Strange Machines

When I first opened the box and lifted the carrier out I swore I smelt walnut. It was a wonderful earthy smell and I immediately thought of walking through a dense forest with the crackling of dried twigs underfoot. Indeed this carrier was 100% organic.

I always wash anything I buy before using it and the Boba smelt clean and freshly laundered after a gentle Seventh Generation wash. It felt lighter than the Ergo and soft like the Ergo Organic.

After I let it air dry (and it dried overnight in our air conditioned room), I had a good look at it. I am very nitpicky about make and spend hours inspecting the seams of any cloth product I want to buy, much to the chagrin of the salesperson. In this case, the make was great, very well sewn. The seamstress did a wonderful job. My world was complete again. Yes, I am OCD like that.

There was no learning curve at all for me, being a seasoned Ergo user. Just snap the Boba around my waist, pop baby in, lift shoulder straps over my shoulders, clip, pull straps to tighten and we were off.

It felt exactly like the Ergo with perhaps even better support on the hips but I found myself missing the pouch strap (to hold my Ergo pouch), being a mom on the go, and the sleeping hood.

Jade at 6 months, being a larger baby, met the Boba on her nose, but even the elevated height was unable to support her drooping head while she dozed.

Now, the Boba was designed for children from 1-4 years old but while toddlers nap when back-carried, a sleeping hood would be really helpful as support. I would have loved a sleeping hood for the Boba, both for Jack and Jade.

At home I use the Boba with Jade and when she dozes I need one hand to support her head. The one time I carried Jack on my back and he fell asleep, he flopped all over but thankfully did not fall out of the lower backed Ergo Classic. Last week, his Daddy carried him on his back in the Boba and he fell asleep, flopping around rather dangerously in Ikea despite the higher back compared to the Ergo Classic. We both agreed that a sleeping hood, or some means to secure a sleeping toddler is pretty important.

Meanwhile, I was rather disappointed that we couldn’t quite figure out the foot straps for Jack. Perhaps he is just too tall for them – he is 3 and a half and over a metre tall – and the angle was just wrong.

But Jade had no problem putting her foot through as you can see in the picture. She swung her feet and in they went, into the foot strap. She won’t be needing them for a while but I’m glad they’re there if she does.

Jack told me that he didn’t need the straps as the Boba offered sufficient leg support compared to the Ergo Classic and he was quite pleased he didn’t have to insert his legs through the loops of the Patapum, which got us in a tangle whenever we had to remove him from the carrier.

The beauty of back carrying with the Boba is simply have your toddler either stand on a chair or leap onto your back and hang on to you, lift up the shoulder straps, clip and go, then to remove, unbuckle and slide the toddler down your back. It truly is the best back carrier for any toddler. And the parent who uses it. Let’s not forget the other user.

The Boba has become my favourite back carrier for Jack (when he isn’t nodding off) and spare front carrier for Jade at home. It has a much higher back than the Ergo and gives Jack’s back better support. It is safe for Jade because of the 100% organic cotton and organic batting – she loves to snap her gums on the shoulder straps like a snapping turtle and gnaws on.

Many products with padding, for example quilts, contain permanent pressed cotton batting, which has an unremovable layer of formaldehyde on it for fireproofing, and pesticides from the crop (which will come off after a few washes).

Naturally I was concerned about my current Ergos and emailed Lulu at Mummysmilk – since Ergo’s website does not provide an email and their form did not work – and she promptly replied that Ergo says that their cotton batting is not permanent pressed. I have washed them enough times to remove any pesticides so I am relieved there, although I wish they have email addresses on their website and use organic batting in their carriers.

But I digress.

With a completely organic product, there are no chemicals or finishings on it, so you don’t have to worry about pesticides or formaldehyde at all. And that is the Boba.

A few other nice things about the carrier:

It is completely made in the USA. It is the lowest price baby carrier I’ve found that does the job. And it does it well. US$99 + shipping. You readers get another 10% off with the coupon code: mephala. Good from 15 Nov – 14 Dec 2009.

