Ellaroo Mei Tai is a versatile baby carrier designed to help parents wear babies from their infancy. It can handle a child up to 35 pounds. Just as most of the mei tai carriers Ellaroo doesn’t have a great number of features. It is essentially a piece of fabrics with straps attached. Most of the models are made out of 100 % organic cotton.
The simplicity of its design doesn’t make this carrier easy to put on. Many parents struggle learning how to use a mei tai but most moms eventually master this skill. Although the learning curve is steep eventually it becomes a piece of cake just like with any other wrap-style carriers.
This carrier is designed to offer the most comfort for the child. The baby is held close to the parent and baby can sleep and breastfeed safely. The parents get an affordable carrier with good weight distribution and a chance to free their hands. In this review we will describe all the pros and cons of this mei tai carrier to help you make a decision about purchasing it for your needs.
Ellaroo Mei Tai Advantages
- The carrier comes in a big variety of patterns which makes it easy to choose the most suitable one for both parents. Most models are reversible.
- Long straps make this carrier suitable for parents of all sizes.
- The carrier is compact and can easily fit into the diaper bag. It weighs only 1.3 pounds.
- This mei-tai carrier allows for comfortable breastfeeding.
- It’s easy to discreetly take a sleeping baby out of the carrier without disturbing her.
LOVE it! Great for many different carries and especially very great for high back carries. Is not too heavy so keeps relatively cool for a mei tai. Straps are nice and wide and comfortable and do not dig in. Comes in lots of great colours! Compact so fits in your bag. So easy to wash, just pop in the washing machine! Comes with a great sleeping hood for those babies who like to sleep in the mei tai. Good length straps for the bigger bodied people who need the extra for safe tying. Really reccomend for those who like Mei Tais!
Ellaroo Mei Tai Disadvantages
- The straps are very long and drag on the ground when the carrier is put on which means it requires frequent cleaning.
- There is no padding on the straps where they touch the shoulders which makes the carrier not as comfortable to wear as it would be with padding.
- It will take some time to learn how to put on the mei-tai carrier especially if you don’t have a partner to help you.
Ellaroo Mei Tai Carrier Features
- This carrier is ergonomic and allows the baby’s legs to be in the “frog” position in all the offered carrying positions.
- The sleeping hood offers protection from the sun and helps with discreet breastfeeding but needs to be purchased separately.
Ellaroo Mei Tai Carry Positions
Ellaroo Mei Tai baby carrier offers three most popular baby wearing positions:
Ellaroo front carry position
This mom facing position is perfect for infants. It allows for sound sleeping, discreet breastfeeding and feeling of the most security in the parent’s arms.
Ellaroo Mei Tai Front Carry Position Instructions
Ellaroo back carry position
This position is recommended for babies who are at least 6 months old and have some control of their neck and back muscles. The baby is seated rather high so older children can have a good view. The disadvantage of this position is that it’s hard to put the baby into it without outside assistance.
Ellaroo Mei Tai Back Carry Position Instructions
Ellaroo hip carry position
This is another popular position for babies who are over 5 months old. It can be a bit of a hassle to put the baby into this position with one hand but most moms master it. The baby gets a good view, however, the parent loses full use of one of the hands.
Ellaroo Mei Tai Material
This carrier is made out of organic cotton and recycled polyester batting. Mumbai Natural, Mumbai Black, and Good n’ Plenty patterns are only 90 % organic. The fabric is very sturdy. There are no clips, buckles or Velcro.
This carrier comes in many different patterns which is a big advantage to the parents who need to purchase a carrier for several partners.
Ellaroo Mei Tai Safety
If put on correctly this carrier offers proper safety. The baby’s legs are in the ergonomic M position which prevents hip dysplasia. The child is tightly tied to the parent’s body with the assistance of wide shoulder and hip straps. The design of this mei-tai carrier doesn’t allow the baby much room for maneuvers which makes it safe to wear her in any of the offered position. A tight fit gives proper head support for infants who don’t have good control of their neck muscles.
Ellaroo Mei Tai Ease of Use
Ellaroo Mei Tai Baby carrier has a steep learning curve. While it seems as if there is nothing hard about putting on a piece of fabric with 4 straps, there is actually a lot to learn and it’s far from being intuitive.
