Carrier Review: Mei Tai Baby

You might say I've become addicted to babywearing. Go ahead, say it. I'm proud to wear my baby. And for mamas who want to get out of the house, there is no easier way to bring baby than to wear him.

Like a good addict, I've acquired a small stash paraphernalia to support my habit. My latest acquisition: A Mei Tai Baby carrier. I already have some wraps and soft structured carriers, all of which I love, but until last week my collection was missing the staple mei tai.

 

I did some digging around before I decided to order a carrier from Mei Tai Baby. The carriers have good reviews on TheBabywearer.com, and the designs looked great from what I could see on the website. I saw this khaki-colored carrier in the Ready-to-Ship section of their shop and decided to go for it.

I am thrilled with this carrier. It is extremely well-made, the construction is flawless and the shape of the carrier is perfect. It's very comfortable, and look at how good it looks! I've worn it for several hours every day the past few days and it still feels great. At $89 the Mei Tai Baby costs about the same as many popular buckle carriers, and if I had to choose only one, I'd go with the Mei Tai Baby.

The only thing I wish I had done differently is to order the optional snap tab extender for an additional $3. The bottom of the front panel comes with snaps to cinch the carrier in for smaller babies, and B is currently in an in-between size where he's too big to sit in the carrier with it cinched, but too small to sit in it uncinched. This isn't a huge issue, I'm using a swaddle blanket in the carrier until the extender that I just ordered arrives, but it would have been nicer to have it from the get-go

Overall, the Mei Tai Baby is a beautiful way to carry your little one. It is so artfully made that I'm excited to wear it out of the house.

NursingPillow.com Review

If you're a new mom and you've signed up for anything mommyish online you've likely seen ads for a FREE NURSING PILLOW! from Nursingpillow.com. You might wonder who the suckers are that fall for these deals. Well, guess who? Meeeeeeee!

Here's how it happened: I already owned a Boppy Pillow, which I love. I wanted another nursing pillow to keep in the car. I thought I'd find something smaller or maybe I'd even spring for a travel nursing pillow. Because I am a mom on the go and all.

And then I saw the ad for a free nursing pillow. ($40 value!) I went to the website, which is spare but decent. The pillows looked good enough in the photos, and I figured all I had to lose was the cost of shipping. ($12, to be exact.) So I figured why not? I upgraded to the minky pillow, so for a total of $17 I placed an order for one of these mysterious nursing pillows.

The pillow arrived about two weeks after I ordered it in a pretty small box. I figured that meant it would be good for my travel pillow, right? Smallish is good for travel.

Here's the deal: This is a cheap pillow. Obviously. The minky fabric is soft but definitely inexpensive, and the pillow itself is much thinner than my Boppy pillow. The inner seam of the pillow is inexpertly sewn together. I'm just going to tell myself it was a handmade gift from a dear, unskilled niece. That gives it a certain charm.

These things are not tragedies, and alone I would say that the pillow is almost worth it for the relatively small price tag. But there's more: The Nursingpillow.com pillow has one major flaw:

It does not have a removable cover. Spot cleaning a throw pillow, for example, isn't such a big deal because how dirty is a throw pillow going to get? But a nursing pillow is a different story entirely, I mean it's a nursing pillow for crying out loud! That thing is going to have breastmilk, spit up, and urine spilled on it within a week.

And, I could be nitpicking here, but see those moms in the picture from the website? Those gorgeous, put-together, bleached-teeth smiley moms? I kind of hate them. I mean, who are the women that look that good while caring for an infant?

Bottom line: If you have an extra $17 lying around and you're one of those I won't believe it until I see it for myself people, go for it. Buy one of these pillows. But don't say I didn't warn you.

Shop and Eat! Northbrook Court Mall

After our first venture out of the house together I could not wait to go out again. However, B was born in December in Chicago, so wherever we go we need to be able to stay inside even if he has a major crying fit. I figured a shopping mall would be the perfect place--if he had a meltdown in one store I could just mosey on out, pop into a new place once he calmed down, and pretend I wasn't that mother.

Northbrook Court is the mall closest to our house, and though I've been there many times before I never realized just how baby-friendly it is.

First of all, there is a giant tree-shaped kiddie playground smack dab in the middle of the place. During the day this attracts a lot of kiddos and their moms or nannies. Spend a random afternoon in this place and you'll see a parade of the latest trendy kid and baby items on display. While I don't have anyone old enough to play on this tree yet, it's comforting to see a kid-friendly area in the middle of the mall.

Second, they actually have a nursing room. A NURSING ROOM! It's located in the second level bathroom near the dining area. It's a lovely, clean room with a locking door, a very comfortable glider, and a little table. These may exist in many places, but since I've only been nursing for ten weeks I've never noticed one before.

Third, there are several baby stores for you to wander around in with your little one. Gymboree, Janie and Jack, Hanna Anderson, and Gap Kids, to name a few.

Finally, there's a Gymboree Play and Music space, too, so you can actually take classes there with your little one.

But really, need I say more than nursing room? I mean, jackpot.

Also, Northbrook Court has several restaurants, so this has been my go-to place for lunch and dinner plans so far. I love that we can sit down in an actual restaurant for a meal, and I don't have to panic if B starts screaming. I can simply walk out and wander around the mall until he settles down. Perfection.