Why I Love It: The Tushbaby Hip Carrier
The hip carrier that allows me to keep my Velcro baby close while still clearing my to-do list.
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Is there a baby product you’re absolutely obsessed with? Or something from your registry that you didn’t think you even needed—but now can’t stop telling everyone about? We’re talking to real parents about the baby gear they just can’t live without, from $20 snot suckers to $300 breathable crib mattresses and everything in between.
Why I Love It: The Tushbaby Hip Carrier
Why did I get it?
My 13-month-old daughter loves to be held. Since we brought her home, her favorite place to be has always been in my arms or riding on my hip. And while I think it's sweet to carry her around all day, it makes getting anything else done, like cooking dinner or switching out the laundry, far more difficult at best and nearly impossible at worst. Initially, my solution to this was to plop her in my traditional baby carrier—and for a while, that worked like a charm. But as she’s gotten older, she really wants to engage with the world around her, so being smooshed to my chest and constrained in a carrier just wasn’t working anymore.
Out of sheer desperation to free up at least one of my hands to do things while also obliging my daughter’s demand to be carried, I asked the parents at Babylist their thoughts on the Tushbaby Hip Carrier, which I’d seen floating around social media. The response was a resounding yes, it works—which was enough of a reason for me to try it myself.
Once I unboxed it, I immediately noticed the useful features, like the five pockets and the lightweight material. My favorite part was how easy it was to put on. Compared to traditional carriers that require wrapping, pulling and clipping behind your back, the Tushbaby goes on like a fanny pack and has an adjustable Velcro-buckle closure that feels super secure (and the brand sells a waistband extender, too). It takes literal seconds for me to put it on and adjust the tightness, which I especially appreciate when my daughter’s dwindling patience is seconds from giving way to a full-blown tantrum.
Why do I love it?
Pressure Relief: Balancing 20 pounds of squirmy baby on my hip while trying to do literally anything else strains my shoulders, arms and back. The Tushbaby has a firm memory foam seat topped with anti-slip material that is angled to lean my baby towards me, supporting most of her body weight. My arm supports her back while the Tushbaby is doing the heavy lifting.
(The five pockets allow you to carry baby-essentials like diapers, wipes, snacks as well as your personal must-haves like your cellphone and wallet)
Mobility: When my daughter reached 8 months, she wanted to engage with everything around her. The Tushbaby allows her to be carried without limiting her access to play and participate in whatever I’m doing or her favorite activity—pointing at our Labrador Retriever and yelling ‘dog.’ If I had her in my traditional carrier, she’d be facing me in a starfish position (which I still whip out when she needs a nap while we are on the go).
2-in-1 Design: I typically use the Tushbaby when running errands with my daughter in tow since she usually wants to be picked up after 30 minutes of riding in the shopping cart or her stroller. The Tushbaby has five roomy pockets and a bottle pouch, so I can leave my diaper backpack in the car and just take the essentials in the store. I regularly fit a few diapers, a travel pack of wipes, a snack and a sippy cup in my Tushbaby, all without making it feel extra heavy (since the Tushbaby itself only weighs 1 pound).
Longtime Use: When I’m shopping for baby gear, one of the features that can sway my decision to either pull the trigger or abandon my cart is how long I can use it. While a short shelf life can be unavoidable in some scenarios (like an infant car seat or swaddle), I prefer investing in products I can use for a few years. I love that the Tushbaby can be used from newborn age to 3 years old, or up to 45 pounds (because we all know they’ll still want to be picked up) and can see myself carrying around my daughter throughout toddlerhood.
Who would I recommend it to?
If you have a Velcro baby on your hands that likes (read: demands) to be toted around and you want to give your arms and shoulders a break, the Tushbaby is for you. And if you’re thinking, ‘why would I need a hip carrier when I already have a stroller and traditional carrier or wrap that works for me?’ the Tushbaby is like an in-between option that gives your baby the freedom to engage—kind of like when they’re in a stroller—while still being close to you, like a traditional carrier. And for parents who travel with their babies, the hip carrier—according to my colleagues and fellow parents—can make traveling through an airport far easier and less clunky than simultaneously pushing a stroller and your luggage.
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