I would highly recommend the Boba to anyone whose baby does not like to use a sleeping hood or who has an older child. I survived carrying Jack in the Ergo Classic for 2 years without using their very unfriendly hood and just one hand to support his head in a front carry.

For me, the fact that it is 100% organic trumps everything else, but having used my Ergo Organic for so long (and through so many washes) and having to manage 2 children, I use my Ergo Organic for Jade and the Boba as a back carrier for Jack.

I often carry both children at the same time. There is no arm numbness nor back or shoulder pain, although one must be mindful about tightening the straps between the shoulders and chest. I’ve comfortably carried the kids together for an hour, maximum 2, with both the Ergo Organic + Boba, and the Ergo Organic + Ergo Classic.

But the choice is clear. Jack has told me that the Boba is much more comfortable than the Ergo Classic and the Patapum and has told me to inform you that it has his vote.

Visit NAP Inc to buy the awesome organic Boba baby carrier. You get another 10% off with the coupon code: mephala from 15 Nov – 14 Dec 2009. Go check it out today!

For the terminally sleep deprived, here is a cheat sheet:

Pros:
* Very easy to use and user friendly – low learning curve
* 100% organic (cotton and batting)
* Made in the USA
* Very well-made
* Very light and quick-drying
* Affordable for all at US$99 + 10% off with mephala coupon + shipping
* Beautiful earthy colours
* Suitable for larger babies and all-sized toddlers

Cons:
* No sleeping hood
* No pouch strap
* Can’t roll up and wear on waist

Love-to-haves for Boba 2.0:
* Black carrier (Okay, this is really just for me.)
* Pouch strap
* Sleeping hood that snaps on and off easy (roll up to snap close and wear on waist)
* A matching Boba pouch

Today we did an experiment. For the same distance I carried Jade in the front in her Ergo Organic and Jack at the back (yup, 2 kids!) with first, the Ergo, then the Patapum.

Comfort for Mom:

“The Ergo. Ergo on Ergo feels comfy. Weight is distributed mainly on the waist and very little on the shoulders. It was a comfy half hour walk.

The Patapum seemed to carry more weight on the shoulder and back which made it very uncomfortable for me by the end of the journey. The thick padded shoulder straps made my arms a little numb when not adjusted properly.

It also kept sliding up my waist, probably because of the stiff waist band and synthetic inner which makes it smoother. The Ergo tends to stay in place but bunches up with a bit more give.

On that note, I’d like to add that carrying 2 tends to generate quite a bit of sweat and it felt cooler with the cotton inner of the Ergo than the synthetic inner of Patapum.”

Comfort for Toddler:

“I prefer the Patapum because I like to put my legs through the hoops. More support. I like the Patapum for my back because it was very light (cooler).”

Asking Jack, he said foot straps would help him sit a little more comfortably. As it is, his legs are dangling rather uncomfortably. He said later that he liked the Patapum’s additional leg support better than the Ergo. There, the ultimate consumer has spoken.

Ideally there should be a carrier that is comfortable for both Mom and Toddler, that’s why I’m keen to try the Boba which has loops for the toddler’s foot to rest in. Till then we’ll use the Patapum for very short journeys and the Ergo for longer walks but I’ll give his legs a boost by holding them on the side.

Summary:

Ergo – cooler for Mom’s waist, comfy for Mom’s back and shoulders.
Patapum – cooler for Toddler’s back, comfy for his legs because of support.

At a babywearing store opening last week, I got the chance to try on the Manduca baby carrier.

It felt great, very soft and made of 100% organic cotton. It wore and fitted and felt exactly like the Ergo, except for 3 differences and reasons why I would not buy it:

1. Design – Each of their bold designs have a cream coloured stripe (see pic) which I find rather unattractive. I felt that they should have kept the colour scheme a matching two-tone like the Ergo or a single tone like the Patapum. The cream may match some colours but not others like the black. They do however have limited edition designs which are quite pretty but cost more.

