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The Outward/forward facing front carry position is one of the most controverisal baby carrying position. Because of the wide unblock view, many parents believe that babies prefer looking outwards rather than facing them. Actually, this is not true. Many studies have pointed out that babies actually are more comfortable, confident and cry less when they have their parents within their view constantly rather than otherwise. A baby learns better when they are comfortable and can actually learns just by looking at the wearer's facial expressions. Simply stimulating a baby with a fast changing view may achieve the effect of distracting it in the short term but too much imagery with no perspective can result in over stimulation of the baby. The effect is no different from letting them watch too much television.
Another risk factor that has been identified is that many outward facing baby carriers in the market today tends to hang the baby by the crotch. This greatly increases the stress put on the end of the baby's spine. Younger babies have greater risk of injury because their spine is not fully formed yet, while the older babies start to get greater stress as their weight increases (Pressure is weight divided by area of contact). This position as compared to the inward facing front carry position also puts more strain on the babywearer's back simply because the baby's center of gravity is further away the wearer's body.
While this carrying position has its shortfall, it is still a useful position when carrying the baby for short period of time, such as during feeding or play time. The CatBirdBaby Pikkolo Baby Carrier has been specially designed to allow a baby to be carried in the forward facing front carry position with some of the risk factors taken into consideration. Firstly, the Pikkolo allows the baby to be in a semi sitting position which puts much less stress on the baby's spine compared to a baby carrier that hangs the baby by the crotch. The Pikkolo baby carrier also distributes most of the weight to the hips of the babywearer from the shoulders, effectively reducing the strain on the babywearer's back.
Despite the superior Pikkolo design, please take note that this position is only recommended for babies up to 8 months. If you baby is older than 8 months, you want to consider either the inward facing front carry, back carry or hip carry positions.
Follow these instructions to master the outward facing front carry position using the Catbird Pikkolo Baby Carrier:
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Start Here
Step 1. Cinch the Pikkolo baby carrier's body by pulling on the cord through the cord locks to the desired width. The width should be sufficient to allow your baby to be in a semi-seated position and not hanging your baby by the crotch. Experiment with this a little if you are using the Pikkolo for the first time.
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Step 2. Hold the Pikkolo baby carrier with the decorative fabric against your legs and secure the waist buckle behind your back. |
Step 3. Pick your baby up and hold his back against your body. Bring the Pikkolo baby carrier body up between his legs.
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Step 4. Take one strap up over his and your shoulder and bring to the buckle on the opposite side and secure it. Repeat with the other strap.
*Tips: You can also choose to
not cross the straps. That means the shoulder straps would be straight
down just like a backpack. Not crossing the straps allows you to take
the baby in and out of the Pikkolo without the need to unbuckle at all.
You can then use the chest straps to keep the shoulder straps in place.
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Step 5. Tighten the Pikkolo's straps at the buckles so that the baby is snugly in the carrier.
*Tips: As the buckles are dual-adjustable, you can adjust the location of the buckles to ensure it doesn't cause discomfort for you or your baby.
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Step 6. If your baby is strong enough, you can also allow his arms to be outside the Pikkolo as shown. |
