Wildbird Aerial

Thread: "Does anyone like the WildBird Aerial for front and back, perhaps more than the Happy Baby Original?"

Thank you all for your help! I bought the WildBird Aerial in Sparrow XS-XL and love it. Below are my detailed thoughts, in case they aid anyone else. WILDBIRD AERIAL REVIEW I am incredibly grateful for the WildBird Aerial, as the comfortable, supportive, and beautiful carrier I have been searching for! The fabric is soft and sturdy, in a color that complements whatever I am wearing. By fulfilling the essentials of what a carrier should do while skipping unnecessary extras, with a stylish design that helps me feel pretty and accentuates the cuteness of my baby, the Aerial makes babywearing even more of a joy! WildBird's customer service is great as well. I would give the Aerial four out of five stars because of two minor flaws, in light of which I still consider it the best soft structured carrier available. One downside is that the Aerial seems only suitable for either front carrying or back carrying, as I will explain below. The other, smaller downside is that some of the buttons that set the seat width unsnap while I am wearing the baby, so that the seat risks becoming too narrow until I can take the baby off and fix the buttons. While I have the carrier in front carrying mode, this unsnapping is more of an annoyance than a real obstacle, since I can usually use my fingers to shift the seat to the proper width, but I think that the unsnapping would hinder reliably back carrying with the correct seat width, which is important for the child's hips to stay in a healthy position. For long front carries, the Aerial is fantastic, especially for me as a petite (under 5'4", specifically 5'2") woman who has found other carriers problematic. It fits so snugly that I can easily wash dishes while wearing my baby on my front! For short front carries, the Aerial is very good. Compared to a more typical soft structured carrier with H-straps rather than crossed straps, the Aerial takes some seconds longer to put the baby in and to take the baby out. But I believe the far superior support and comfort of the Aerial more than justify the negligible sacrifice in time. For back carries, the Aerial is the only soft structured carrier I have found comfortable for back carries, largely because of the waist belt and straps landing in the right places. However, converting to back carry mode takes 10–12 minutes and a hassle. Converting from back to front would involve the same steps but in reverse, and seems a bit easier than converting from front to back. The conversions take too long for me to use one Aerial for both front and back carries, as I do not have so much time to convert the carrier back and forth, and my baby starts to fuss at seven minutes into my paying attention to the carrier rather than to him. For a glimpse of the steps involved in converting to back carry mode, you can see [WildBird's tutorial on back carrying in the Aerial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAFP3WVs_YU&ab_channel=WildBird). There, the conversion does not seem too troublesome because the buckles thread instantly through the holes, whereas on my carrier, the buckles look almost too wide for the holes, so managing to position and pull each buckle through takes me a few minutes. I wish that WildBird would make the holes a couple of millimeters wider in future versions. Then converting to back carry mode would only take three to four minutes, as also happens in the video. If you prefer to keep the elastic bound around the webbing so that no straps are dangling, then a minor delay would come from how you have to undo the elastic in order to do the conversion, then roll the webbing up again and redo the elastic while in back carry mode. I strongly prefer to keep the elastic bound around the webbing, both to make the carrier neat and to mark the adjustments that best fit the carrier to myself and my baby. I dislike the prospect of redoing my work, so to speak, every time I have to switch from front to back or back to front. I believe that if you decide you like back carrying in the Aerial, and need to back carry often, it would be logical, if financially feasible, to buy a second Aerial, and keep one Aerial in front carry mode while you keep the other in back carry mode. In our case, I might just use the Aerial in front carry mode. The reason is that I mainly need back carries for cooking in our very narrow kitchen, and on my back in the Aerial, my baby can grab too many things since the low top of the Aerial’s fabric—a feature I generally love—enables him to put both his arms above the head support and outside my shoulder straps. I hope that one day we will live somewhere with a bigger kitchen, in which case I would