The moment I knew I was having a baby, I started reading about babywearing. I loved the idea of keeping baby close to me, and having my hands free to do things like baby was sleeping or hanging with me. What I didn’t anticipate was how much it would change the way we travel.
We travel a lot. Airports, festivals, baseball games, parades, crowded street markets. A stroller works great in some of those places and is completely useless in others. At a parade or a festival you’re either fighting the crowd with it or abandoning it somewhere and carrying her anyway. With a carrier, we just go. She’s right on me, I always know where she is, and she’s calm in a way she just isn’t when she’s walking on her own in a busy place.
On our last flight, I wore my daughter through the airport and folded our travel stroller down small enough to fit in the overhead bin. She can nurse in the carrier and nobody notices. When she was a newborn, I used to work with her in it, just typing with her asleep against my chest.
Some of my favorite carrier moments have been at concerts. We put headphones on her, she goes right up on me, and she is completely in her element. She loves live music — bluegrass especially, apparently banjos in particular–and we took her to Wide Open Bluegrass here in Raleigh where she danced on me the entire time. She could see everything, she was close, and I had both hands free. A stroller would have been a nightmare. The carrier made it one of my favorite days.
We also took her to a Savannah Bananas game in Greenville, South Carolina. The stadium was packed and we had a bit of a walk from the hotel. Having her against my chest in the carrier meant I wasn’t worried about losing her in the crowd. She was right there, safe, and when she was ready for a nap she just went to sleep on me. We just walked.
There’s also the closeness of it, which I genuinely love. She gets a better view of everything from up there, and she loves being right next to mom or dad–snug, secure, close. As a toddler she still wants to be held constantly. As an elder millennial mom, carrying her on my hip all day was wrecking my back. The carrier fixes that. She gets the closeness she needs and I’m not paying for it later.
A Few Things to Know Before You Buy
I’m not going to walk you through hip positioning or proper ergonomics here. There’s a lot of good information out there on that, and it’s worth reading before you choose your first carrier. What I will say is that front-outward carrying isn’t something I do. It puts pressure on developing hips in a way that most babywearing educators don’t recommend, and my daughter never seemed comfortable in it anyway.
If you want to try carriers before you buy, look up a carrier library near you or search for babywearing groups in your area on Google or Facebook. Being able to try one on with your actual baby, with someone there to help you adjust it, is worth more than any amount of reading.
The Best Baby Carrier Types for Travel
Structured carriers are what most people picture when they search for a baby carrier for travel. Most have padded waistband or straps, buckles. I wear my daughter on my front most of the time because it’s more comfortable for both of us. But back carries work well once your baby has the core strength for it.
Ring slings are a single piece of fabric that threads through two rings and adjusts by pulling. They go on fast, and for a newborn who just wants to be held and hidden away, they’re hard to beat. The linen ones are worth the extra cost (they breathe in a way other fabrics don’t).
Hip carriers are for the stage where your toddler wants up, then down, then up again every four minutes. Less structured, on and off in seconds. Still hands-free, no buckles to fight at the playground.
The Baby Carriers We Own and Use
Happy Baby OG: This is my main carrier and the one I reach for most when we’re traveling with our toddler. Front-facing in, comfortable for both of us on long stretches. I’ve tried more expensive carriers that felt bulkier and kept coming back to this one. Nothing has beaten it for me yet.
Qookie Go: My hip carrier. It goes on in seconds and the fanned shoulder area distributes the weight in a way that most hip carriers don’t bother with. Lightweight, compact, 100% organic cotton, and works from six months up to about 44 pounds. When my daughter is up and down at the park, this is what I use.
Wild Bird Linen Ring Sling: I used this constantly when my daughter was a newborn. She’d curl right in, the linen kept us both from overheating, and it added enough warmth that I didn’t need a separate blanket. Now that she’s a toddler I still use it, mostly for back carries when I want something lighter than a structured carrier. The linen is genuinely worth it.
Happy Baby Onbuhimo — This is the one I’m getting next. An onbuhimo is a back carrier without a waistband, which makes it a better fit for toddlers who have the core strength for it. I’ve had my eye on it for a while and it’s next up for us.
Baby Carriers I’ve Tried
Tula Baby: Well-made and I understand why people love it. For me the fit wasn’t quite right–it sat differently on my torso than I wanted and I could never get fully comfortable in it.
LILLEbaby Complete: I wanted to love this one. It has a lot of carry positions and the build quality is solid, but it felt like more carrier than I needed and I kept reaching for the Happy Baby OG instead.
Artipop: Beautiful carriers and the fabrics are genuinely stunning. When I tried one I expected it to feel as good as it looked, but it felt bulkier on me than my Happy Baby OG, which surprised me at that price point. If you love the aesthetic, try one in person before you buy.
Other Baby Carrier Brands Worth Knowing
I haven’t personally used these, but they come up consistently among friends and in the babywearing community (and the quality reputation on all of them is solid).
Tushbaby: A hip seat carrier that people in my friend group genuinely love for the toddler stage. It also has pockets built in, which every carrier should have. More on that below.
Hope & Plum: Friends whose taste I trust like this brand, and the quality reputation backs it up.
Sakura Bloom and Mama & Roo: Both come up consistently in babywearing communities for ring slings and onbuhimos. Worth looking at if you’re shopping either of those styles.
The Two Things I Wish Every Baby Carrier Had
A small pocket on the strap (just big enough for a phone). Not a full bag, just somewhere to slide it so you’re not digging through a diaper bag one-handed.
And a tiny zip pocket for keys, a credit card, and some cash. That’s it. Two pockets. I don’t understand why this isn’t standard. Baby carrying companies, please change this.
Where to Start If You’re New to Babywearing
A carrier library is the best way to figure out what works for your body and your baby before spending money. Most major cities have one. Babywearing groups on Facebook are also genuinely useful for finding local resources and getting real recommendations from people who have tried a lot of carriers.
We’re still adding to our collection. The Happy Baby Onbuhimo is next. But if you’re just starting out, pick one, try it, and adjust from there. You don’t need all of them. You just need one that works.
Quick heads up: this post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission (baby gear money). It doesn’t change your price, and I only link to things we actually use. Check out my travel gear recs for everything we bring on the road. New to babywearing and figuring out where to start? The babywearing community has great resources, and I’m always happy to answer questions in the comments.