Babywearing: "Available-now" options, when you can't wait for a custom carrier

Recently, quite a few moms and grandmas have asked me about my Kanga XT.  While I LOVE my Kanga XT, I've been thinking that I should post a bit of information about how to get a Kanga XT of your own as well as thoughts about possible alternative carriers that are easier to obtain.

Kanga XT is made by one work-at-home-mom named Kirsten.  She produces custom carriers, using a custom wait list.  Lately, it seems that the custom wait lists take about 6 months to complete.  The custom list is open for a very short amount of time (as in a couple of minutes).  If you are interested in getting on the custom list, you should join her yahoo group.  There, she makes announcements regarding the custom lists.  She also occasionally posts in-stock carriers for sale:  Kanga XT, Kanga X2, and Kanga J.

My Kanga XTs are the only buckle carriers that I have owned.  Therefore, I truly have no expertise on other ABCs, and I can only recommend based on friends' experiences.  (Buckle baby carriers are known as "All Buckle Carriers" or "ABCs" and "Soft Structured Carriers" or "SSCs".)

For petite moms, the following carriers are supposed to work quite well.  Please keep in mind, though, that fit varies person-to person.  Additionally, these carriers often work well for non-petite moms.

1- Pikkolo by cat bird baby

2- Oh SNAP! by BabyHawk

3- Angelpack LX

4- Action Baby Carrier

5- Calyx  (I am unsure if this company is currently in production.)


In addition to the above carriers, the following carriers are supposed to work very well for non-petite moms:

1- ERGO baby carrier 

2- bECO baby carrier

Another option to find a great carrier is For Sale or Trade at TheBabywearer.com.  This is place to buy and sell previously-loved carriers.  I bought my first Kanga XT here, as well as other carriers :)

Please note that the above listing is definitely not exhaustive and is based on second-hand experience :)

Our New Kanga XT!

Our new Kanga XT went to the zoo!  The Pure Baby (PB) fed a giraffe, from the safety of his Kanga XT :)  He was a bit apprehensive, but the option of safely being behind mom brought suffficient bravery to allow PB to participate in this fun privilege.

After months on the Bloo Kangeroo custom wait list, I was extremely thrilled to receive my new Kanga XT in the mail.  I absolutely love the Marimekko Unikko fabric that a very sweet babywearing friend shared with me!  Thank you so much :)  And Kirsten at Bloo-Kangeroo did a marvelous job and created perfect matching strap canvas!  I love love love my new Kanga XT!!!

Our new Kanga XT has a petite waist, extra-petite straps, and has a 1/2 inch wider base on each side.  The 1/2 inch wider base allows for the knee to knee support that you can see above, even in an older baby/toddler.  At the same time, Kirsten says that our Kanga XT should be fine for a younger baby around 12 months or so (and up).

We're Getting a New Kanga XT!

A couple weeks ago, I was overwhelmingly thrilled to make it onto the Bloo Kangeroo custom list!  It was such a nerve racking and stressful process, though. 

At exactly 10am ET on a Saturday morning, the owner of Bloo Kangeroo accepted the first 50 emails to her custom list.  Within a few seconds after 10am ET, the custom list was full.  Wow!  I think there were sadly lots of disappointed mamas.  As she was putting up the custom list online, I was feeling nervous.  But I was so excited to finally see my name, though it was toward the end.

What's the big deal about Bloo Kangeroo?  For me, Kanga XT.  Kanga XTs are carriers designed for ages 1 through 5 - and allow for baby/child to have his/her arms out.  That, in addition to the head rest which allows The Pure Baby (PB) to nap on my back, is why I love Bloo Kangeroo and the Kanga XT :)

Right now, we have a previously-loved Kanga XT that PB adores.  (See pictures above :)  He loves to be worn in our Kanga XT, and the rest of the time he is talking about it - saying "Kanga Kanga".  PB greatly enjoys having his arms out.  While napping, he likes to fold his arms on my shoulders and put his sweet head down onto his arms :)

Since we love our Kanga XT so much, we are going to get our very own custom Kanga XT!  So exciting :)  I've been searching for the perfect (VERY hard to find) Marimekko Unikko fabric for our Kanga XT, and a very sweet babywearing mama has offered to sell me a beautiful piece - which of course I am buying :) 



Since a Bloo Kangeroo custom slot allows for the purchase of *two* custom carriers, I am thinking of additionally buying a Kanga J for our next little one.  Kanga Js are designed for ages newborn until 12-14 months.  I'm still up in the air about whether I should get a Kanga J or an Olives and Applesauce 16 inch carrier.  (I'm on the Olives and Applesauce custom list too...)  I've never tried either and probably won't, unless I'm lucky enough to find a babywearing group where I can try them out before buying.  Who knows, maybe I should just buy both :) 

Feeling the Kanga XT Love :)

Thanks to some sweet mamas at The Babywearer, The Pure Baby (PB) and I are now feeling the Kanga XT love!  I'm so, so happy about this, as the Kanga XT is the only real arms-out carrier - and PB requires arms-out.

