by Brooke Shergold (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

Hello,

I just bought the SleepyWrap and was wondering if you can tie it in a back carrying position? I want to be able to work in the house and wear my baby at the same time. What age is appropriate for back carrying? Can and would you want to do this with newborns? Thanks so much!

Answer:

Hi Brooke,

SleepyWrap's official position on back carries is that they are possible, but they do not recommend a back carry with a baby under a year old.

I personally wouldn't do a back carry with a newborn (in any carrier, I carry them on the front until they have good head control).

Now I did carry Galen in a back carry with the Sleepy Wrap a few times once he was older – 5 to 6 months or so. I had my husband, Scott, help me get him secure on my back in that position, though.

I decided to get a more structured carrier for back carriers at that point because I really wanted something I could get on myself.

With a structured carrier (like an Ergo) you can put the baby on your back once they've got good head control and core stability, usually around 5-8 months. But Sleepy Wrap states their official position for their wrap as over a year.

I really enjoyed using my SleepyWrap with Galen and as a tiny baby I really found it pretty easy to do everything with him snuggled on the front. The only thing I didn't really like doing was cooking hot foods, just because I didn't want anything getting on him.

But little babies nestle down very well in the wrap carrier 🙂

I did find this video on using a back carry with the SleepyWrap, though again, she's demonstrating with an older baby: