Monday, April 27, 2015

A Look Into Traditional Babywearing with Asian Inspired Carriers


Asian Inspired Carriers


Different types: Pod, Half Buckle, Onbu and Mei Tai

Many people often stop me in public, as I'm sure it's happened to you, and say such things like, "Wow! What a great idea!" or "How'd you think to wrap them up in a sheet like that?" or, "I wish we had things like that when my kids were little".

While it may be true that Babywearing items seem way more accessible lately in our modern culture than say 20 years ago, we are by far not the first to invent such as idea.

Even long before the 1900 century parents would wear their children in different types of shawls, furs, scarves and yes, even bedsheets. We've known since the dawn of time that Babywearing is needed to get things done.

This blog is going to concentrate on Asian Inspired Carriers which have been groundbreaking in terms of many of the modern day carriers we see today in the United States as well as many other countries across the globe.


Mei Tai's 

This Mei Tai is fitted to make a nice Newborn Carrier 
Mei Tia's (pronounced "May Tie") are the most common Asian Inspired Carrier found in other countries. They originate from China and are a very traditional carrier. They consist of a square or contoured body, two straps that make the waist ties and two very long ties that come from the shoulders to make the shoulder straps. Some Mei Tai's have padded straps at the shoulders, some have wrap or wide straps and others have thin straps.

Here is a video on doing a Mei Tai carry in a basic front carry and here is a second that then shows how to get baby from a front carry to a back carry using the "hip scoot" method.

One of the reasons why Mei Tai's are one of the more common options is because of the ease of using the carrier. To put on the Mei Tai you put the waist band around your "Natural waist" allowing the body of the carrier to drape down, upside down or "apron style" put the baby onto your body making a seat with the body of the carrier that was tied around your waist and then pull the shoulder straps onto your shoulders, over your shoulder, make an "X" by crossing them across your back and then go under baby's bottom to either tie off or cross around then tie in back.

A Mei Tai carry has an unstructured body so it is very floppy and moldable. There's many ways to modify it for smaller to larger babies. For a small baby you can roll the waist a little to shorten the body height and use a scarf or tie around the body to cinch it smaller for a little baby. Some Mei Tai's even have built in body cinching! For a larger child you can pull the straps farther out to give better coverage and keep them in a nice supported position. 

Newborn perfectly fitted into this Mei Tai 

Another reason so many people love the Mei Tai is because you can accommodate multiple sizes of wearers in one household with one carrier easily. With some carriers, like a Soft Structure Carrier once you have it set for one wearer's body its burdensome to change it to another's. I've heard it compared to driving a car. Once you have your seat, wheel, and mirrors all set, no one wants to have to re-do after someone else drives it. With a Mei Tai there's no need for this because its always able to just be picked up and put on.

There's some variations of the Mei Tai that are easily available as well. Some of those options are
Ring Waist: This is a Mei Tai that instead of having the typical tie at the waist, instead has a ring closure system. They function much like a ring sling in how they are adjusted. The top straps are still the same long straps.
Half Buckle: A half buckle has Mei Tai straps or Wrap Style Straps at the top but at the waist has a buckle closure system. Many people enjoy not having two sets of straps to worry with tying. The Half Buckle typically has padding and some structure in the waist and therefore is not put on apron style and can not be rolled or cinched.
Example of a Half Buckle 

Toddler Sized Half Buckle















Reverse Half Buckle: A reverse half buckle has the traditional tied waist straps but on the top has buckle style shoulder straps, much like a back pack.
Full Buckle: This is debatable on if it falls into the Mei Tai category but there's a few 'hybrids' on the market now that have a very unstructured, floppy bodies like the Mei Tai and even get put on "apron style" but have buckles at both the Waist and the shoulders. The Connecta is one of the most common variations of this style.

Podaegi or "Pod" 
Great even for big kids! This is my five year old. 
 The podaegi or commonly referred to "pod" is one of my favorite carrier options. It is much like a hybrid between a Mei Tai and a Wrap and originated in Korea. It has a long "blanket" for the body of the carrier, a padded head rest and straps that function the same as the Mei Tai Straps. Some are Mei Tai style and some are wrap style. The biggest differences is the lack of the waist band and support in the waist area but because Pods often have much longer shoulder straps than the Mei Tai, they can still be tied off at the waist to provide that support.
5yo, 2.5yo and 4 month old in the same pod 
Pods are a great option for all size wearers and all size babies. The photo to the side shows the same carrier with my five year old, almost three year old and four month old. Just like the Mei Tai there is no need for confusing adjustments with different wearers and because it can be tied off several different ways and does not have the waist belt it can accommodate a large variety of wearers body types. 

I found it to be one of the most comfortable carrier options while pregnant because there was nothing in that area. 

A pod can be worn in many different ways as well. Front carries with different tie offs (torso carry is my favorite with a newborn! Front Wrap Cross Carry Style, ruck strap style and more) in a back carry in both torso style, ruck strap style, and many more as well as a hip carry if so desired. They fold down very small and are very versatile. 
Pod Back Carry Video
Newborn Front Torso Carry Video  

Photo my 5 year old snapped showing
her younger sister (2yo) asleep on my back
with a big baby belly 

Pod with a newborn in a torso carry 














Hmong Baby Carriers are very similair to the Pod.  

Onbuhimo or "Onbu" 


View of the Onbu "Flat"
 The Onbu is a very fun option that has a square Mei Tai style body, two rings at the bottom and two Mei Tai style shoulder straps and was designed in Japan post war era. To put the Onbu on you go under babies arms with the straps, thread the straps through the rings and then tie off (in several different variations. 

An Onbu is generally made for an older baby that can sit unassisted, has good body control and is made primarily for back carries. Some experienced wearers can do front carries with smaller babies and there are a few that are made smaller for smaller babies. Generally the body panel of the Onbu is fairly wide and large for bigger babies/toddlers. 

The Onbu offers very quick up's and down's which is another reason that they make a great toddler carrier. Toddlers like to wander and walk but do get tired often. 

Some commercially made Onbu are now being made with buckles instead of the rings and Mei Tai style straps. Those can be even quicker to get on and off then even the traditional variation. 

 


To wear a smaller baby you have to be careful to close up the gapping in the sides of a traditionally sized Onbu. 

Otherwise, an Onbu is worn the same as a Mei Tai, but with no waist straps. 

They fold down very small and can be tossed into diaper bags easily. 

I use an Onbu as my "emergency car carrier" because its so durable, easy and I can wear any of the kiddos needed. :-) 


I hope that some of these options might appeal to you. They are some of my favorites! There are, of course, many more options out there but I chose to discuss the most popular and easily accessible to our area.
Happy Babywearing!



Tandem Wearing in the Toddler Half Buckle
and a Woven Wrap 
Nursing in the sunshine in a Mei Tai
Front and back view of a Pod in action 

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