There's something unspoken, yet so special about the dad moments in a baby carrier. With more and more dads looking to establish the dad bond in baby wraps as opposed to the larger (and sometimes more clunky) slings, we gave Dave at Wife wears pants the chance to try the AmaWrap. This rest of this review in his own words.
1. First impressions
The carrier is made from 100% natural cotton, and that came through strongly first of all. The material is soft to touch and feels well made. The instructions that came with the wrap say that the material has been created exclusively for Amawrap. The claim is it has been designed to give just the right amount of stretch to make it supportive as well as comfortable.
The box also suggests that it is good for a child up to 15kg, though I thought initially I would have to give a little extra support to my child in this wrap if it was that weight.
2. Finding the right position and assembling the wrap
My daughter is 11 months old and about 9.5kg so the only position we could realistically try was the rear facing position. We did have a go at the side carry as she does like to look around, but the rear facing position was right for her for our longer walks.
It’s a wrap that enables you to cradle your baby close to you. It is also “hip healthy”, according to the website the wrap has been approved by the International Hip Dysplasia Institute. I.e. it enables a newborn to be carried in a position that is good for their hip development.
Dave - @wifewearspants
In the video at the top of this review, I show you how I figured out how to assemble the wrap together. I’ve never tried this style of baby carrier before so it was a bit daunting looking at this large piece of material at first. The instructions were quite informative but I needed to check the video on the website (https://www.amawrap.com/how-to-tie-a-baby-sling/) before I fully understood how to do it.
After a couple of practice goes it didn’t take long at all to set myself up. If you need to loosen the wrap, that is easy enough. However, unlike conventional baby carriers, if you need to tighten it you will need to take the baby out.
It didn't come instantly to me, and something I've learned since from the wonderful Ama team was that it wasn't quite perfect - My daughter's left leg went through the correct panel but not her right, so essentially her left leg was being supported but not her right. This was also perhaps why I felt the wrap was working down!
3. Comfort and style
Comfort: 5 out of 5
Once on it is very comfortable to wear. Unlike the more conventional carriers, the wrap feels like another item of clothing you put your baby into. A few key highlights for me:
- As there is more of it in contact with you, the weight of your child is spread more evenly around your back and shoulders. You can adjust the material to spread over your shoulders to spread the weight of your child even further.
- I was even able to comfortably wear it in the car (obviously without the baby in it!) which I can’t do with a more conventional carrier.
- If my daughter was younger I would happily go for long walks using this carrier. At her age though, I’m not sure she would appreciate being in the carrier for long periods. After a period of time she’s big enough for the carrier to loosen a bit and she’s also old enough to get easily bored at her age.
Style: 4 out of 5
This is a tricky one. Looking at the box and the website, the marketing is clearly directed towards mums. There is one small picture on the side of the box of a Dad using the wrap saying “great bonding tool for fathers”. I’ve not seen that many Dads using a wrap like this (and then only when we lived in North London!) but it would be great to see more.
Personally I think perhaps the wrap is more suited to younger babies and I wish we had one when our two were newborn as I’d happily wear it even more!
4. Other features and highlights
5. Pros & cons
6. Finding out more
To find out more, simply visit Amawrap's website, or see the latest available on Amazon.