The Babywearer mamas made a few super-helpful suggestions:
(1) Wear the waist belt at my waist - or higher,
(2) Make a deep pocket for PB's bottom, and
(3) Loosen the arm straps.

This has worked perfectly :)  No more lower back (or any) pain.  No more feeling like I am going to fall over backwards.  And, no more feeling like this carrier won't work for me!  I'm not going to need petite straps, after all :) 

Yesterday, on a family outing, I successfully wore PB in our Kanga XT!  I really love it.  Our Kanga XT is so easy for ups and downs, which was really great yesterday when PB     frequently decided he wanted up or down :) 

Our Kanga XT Arrived Yesterday :)

Yesterday, I was so excited to find a fluffy package in the mailbox! I thought it might be there, as it was shipped to me on Monday - and it was :)

When I nervously opened the package, I was dazzled by the amazing beauty of our new Kanga XT.  The Amy Butler fabric is stunning!  I absolutely love a chocolate and light turquoise fabric - and that is what we have now in our new Kanga XT :)

Last night, The Pure Baby (PB) enjoyed riding on my back in our new Kanga XT for a couple hours.  PB is such a happy little babywearing baby, and I adore wearing him as well :)

The big disappointment last night, though, was discovering that my lower back hurt quite a lot by the time I took PB off my back.  Lower back pain is not supposed to happen with babywearing, and I knew that was a bad sign for our future with the beautiful Amy Butler Kanga XT :(

I expected the possibility of our new Kanga XT not fitting quite right, but I was so hopeful that it would...  This Kanga XT has "regular" straps, as opposed to "petite" straps.  The Kanga XT straps do not run overly large (like some SSCs), but it ends up that I do indeed need petite straps.  The petite straps will allow for better support of PB, since I am truly petite.

So, it looks like our time with our lovely Amy Butler Kanga XT is sadly limited.  Right now, I'm in the process of trying to buy a cute brightly-flowered Kanga XT with petite straps :)  Let's just hope it works out!  My amazing luck on TheBabywearer FSOT needs to continue :)  After I secure a Kanga XT with petite straps, I'll be selling the Amy Butler Kanga XT to a happy mama.

Our New Carrier: A Toddler Bamberoo Delux!

In my quest for a new carrier for The Pure Baby (PB), I have discovered that the really great ones - which, of course, are the ones I want! - are quite difficult to obtain.  My three top choices for a toddler carrier have been Kanga XT, Bamberoo, and Dream Carrier.  All three of these are made by the business owner/work-at-home-mom.  And therefore, the production is definitely limited.  Kanga XT opens a small customs list a few times a year.  Bamberoo offers one custom per week.  Dream Carrier sporadically offers customs.  To acquire any of these, you've got to be quick on the computer and have some great luck.

Another option for acquiring these in-demand carriers is through the For-Sale-or-Trade (FSOT) forum on TheBabywearer.com.  There, you can buy a previously-loved carrier.  Still, the popular carriers are not that easy to find on FSOT - unless you've got some amazing luck!

And, the lucky one of late would be me!!!  A week and half ago, I was quick on my fingers and bought a like-new beautiful Toddler Bamberoo Delux mei tai - and for a truly amazing low price!  The fabric is Marimekko Unikko, blue on blue.  This was apparently a custom for someone that ended up not needing it.

In addition to being beautiful, my new Bamberoo is super comfortable for both PB and me!  It is such an improvement over our BabyHawk.  I do still love our BabyHawk, but I think we will mostly be saving that for our next baby, as it just can't comfortably accomodate PB's weight anymore. 

Another bonus of buying an in-demand carrier from FSOT is that I can easily sell it for the same price that I paid!  In fact, I already have a "dibs mama" who wants to purchase my Bamberoo when I'm done with it :)

Yesterday, I had a bit more amazing luck on FSOT!  I bought a previously-loved Kanga XT soft-sided-carrier (SSC) in a beautiful Amy Butler fabric :)  Kanga XTs are next to impossible to find, so I am extremely thankful.  The Kanga XT is especially made for 1 to 5 year olds, who like to ride arms-out.  Given PB's strong desire for arms-out and the fact that no other SSCs allow for easy arms-out, the Kanga XT is a must for us!

After our Kanga XT arrives, I'll give our review and post some pictures.  In the meantime, here are pictures of our new Bamberoo!