2. Usability – The release of the shoulder strap is different from the Ergo’s. I found this out when I had to nurse Jade in a hurry and when I tried to remove it the Ergo way, it didn’t work. It wasn’t a one-hand slide action. Pearline had to come to my rescue. Not immediately intuitive, not for Ergo users anyway.

3. Make – The plastic strip holding the buckle runs down the shoulder strap exactly where baby would suck. Note the picture of the woman carrying her baby on their landing page to see what I mean. Jade immediately clamped her gummy mouth down on the strap and I had to remove it a few times. The point of buying something organic is to protect your baby, so having baby suck on plastic kind of defeats the purpose of buying organic.

Still. All in all, a nice addition to the organic baby carrier family. If they change 3. But at the moment, I’d only consider it for an older child who won’t suck on the shoulder straps.

What I am considering is the new Boba baby carrier by the same people who brought you the Sleepy Wrap. At US$99, the Boba costs the same as a Patapum but it is organic and appears to wear like an Ergo and fit like a Patapum except without the complex leg loops to navigate baby’s legs through (see Ergo vs Patapum). Instead they have these awesome foot loops which baby can rest his or her feet in.

My concern as usual is the make. I’ll email them about their Patapum-like waist band and stuffing in the shoulder straps and see what they say.

Above is a picture of me on a sans makeup day with my Posh Beckham sunglasses babywearing 2 kids: Jack in the Patapum on the back and Jade in the Manduca.

Recently, I purchased a Patapum (touted as better than the Ergo) as a spare carrier to bring out in case Jack got tired and wanted me to back carry him.

I currently have 3 baby carriers. The Ergo Black with Cranberry lining is an at-home carrier while the beautiful Ergo Organic Carrier Black with Embroidery from my BFF figur8 is for going out.

The Patapum was cheaper at S$145 (before any discounts) and seemed a good idea to try a different carrier (the Beco was too expensive at S$250 or S$210 cheapest I saw it and was a nightmare to put on and unsuitable for toddlers).

In retrospect it was a bad idea. Being an Ergo user for about 3 years, it is easy to compare and clearly the Ergo comes out tops. Here’s why:

SUPPORT

Patapum – Adjust poorly and your shoulder blades will ache within minutes of carrying a toddler. Otherwise, both baby and toddler feel the same in it as the Ergo, fairly weightless.

Ergo – Good as gold, around the world. It feels soft yet stable for you and baby (and/or toddler, if x2). Although the stiff waist in the Patapum is supposed to be better support, I find the Ergo’s softer waist more comfortable with similar support.

BACK CARRY

Patapum – Particularly for toddlers and a back carry, it is imperative that it is easy to put the toddler in and remove the toddler.

Needing to insert the toddler’s legs inside 2 loops (of straps) to put him or her on the back is not easy on the fly. And it is absolutely hellish trying to remove the toddler whose 2 legs are now stuck in 2 loops.

You clearly need someone to help you carry the toddler out of the carrier or to have a platform high enough for toddler to sit, remove legs, and not trip over the straps while trying to extract self.

Circle marks the spot your toddler has to slip legs through

No strap enclosures to lift your child out of

Ergo – With the Ergo, I get Jack to stand on a chair or I squat down, pull up the shoulder straps and clip. He’s on. To remove, I just unclip and slide him down my body slowly.

If you look at the picture of the Ergo above, it is wider, so lends more support to the curve of baby’s bottom and you can release and slide the toddler down easily if you back carry as there are no extra leg hole straps to have to lift him or her out of, like in the Patapum.

The extra support from those straps, touted by Patapum, is really replicated by Ergo’s wider body design.

NURSING

Patapum – The waist straps are really difficult to adjust while carrier was being used. They are way too stiff to just slide loose with one hand (or with 2).

