ERGOBABY OMNI BREEZE Review
Baby carriers are a great way to keep doing what you love and exploring the outdoors. I love the freedom they have given us to hike around the Surrey Hills, allow my baby to view the world, experience nature and it gives me an extra challenge going up and down the hills!
Now, they are lots of carriers on the market, with the whole range of price, durability, comfort and design and length of time you can use the carrier for.
Read this blog post for a comprehensive baby carrier guide.
What to look for in a baby carrier
To walk and hike the great outdoors you need to find the right one for you and your baby. Look out for:
The right size and fit for you
How you want to carry baby, facing inwards, outwards, back carrying or hip carrying (all depending on the age of your baby)
How quick and easy is it to put on and take off, can you adjust the straps whilst baby is in the carrier?
How to clean it? Babies love to chew on anything, and no doubt the carrier will get sweaty and exposed to weather
How long do you want to wear it for, an hour a day? 3 hours a day? Make sure it is comfortable for your needs and for your baby
We've been using the Ergobaby Omni Breeze for about 5 months now, and organising walks for Blaze Trails Surrey for about 2 and a half months. Whilst talking to other mums and people who use baby carriers on these walks, the questions, what baby carrier do you have?, what extra storage does it have?, does your back hurt?, does it pull your shoulders forward?, how heavy is your baby?, how long have you hiked in it? always come up!
Review
These conversations have always made me recommend the Ergobaby Omni Breeze to other mums for a few reasons:
My favourite thing - The waistband! This has been a game changer for my lower back, posture and has given me the ability to go on long hikes. Supporting your lumbar spine, it distributes the weight evenly across your hips and takes the pressure of carrying load from your shoulders
Adjustability - you have a choice about how you wear the straps, either over each shoulder, or criss-crossed at the back, so you can chose what one suits you and baby best. For me, it is having the straps over each shoulder as I feel it is easier and quicker to adjust when I need to. Also, it has been easy for both myself and my husband to use this carrier when going for long walks if we want to swap half way
Practical - The sunshade really does keep the sun out baby’s eyes and keeps his head cool (only really useable when facing inward, otherwise baby can’t see anything and just gets frustrated when facing outward). It is really easy to put on and adjust the straps when baby is in. Also, it can be used until your baby is 4 years old or 20kg
Feeding - I'm combi feeding my son, so mainly bottle feed when we’re out and about and it can be done! It’s nice because baby is upright and comfy whilst feeding helping with wind and burping. It is a pain though trying to get baby to latch onto the bottle, it does take a few minutes for both of us to get it right. Sometimes it does help to take the head rest off to get the bottle in the right place. Breastfeeding is quite easy if you have nursing clothes on underneath as baby can just move his head and latch, but I’m not sure how long this will last as he grows and gets bigger!
Comfort and design - The mesh material keeps your baby cool, especially in the heat and when you start to sweat. Using a dummy clip, I attach a toy or teething ring to the carrier so baby has something to hold and chew on, works a treat! The extra pockets are such a great design feature, you can store your keys, lip balm, a tiny notebook and pen in there, my phone is a bit too long to fit though!
I’ve used this carrier around the house to get housework done, walking to the shops and when hiking, with our longest hike being 2 hours so far, and it has been comfortable and practical for both of us.
I only have one negative, and that is the headrest is not adjustable, as there is just one piece of elastic and button!
To keep you and baby outside for longer, and embracing all weathers, read the ORZBOW carrier cover review here.
Overall – 5/5
I would highly recommend this baby carrier and love using it!
Happy walking!
UPDATE: Dec 2024
Toddler Carrier
I love this carrier when using it for baby wearing and now I have a baby and a toddler, this carrier still comes everywhere with us!
This is because I can use it for my baby or for my toddler, so I have options for carrying either of them, normally when my toddler doesn’t want to walk anymore!
With a toddler, back carrying is the best thing to do for your posture, strength and centre of gravity, as well as letting your toddler still see everything the same as you and be close to you.
However, here comes the tricky bit! Putting your toddler in the carrier.
As my toddler has grown up (literally gotten taller and older, small cry), this has become easier to do, as he can reach onto my shoulders and hold on to me whilst I get the straps in place.
When he was smaller (1 - 2 years old), it was a lot harder, as I had to do a lot of manoeuvring, twisting and leaning forward to make sure he was in the right place and holding on!
However, when back carrying my toddler, it feels so light, easy and I almost forget how heavy he really is.
Again, I would highly recommend this carrier as it has a long life span and can grow with your family. I would just practice getting your toddler in the carrier at home first, make sure you are confident with adjusting all the straps before attempting to do it when you’re out and about.