be thrilled to have a second Aerial in back carry mode. In the meantime, to solve my cooking issue, I will see if my baby will sit in the high chair playing while watching me, as we do not have room for a playpen within sight of the kitchen. If he does not cooperate, I will consider obtaining either a) another carrier for back carries with fabric positioned to keep his arms under the head rest and inside my shoulder straps yet otherwise free, if I can find one through my local babywearing group's lending library, or b) a Guidecraft learning tower in which the baby can play next to me in the kitchen. So far, I have learned that it is normal for babies to start putting their arms above the head support and outside the shoulder straps while back carried at around ten or eleven months old, and people seem skeptical that any carrier could prevent that behavior, so if the high chair fails, the learning tower will probably prove the answer. The ingenuity of the Aerial shows in its thoughtful design, which includes versatile sizing for both the wearer and the baby. Supposed "one size fits all" carriers, often advertised as shareable between mothers and fathers of any height, have proven oversized for me as a petite mother. Similarly, carriers with only one or two seat width settings have not been adjustable enough for my growing baby. I love the Aerial's innovative waist belt; default crossed shoulder straps for front carrying; four seat width settings; compact silhouette for the part that holds the baby, so that my husband said the Aerial finally looked right as a "baby-shaped carrier"; cute head support panel; and—when the head support panel is down—low profile fabric, which, by not obscuring the baby's face, prevents unnecessary drooling on or chewing of the carrier, while making photos of the baby easier to take. The Aerial's waist belt fits magnificently. In threading through a square ring and back around the waist of the wearer, as well as in being much wider than the strap used for tightening it, it has so much adjustability that it truly sits at my natural waist. In contrast, other soft structured carriers' waist belts either have been too big at their smallest setting, or have sagged and dug into me uncomfortably unless I loosened them beyond my natural waist and therefore experienced pain from the poor fit. The ample width and padding of the Aerial's waist belt provide wonderful lumbar support, while maintaining a sleek and fashionable look, to thoroughly distribute the baby’s weight. My other soft structured carriers have had too little lumbar support from an overly thin waist belt, or have had a separate lumbar support piece, hanging on the waist belt, that keeps shifting, never lands in the right place, and makes the waist belt more time-consuming to put on. On the Aerial, the waist belt falls at the ideal distance from the shoulder straps. On other soft structured carriers, the waistband is too far away from the shoulder straps for me to achieve the right fit as a petite (5'2") woman who has a shorter than average torso. WildBird made the Aerial's shoulder straps to only be crossed for front carrying, so they are fairly flat and consequently layer well over each other. Thus, they mold to my shoulders and back and sit where they should, for a personalized fit. Their customizability ensures comfort even though I have scoliosis, which makes my back and shoulders uneven, and even though I have narrower shoulders than average. By contrast, my other soft structured carriers have H-straps as the default for front carrying. My carrier with no option for crossed straps has H-straps that sit too far apart for me with my narrow shoulders and short torso, which both stem at least in part from my height. Some of my carriers have instructions claiming that wearers can switch their H-straps into crossed straps for front carrying. Yet in reality, these H-straps converted into crossed straps do not land at comfortable points, and their rounded shape makes them slide around unstably to produce an asymmetrical weight distribution, which feels burdensome. To prevent the straps from dragging on the ground, I have modified a tip from WildBird's customer service. When putting the baby into the carrier, I wait to unbuckle each shoulder strap until I am about to bring it over my shoulder and around my back to re-buckle it on the opposite side. Similarly, when taking the baby out of the carrier, I buckle each shoulder strap on the opposite side. I remember "right strap, right buckle" as the order corresponding to which thing to unbuckle first when putting the baby in (right strap) and when taking the baby out (right buckle). Because of a character count limit, I will reply to this comment with a comparison to the Happy Baby Original.

