella 8 weeks) at the same time  I wrap Bella in the Moby in one of the front carries and put Nicholas in the ERGO on my back. I can generally walk several miles with both babies quite comfortably.

Buy a Moby Wrap

You can purchase a Moby Wrap starting at $39.95 at MobyWrap.com.   Moby Wraps are also available in many stores, you can check availability in your area here.

Win a Moby Wrap

I’m not going to tell you about one of my favorite mom ‘necessities’ and not give you the opportunity to win one for yourself.  Moby has offered to give away a Moby Wrap of your choice to one Raising Olives reader.

To enter:

• Visit Mobywrap.com then come back and leave a comment on this post telling me which wrap you would choose.  Also feel free to share about your baby wearing experience or lack thereof.

Extra entries: (please leave a comment for each entry)

• Share a link to this giveaway on Facebook
• Tweet about this giveaway
• Blog about this giveaway (3 extra entries, please leave 3 extra comments)

Giveaway will end at 11:59 pm on September (can you believe it’s already September??) 9, 2010.

You may also enjoy:

1. ERGObaby Carrier Giveaway and Review
2. Bebe au Lait Giveaway and Review
3. My Life at the Moment