If I need to nurse and so, need to loosen the waist strap to lower baby down, it is impossible. I have to remove the carrier, use 2 hands to concertedly readjust the strap and then wear it again. By which time, baby would be screaming.

Ergo – All I have to do is loosen the waist strap with one hand, with baby still in the carrier, lower the waist strap so baby sits lower and nursing’s a snap.

SHARING

Patapum – As the Patapum is so difficult to adjust, my husband tried carrying Jack in it just once and gave up after 5 minutes when his shoulders ached and he couldn’t readjust it. Swore never to use it again.

I remember reading how a family bought 2 just so they wouldn’t have to readjust the carrier. Not very user-friendly at all.

Ergo – We swap it in a snap. (Sorry, pun!)

MATERIAL

Patapum – The carrier had a strong chemical smell when I first opened it. Formaldehyde in the canvas and polyester? I don’t know. And it did not come out after the first wash but after the 3rd and about 3 days of airing.

While the materials are certified by 3 different bodies in 3 different countries, after 3 washes it looks 3 years old after only 2 weeks old and less than 10 wears.

The colour has faded a little, and worst of all, one of the snaps has rusted (click image below to see close up of rusted snap), and the 3 snap enclosures have loose thread hanging out of them.

The snaps are also distinctly misaligned (see pic below) and the workmanship not as well as the Ergo’s.

The canvas is so rough to touch and I hate the polyester feel in the waist (mothers sweat there too) and shoulders, and wonder why they used it.

Patapum snaps with threads loose after only 2 weeks!
Click image to see rusted snap up close.

Ergo – My 3 year old Ergo Black still looks good. Used but definitely still in excellent condition. It is poly + cotton but doesn’t feel hot or uncomfortable.

My Ergo Organic Black with Embroidery is still looking new after 4 months of wear, feels soft and wonderful, and I wash both Ergos weekly.

Excellent workmanship on both carriers and the soft cotton waist strap (even the instruction label inside is cotton) absorbs all my sweat when carrying Jade.

Buy organic if you’re worried about chemicals in the material but I never had any smell issues even with the non-organic one.

In the pictures, the carriers haven’t been washed in days and this is with baby puke in them, and wear from use outdoors (excluding the Ergo Black).

3 year old Ergo Black with Cranberry Lining

4 month old Ergo Organic Carrier Black with Embroidery

2 week old black Patapum

PORTABILITY

Patapum – Wrap it up and snap, or so it seems. The snaps work so poorly that they take a while to match up and press down accurately. Still, once snapped, you can carry it on your shoulder, clip it to your pram, or hook it onto your backpack.

Ergo – With the organic Ergo, you can tie the hood straps around the waist band and clip. Same with the Ergo black. The soft material means you can stuff it in your bag. Not so, with the stiff waist strap of the Patapum.

CONCLUSION

Many look at the design and price when buying a baby carrier, but also consider your daily usage and how easy to use the carrier is. For me, having to navigate my toddler’s legs through a pair of hoops proved to be a tad too unusable in the end for my purpose. Whatever the case, always try a baby carrier before buying it, be it from a friend or store.

My main issues with the Patapum are the shoddy workmanship and the poor usability of the design, particularly since they actually designed a toddler version of their carrier, which I bought for carrying a toddler in the back. (Plus the store here that sold the Patapum does not take returns, even for this dreadful workmanship.)

The Ergo at S$160 (organic from S$210-S$230) costs only slightly more than the Patapum which retails for S$148. I’d tell you to forget the Patapum and go buy the Ergo as a main or a spare. You won’t be disappointed.

(Note: 1 USD = + – 1.5 SGD)

I’ll have to admit I am a little addicted already. I found myself scouring Loveybums if they have any seconds I could get and was relentlessly clicking through Whoopeekiddies to look at the BumGeniuses (and very very heavenly hemp wash cloths, supposedly cloth wipes but I stuff them in my cleavage to soak up excess sweat when I carry Jade and emergency burp cloth).