Thread: "What’s Your Holy Grail Carrier for Babies?"

I just want to add in some extra notes, because you mentioned you want to be able to use the carrier at 2 months— Some of these carriers people are mentioning won’t fit a 2 month old, unless your baby is off the charts for height. Wildbird’s Aerial, Artipoppe, Happy Baby’s OG, and Hope & Plum’s Lark are all larger carriers that won’t typically fit well until 3+ months. In some cases the Lark doesn’t fit until 4-5 months (they instruct baby being solidly wearing 3-6 month clothes). I highly recommend LennyLamb’s Lenny Light, it’s super adjustable for both baby and wearer. You can swap between H and X straps, the waistband is soft, there are different fabric blends that are cooler or warmer, and the panel adjusts quite small and large so you can wear a newborn as well as a larger toddler. The panel adjusts incrementally with Velcro and cinching straps, so you’re not locked into set sizes like with snaps or a flap that flips up or down. Here’s a babywearing educator reviewing it so you can see what it’s like: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fj3L0v26dk&pp=ygUYU2hlZW4gc2xpbmdzIGxlbm55IGxpZ2h00gcJCYQJAYcqIYzv

Thread: "Experiences with Tula carriers"

I love my Free to Grow! It’s my favorite out of the ones I tried: Wildbird Aerial, Sakura Bloom scout, ring sling, Ergo, Happy Baby. ETA: I considered the Explore but don’t want to forward face due to ergonomics. Will probably do a back wear when it’s time.

Thread: "Is Artipoppe worth it?"

I don’t have an Artipoppe but I do have the wildbird aerial and it fits both me (5’3”) and my 6’7” husband 🙃

Thread: "Is Happy baby the one?"

Though I don’t own a Happy Baby OG, thebabywearing.ot did a great Deep Dive review on this carrier and compared it to the Lark, Wildbird Aerial, and Ergobaby. Maybe this will help 😀 [Happy Baby OG Deep Dive](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DE_SAJaRhl0/?igsh=MWwxcWhzd29qZmVwOQ==) EDIT: Fixed link

Thread: "Hope & Plum Meh Dai"

Maybe unpopular: I have it and never use it. We wear a lot and my LO is 17mo. I feel like the waistband has to be pretty tight and that isn’t comfortable. It’s hard to get as much of the slack out as I think I need to in the wrap part. Fabric is great, agree there. Between a SB onbuhimo, Wildbird Aerial, woven, ring sling, and an ergo embrace, the HP meh dai… it’s the last one I pick and I just couldn’t ever get into it. Our top two are the onbuhimo and wildbird aerial.

Thread: "What’s the deal with wildbird and mabe"

Wildbird is really great for some people, awful for others, as is the case with many carriers. I have one and I liked it a lot when my baby was like 3-9 months old, used it almost daily. I think most people’s issue with Mabe is that it’s white label- made to look like a high-end, luxury carrier, but is actually just basically a Temu carrier with a pretty label. I’ve never had a Mabe, but I see lots of reviews about it here and in the Babywearing BST and ChitChat Facebook where I’ve learned a ton, and bought most of my carriers and don’t hear many good things about it.

Thread: "What’s the deal with wildbird and mabe"

I thought I NEEDED an artipoppe while pregnant but alas the spare $400 to spend on a baby carrier haven’t appeared for me yet🤣

Thread: "Baby Bjorn claims another victim."

You may want to try a carrier that has cross back straps, which allow you to do clips at your waist rather than your high back. The Ergo Omni 360 has a cross straps option, as does Wildbird Aerial, Didymos Didyfix and a number of others

Thread: "What’s Your Holy Grail Carrier for Babies?"

I’ve tried 3 different carriers and the only one my baby LOVED and was happy in is the Wildbird Aerial Buckle Baby Carrier! So good. It’s also the only one I can do 100% by myself without needing any help. Some of the other brands I tried I needed my husband to help me buckle the straps in the back bc they buckled behind your shoulder blades. I needed one I could do if I was out and about and didn’t have any help. It’s suuuuper easy!

Thread: "Looking for a baby wrap carrier that is actually plus-size friendly."

I also bought this and absolutely love it. My husband wears it too!!

Thread: "Baby carrier for hiking with large 4-5 month old?"

You might check out Wildbird Aerial. I’ve had it and Happy Baby, and prefer the support the Wildbird Aerial provides. I think it would be a great hiking carrier for a young baby.

Thread: "What’s your favorite baby carrier?"

If I was flying I would definitely get a soft structured carrier over a wrap. It’s easy to get on and off and nurse in (if you are nursing). My favourite is the Wildbird Aerial. I’ve been using it since my baby was a newborn and he is now 22 lbs and it’s just as comfortable. When he was little it was very easy for him to nap in because there’s a flap that allows for extra privacy!

