# Ergo or Pikkolo?



## terese17 (Dec 5, 2006)

Hi Jane, I have a 3month old who is currently 13 lbs. I have been wearing him in a homemade mei tai, "froggy style". He is starting to fuss every time I put him in and I think it is because he is getting to big for his legs to be tucked up. The mei tai that I have is not conducive to front wearing with his legs out as it is very wide. I am not comfortable using a back carry with him at his age. I also have older children whom I would like to be able to wear on occasion. I love the mei tai for its ease of use. I would like one carrier to be all things!! I have tried pouch slings and the Moby wrap, pouch slings are okay, and I really do not like the Moby wrap. I am looking at purchasing either an Ergo or a Pikkolo. I have never tried either one and there is not a store near me that carries them so I would have to order one online without trying it on. Is there a recommendation that you could make?


----------



## margarettim (Nov 21, 2010)

Well, I can comment only on Ergo. We bought it for the ease of use. We travel on public transport, and it is really quick and easy to get DD out and back in once we want to get off. One feature I really like is its sleeping hood, which is super easy to pull over DD's head when carried on the front. When I carry DD on my back (she is 16 months and quite heavy), it is quite hard to pull the hood over her head without waking her, because the hood straps are too short. But, you can always ask somebody to help you with putting the hood on or you can do a bit of DIY and lengthen the hood straps. Another thing we discovered once using the carrier was that the body is relatively short. Our DD is tall (95 centile), so if she is on my back, the carrier finishes just above her waist, which is not ideal. When I go shopping with her, she can get her arms out of the carrier and reach for items on the shelves, which is not always desirable. I have a friend who found Ergo's body short, too. She started using Manduca then and says her DS's back is better supported, meaning he is close to her body and can't arch and bend and reach for things in the shops.

A good thing about Ergo is that it can be used by both me and my husband, because the straps adjust easily to accommodate a smaller/larger wearer.

If you went for Ergo, there is a choice between regular and organic and sports type (no hood). I went for organic because the fabric felt much softer and was much less likely to collect hair or lint. The regular one is made of canvas.


----------



## HeartsEtude (Apr 7, 2011)

I totally LOVED my Ergo carrier. I used it until my son was less sleepy and had more awake time when he wanted to be on the floor doing things. But before then, he liked to be on my back so much. As a result, he hardly ever cried. He hated the playpen! I have one that is almost new, because he never wanted to be in it. If it helps you decide, I can share how easy it was to use the Ergo. I tried the Maya but it felt completely insecure and awkward, like I had to brace him with my arm, so what's the point? Back to the Ergo. It uses straps over my shoulders, like a backpack, and you can wear baby in front or in back. Material is so soft and padded Yet so strong! And great clips for adjusting. I felt no insecurity or doubts about if it will hold him or not. I could completely flail my arms around, and he is steady and secure. Easy to adjust, comfortable for him and for me to wear. So lightweight. The Baby Bjorn does not come remotely close. I tried that one too and it also felt unnatural. In the Ergo he would fall asleep within a minute. I have such precious memories of these times!


----------



## greenthumb3 (Mar 12, 2007)

For older babies and toddler, the Boba carrier works so well! The back is a few inches higher than the ERGObaby carrier. I have had several ERGOs over the years and like them, but really like the Boba for the older kids. HTH


----------



## QueenOfTheMeadow (Mar 25, 2005)

Just a reminder of the forum guidlines:
Quote:


> The expert forums are intended to be in a direct question and answer format between the member posting the question and the expert. These forums are not for community participation so the only exchange of posting in thread will be between the member and the expert.


Feel free to PM the OP if you wish to offer other advice or to invite the OP to the appropriate forum. Thanks for your cooperation.


----------



## Jane McClintock (May 11, 2011)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *terese17*
> 
> Hi Jane, I have a 3month old who is currently 13 lbs. I have been wearing him in a homemade mei tai, "froggy style". He is starting to fuss every time I put him in and I think it is because he is getting to big for his legs to be tucked up. The mei tai that I have is not conducive to front wearing with his legs out as it is very wide. I am not comfortable using a back carry with him at his age. I also have older children whom I would like to be able to wear on occasion. I love the mei tai for its ease of use. I would like one carrier to be all things!! I have tried pouch slings and the Moby wrap, pouch slings are okay, and I really do not like the Moby wrap. I am looking at purchasing either an Ergo or a Pikkolo. I have never tried either one and there is not a store near me that carries them so I would have to order one online without trying it on. Is there a recommendation that you could make?


Three months is a classic time for babies to start stretching out and protesting if you try to froggy their legs in -- this usually happens around the two to three month mark. As you're finding, though, it can be difficult if baby is not quite ready for the full straddle in a wide-bottomed carrier, whether it's a mei tai or a buckle carrier!

There are a couple tricks you can try to see if you can get your mei tai to work while you're deciding on a new carrier -- and it may be that these tricks will extend the life of your mei tai so that you fall in love with it all over again!

First, even though your mei tai has a wide bottom, you can try bunching it up to make it narrower so that baby can ride with both legs out. If it won't stay bunched up enough just by squishing it in, you can try using a hair elastic or scrunchie as a DIY way to keep it more scrunched up. This may give you enough narrowing to keep your baby happy.

Second, many babies are fine riding in a wide-bottomed mei tai or buckle carrier with one leg in and one leg out -- kinda like the hurdling position except sideways. With the leg that's tucked in, try to make sure baby's foot is flat and parallel to your waist with toes pointing to the outside -- you don't want baby's foot tucked in a weird way and going to sleep. You can switch legs from time to time.

As between the Pikkolo and the Ergo, both could work for your need to carry your youngest as well as your big kids.

The Pikkolo has the cinching adjustment at the bottom, which is designed specifically for that transition phase between froggy legs in and legs straddled out. I also really like that the straps cross mei-tai style on your back for a front carry (no messing with a chest clip behind your back!) It also has the support belt accessory to turn it into a soft structured carrier with the weight transferred to your hips, which is great for back carries and bigger kids. I will say though that the hip belt is not something you want to put on and take off every five minutes -- it's not hard to do at all, but it also takes a minute or two, so I find that once it's on you probably just want to leave it on. You can use the hip belt accessory with the cinching adjuster though.

With the Ergo, you may have the same wide straddle issue with your 3 month old that you currently have with the mei tai -- it does have a wide base which makes for an ergonomic seated position, but smaller babies don't like how wide it straddles their legs. In the interim before your baby is ready for that wide straddle, you can always try the one leg in one leg out trick. You definitely should not bother with the infant insert at this stage. Although it does have a shorter body than other carriers, it's a good compromise carrier for using with both smaller babies and older kids. FYI, all Ergo models do have sleeping hoods.

Much as I am a fan of the Boba for older/bigger kids, it wouldn't be my top choice for you now with your 3 month old because of how tall it is, and because I find it often fits better on back carries than on front carries because of the way the shoulder straps are designed.

HTH!


----------