Then I realised this was the perfect time to try different diapers. I had enough diapers for 1.5 days really, and seriously needed another night cloth diaper for Jack because it was his diaper that I had to wash and dry daily so he could wear it again the next night and another wool cover because his Loveybums XL cloth diaper seems to keep peeking out of the XL wool cover. Not good cos it caused one leak already.

I found some wonderfully soft bamboo hemp diapers from the awesome Twig & Vine I plan to order soon when some money comes in. I like that the elastic at the back and legs are not sewed as crunched up tight as the ones on the Loveybums ones which cause Jade to have red marks in those areas when I carry her in the Ergo. Don’t the Twig & Vine diapers look heavenly?

That brings my count to:

1 NB/S organic cloth diaper (which might retire soon)
5 M organic cloth diaper
2 L organic cloth diaper
1 XL organic cloth diaper
4 organic wool cover (1 for each size)
7 BumGeniuses
To order another 4 bamboo hemp diapers (still deciding on the sizes but most likely 2L + 2XL)

Total: 20 diapers for 2 kids (half the stash is shareable)

That should tide us through washing once in 2 days + air drying the laundry rather than using the dryer every day. Our electricity bill has gone up $50 since we started cloth diapering but we save that $50 too on not buying disposables.

Hemp is tons more absorbent than cotton and bamboo is somewhere in between. I was thrilled that a single insert (hemp or bamboo+cotton) is sufficient stuffing for the kids overnight and by day they don’t need any stuffing.

Why organic? I figure if we go cloth, we go all the way. It is better for the planet and for our kids. The process of making cotton and even bamboo fabrics is pretty darned harmful to our planet, so supporting the organic textiles industry is the way to go.

DH says that cloth diapering and laundering indulge my OCD tendency to clean. Well, it should feel good to be good to our children and our planet, no?

First off, Nicole Kidman gave birth today to a 6 pound baby girl named Sunday Rose Kidman Urban. She’ll be needing lots of cool baby gear now. Congrats to the happy parents and their lovely new addition.

I always find heavily pregnant women trawling the baby section of Isetan and feel like telling them when they pick up that armful of useless baby things, “You won’t use those! Save your money!” But I don’t unless they pick up a BPA bottle. Then I get upset.

Anyway. The important thing is to be prepared. Shop around first. Surf the net. Lots of stuff and information there. A good place to start is a wiki for baby stuff. Yup, there’s one. It is called ShopWiki and under their critter section, you’ll find tons of cool baby gear, all objectively crawled from online stores all over.

Don’t waste your money on the Baby Bjorn. Get the Ergo or any other one with waist support. Then buy a baby sling that is light and you and other male relatives would actually carry. There are nice ones that actually fold into themselves and wrap into an attached pouch. Forget the rest.

Of course if you travel with your child a lot, here are nice baby moving equipment to consider. Your pet can probably sit inside with it.

Curiously Jack loves to tip his head back when he is being carried in the Ergo. Today he exposed his two growing front teeth! One has emerged fully width-wise, the other has a tiny edge peeking out. It was so cute I tried taking a photo but he was moving so much I missed.

We spent the evening in town and walked over to Taka for a change. I strapped him on my back with his Dad’s help and sped us down the pathway much to Jack’s sheer delight. He shrieked with laughter all the way.

These days he naps easier when outside. Of course it helps if the place is quiet. I rock him gently from side to side and he dozes off. Even outside he can nap for an hour if there are no interruptions, which is great.

We went to Best to check out some laptops and put some to the “touch test”. There was an ASUS laptop that cost $1400, gorgeous black and tiny, 12″ screen and very light at 1.6kg, and with a 0% interest payment… but there were only display sets for sale so I had to politely decline.

All in all, it was a wonderful evening and we all have a great time out as a family.