feedback for "Gadget Inspector: Bjorn Identity"

1. Honestly I would think the same people who invented Ikea furniture could make a better baby carrier.
   

   posted by : dhsredhead on 11/8/2007 at 2:33 PM Flag For Abuse

2. I started out with a Bjorn, but quickly hung it up on the door and left it there.  The design is poor at keeping my baby's knees level or above hip level - which is key to proper development. As she got bigger I found it more and more difficult to be comfortable when wearing it. (She's only 15 pounds now.)

   posted by : TBrennan on 11/8/2007 at 2:43 PM Flag For Abuse

3. I don't know what the other parents are talking about. We loved our Bjorn... by we, I mean me, my husband, and the two loud ones. It was how we ate dinner... how we grocery shopped, and how we put the first one to sleep most nights. Granted, no product is perfect (what's with the super wide crotch panel that makes a mother wonder if she's making her kids bow-legged?) but the Bjorn is up there with other life-savers (that bouncy seat thing, Costco wipes, and the compact IKEA high chairs). Go Bjorn!
   

   posted by : sfwork on 11/8/2007 at 3:32 PM Flag For Abuse

4. Our kid hated his. When I put it on and put him in it for the first time he started to scream, Ditto for the sling/wrap/baby bouncie seat thing and Costco wipes (allergic reaction on his tush). Talk about a big fat money drain...On the plus side, I have arms of steel now.
   

   posted by : arirang on 11/8/2007 at 3:39 PM Flag For Abuse

5. I have to agree with dhsreadhead.  I'm so glad I bought my Bjorn at a garage sale for $5, because that's about how much use I got out of it.  My son never looked very comforable in it.  I eventually bought a sling (the Over the Shoulder Baby Holder) and LOVED it.  With the Bjorn, you can only face him out or in.  With the sling, I can have him face in, face out, sit cross legged, lay down, carry on my hip, and on my back.  I could also breastfeed him discreetly while walking around and no one had any idea. 

   posted by : trygo on 11/8/2007 at 5:26 PM Flag For Abuse

6. If they spent so long designing their product, how come it isn't more ergonomically correct for baby?  Babywearing is wonderful, but get a sling or a mei tai or a soft structured carrier like a Beco instead.
   
   Oh, and the problem isn't with products made in the USA, it is with products made in China by international corporations that are based out of the USA.  Not a quibble, really.  Products made in the USA are held to very high standards.
   
   

   posted by : Cali on 11/8/2007 at 5:30 PM Flag For Abuse

7. We loved our baby bjorn when DD was an infant and used it until she outgrew it. Now I use their plastic bibs religiously, honestly the best invention. And the Baby Bjorn potty topper is the only one DD will use. At 2.5 years, we've been a family filled with Baby Bjorn and loving it for DD #2 when she arrives this spring!!

   posted by : hscansaroli on 11/8/2007 at 5:54 PM Flag For Abuse

8. I couldn't get either of my kids out of the Bjorn. They were both like 9 months old and still wanted to be in it. My oldest would only nap in the Bjorn or the swing (she still craves motion).
   
   Recently, I saw a Baby Bjorn-like device for dogs! So instead of a small dog carrier, you can carry your pup on your chest like a baby. I must say that if the Bjorn folks made one of these, I might be tempted to buy it for my Dorkie Poo (daschund/yorkie poo mutt).
   
   

   posted by : EdgyMama on 11/9/2007 at 8:46 AM Flag For Abuse

9. Our Bjorn was great, and with our second (on the way) i intend to use it a heck of a lot more. It's great to be able to put a seatbelt on under the Bjorn and keep the kid safe on taxi rides, and its just a heck of a lot more convenient than a stroller, particularly with two kids (I imagine).
   
   That last paragraph was really interesting -- the one about kids needing exposure to the good and bad and erotic (???) in culture. Another country indeed. I would love to better understand how this manifests itself in Swedish culture.
   
   

   posted by : chattydaddy on 11/9/2007 at 11:02 AM Flag For Abuse

10. By the way, charming piece! It sounds like you got your money's worth out of that little junket.
    
    
    

    posted by : chattydaddy on 11/9/2007 at 11:03 AM Flag For Abuse

11. This was a very well-written and fun piece. I do take issue with some of the things the Bjorn company puts forth as Gospel. For one thing, their carriers are not the most ergonomically comfortable baby carriers for parents, as the straps are fairly narrow and thin, and don't cover much area. They also leave baby's legs dangling straight down, which puts a great deal of pressure on baby's spine and pelvic region (this is in contrast to a Beco or Ergo where baby is held in a more "seated" position with legs bent. Besides that, Bjorn's have a relatively short shelf life in terms of baby's maximum weight. If parents want a baby carrier option where baby can forward face, Beco has a design, Obi, that does this. Catbird Baby makes the Pikkolo too. Both those carriers are much more versatile in terms of the weight limits and different ways baby can be carried (forward facing, interior facing, on back, on hip) and just as safe.

    posted by : khan47 on 2/13/2008 at 4:25 PM Flag For Abuse