The ema design baby carrier – mei tai
From when can I use it?
A baby carrier is good for the baby when it can support them stably. This means we can adjust it to the little one so that it doesn't sag anywhere, and when properly tightened, the baby doesn't slump into it. When we move, we should feel that the child moves with us, rather than swaying independently from us.
With the ema design baby carrier, our experience is that babies grow into it at around 5-6 kg body weight, and from that point it can be properly adjusted to them. This also depends on the baby's body proportions and the size of the person carrying, as they will fill the carrier together.
For example, it may happen that when carrying at the front, the carrier can already be perfectly adjusted to a smaller baby on the mother, while when tied on the father it still sags a little, as men's chests are flatter.
The width of the carrier at the spread position can be adjusted to almost any small size, so the baby really needs to grow into the upper part of the back panel. Fortunately, however, there is a method for narrowing the back panel: routing the shoulder straps under the armpits, which is similar to the inside pocket carry with a woven wrap. With this version, we can already adjust the ema design mei tai to many babies around five kilograms, because this way we can eliminate any looseness that may occur at the top of the back panel.
So, if your baby is already around five kilograms, feel free to try the ema design mei tai. If the carrier supports them stably, you can start using it. If it's still a little wide at the top, try routing the straps under the armpits.
If it still sags a little even this way, don't worry – babies can grow a lot in just a few weeks and will quickly grow into this too.
How long can I use the ema design mei tai baby carrier?
A baby carrier is the right size for a baby or toddler when
– we can securely fasten them to us with it,
– we can support the baby at the appropriate height for their motor development stage (neck/shoulder/armpit),
– it is wide enough to keep the baby's knees at least at the same level as their bottom.
For an older child, the back panel is sufficient if it reaches up to the armpits, as a child of this size already holds their back independently. In this case, the baby's arms will be above the back panel, i.e., outside the carrier.
The width of the mei tai can be extended for quite a long time by routing the shoulder straps outside the child's legs (i.e., not between the child's legs and the back of the person carrying). This way, we can support longer little legs in a position where the knees are at least at the same level as the baby's bottom. To do this, we adjust the shoulder straps to the child's knee crease, smoothing them out nicely there.
Our experience is that for an average-sized child, dressed in indoor clothing, the ema design mei tai tends to be suitable in size up to approximately 2.5-3 years of age, when used in the manner described above.
With quite large children, it may be worth tying the waistband lower on ourselves, so that our centers of gravity remain close to each other and carrying remains comfortable.
If an older child falls asleep on our back and the sleep hood no longer reaches up to the nape of their neck, we can support their head with any scarf or wrap. We recommend the ema design gauze blankets, which also match in color, for this purpose.