Thread: "Best carrier?"

I was VERY intimidated by the wraps and said I would never try one but my son hated the structured carrier we had (bjorn mini) so I needed to do something. I bought a solly wrap and it did take a few tries to figure out, but he LOVED it and was so cozy. Now I think he’s a bit too heavy for me to wrap, so we purchased another carrier to use instead (wildbird aerial- currently sold out but I love it). If you are open to trying, I highly recommend the solly for when your baby is smaller.

Thread: "Best linen ring sling? (Wildbird or another?)"

Single-layer linen is not the best to use as baby gets bigger. Double layer will be fine. I have a double layer Wildbird and it’s soft and sturdy, and a single layer Sakura Bloom that I stopped using at the 20lb mark due to it digging at the edges. Both amazing quality. A ring sling you can feel good about if you’re buying new is Hope and Plum. Their hemp blend is strong and soft. Ethical and thoughtful manufacturing. Worth the money new and secondhand is great too

Thread: "Which Ring Sling to choose?"

To be fair, I only own Wildbird... but I haven’t bought anything from them in almost a year. I don’t really dig how they hype their slings and and perpetuate insane resale prices. I’ve been eyeing Hope & Plum and Loveheld. They look gorgeous and well made.

Thread: "Plus size baby wraps"

not wraps per se, but the two baby carriers I know of that are great for plus sizes are the [wildbird aerial carrier](https://wildbird.co/products/owl-aerial-carrier) or anything from [hope & plum](https://www.hopeandplum.co/)

Thread: "What’s the deal with wildbird and mabe"

I have the wildbird. I did not like it till he was a bit bigger and heavier. You def have to break in the straps a bit, and it takes some finagling to get right. I do use it regularly now (he is almost 10 months and 23 lbs) It is HORRENDOUS for a back carry. Like, I think it’s comical they even advertise it as a back carrier. The way you have to hold the straps to convert it for back carry makes them so bulky and uncomfortable. I

Thread: "Is Artipoppe worth it?"

I personally love my artipoppe. I really wanted to love the cheaper “dupe”, wildbird aerial carrier and held off on buying the artipoppe for a really long time but I couldn’t get comfortable with the wildbird. The extra padding of the straps made it quite bulky and kept riding up high towards my neck/shoulders causing me a lot of discomfort and frequent readjustments. Ultimately I ended up also buying an artipoppe with the intention to either return or sell it if it did not exceed my expectations or if the wildbird was comparable enough. Unfortunately I couldn’t find many comparative reviews at the time without being spammed with a referral code so it was hard to believe some of the surface reviews without experiencing it for myself. I asked a similar question on here a couple months back but felt a bit judged for even considering such an expensive carrier (honestly, I get it, it does seem like an MLM/huge marketing scheme sometimes with all the referral codes). I took a look at all the other carriers that people recommended, but they were either sold out (happy baby) or the aesthetics were really just not for me (Lenny lamb) or difficult to put on myself (ergobaby). For me it ended up being worth it because I was able to sell off some of my other carriers that didn’t end up working for me. I also feel like I did my best to try out less expensive alternatives before eventually deciding on the artipoppe.

Thread: "Tula baby carrier vs ergobaby original"

I find my Tula to be really hot. The support is fantastic but the tradeoff was how hot it got. I have a Wildbird Aerial carrier and like it much more for warmer weather. Linen and more breathable. Has great support as well.

Thread: "What baby carriers do you recommend??"

Honestly I also thought I couldn’t justify $200 for a baby carrier but I got the wildbird aerial carrier and it was worth every single penny. I’d pay $1000 for it if I had to. It was super comfy and easy to use and I used it until my baby was 10ish months. I’m actually getting a second for my next baby because the only problem was he’d spit up on it and then I’d have to wash and air dry it and be without it for 24 hours. My baby LIVED in that thing - he napped in there while I did chores, went for hikes, cooked meals, and it was a lifesaver at the airport when we took him on his first flight.