Most moms agree that watching an instructional video one or two times is enough to get a hold of the new baby wearing skill. However, not all parents can learn how to wear the baby in a mei-tai that easily. It will take some time to master the skill for carrying the baby in each of the three positions.
Proper tying of the baby to the parent’s body is imperative for safety. That’s why if you put the mei tai on the wrong way you can jeopardize the baby’s security or feel very uncomfortable due to the wrong weight distribution.
Some parents reported that they were unable to learn how to use this baby carrier in the back carry position. However, others say that it’s possible to do it on your own without anyone’s help.
This is basically an overpriced piece of fabric. All you get is a square sewn to four fabric “straps” and you do all the work. It is tedious, hard, annoying, dangerous because you CANNOT do it alone, someone has to hold the baby and/or tie the damn thing around you, and you basically have to do this operation on a bed cause you might drop the baby, it happened a couple of times to us. Then, after this time-consuming frustrating sweaty experience, once the baby is “on” it’s really uncomfortable, it breaks your back and if you just want to get the baby out for a few moments and back inside it’s plain impossible. Just buy a backpack carrier, we did that and regreted so much buying this “hip-looking” overpriced piece of junk! They should be sued, seriously!!! Oh, and hope that your baby doesn’t start crying and kicking through the process, if he does, then it’s easier to tie a bobcat around you, i swear!
Ellaroo Mei Tai Baby’s Comfort
The baby is sitting in the most ergonomic position with her legs forming an M which is both safe and comfortable.
This baby carrier is available in three carry positions which are all comfortable for the baby. The hood allows extra protection from the sun and makes the baby comfortable when sleeping. The ergonomic design of this carrier makes the baby feel as comfortable and as close to the parent as possible.
Ellaroo Mei Tai Parent’s Comfort
This Mei-Tai carrier offers a very good weight distribution. The absence of the padding in the straps makes it even harder to wear a heavy baby. Also once the baby gets heavy, this mei tai carrier stops being as comfortable as it is for wearing an infant. Some parents report backaches and choose to switch to a soft-structured carrier.
Waist and shoulder straps are long and adjustable which makes it comfortable to switch between the parents and to adjust the carrier while wearing the baby. However, the high learning curve can scare some parents away from a mei tai carrier. Also the length of the straps leads to them dragging on the floor or the ground. This leads to frequent washing. This is uncomfortable for parents who like to use the baby carrier on the daily basis.
We didn’t get too much use out of it unfortunately, because she kept getting heavier and heavier and I needed even more support. I wish I had gotten this carrier sooner, because this is a perfect carrier to use between a knit wrap and heavier duty carrier, although this one carrier will get your little one from birth until they are too heavy for you to carry. If your munchkins aren’t off the growth charts like mine is you will get a lot more use out of this carrier and it may get you through the toddling years just fine.
Cleaning and Washing Instructions for Ellaroo Mei Tai
This carrier is machine washable. Delicate regime is recommended. The carrier shouldn’t be bleached and no fabric softener should be added. Unfortunately, this Mei-Tai is not drier-compatible so it should be air dried.
Due to the lightness of fabric and the absence of any clips or buckles, the carrier dries rather fast. This is an advantage since long dragging straps cause the carrier to get dirty rather often. So frequent washing is required. Air drying can be a downside for parents who prefer using the carrier on a daily basis since it might not dry overnight.
Popular Uses For Ellaroo Mei Tai
Mei-tais are often used for wearing the baby around the house and on short trips to grocery stores or malls. Ellaroo mei-tai is not an exception. It’s very suitable for doing chores around the house and going out on walks with older children. Many moms use this mei-tai sling while traveling with infants. Some parents use this baby carrier to lull the baby to sleep. It offers a comfortable position for sleeping. Since when the child gets older wearing this mei-tai becomes a bit problematic due to increasing weight, lengthy trips with a toddler are not possible.
Overall this carrier is best used for short-term trips or walks. Long wearing can be tiring for the parents.
Should I Buy Ellaroo Mei Tai?
Ellaroo Mei Tai Baby Carrier is a good choice for for those who love mei tai carriers. It is made out of 100% organic cotton (except for some models which are 90% organic) and comes in many different prints. Most of them are reversible. This mei tai offers the most comfort for the baby as it places the baby in an ergonomic position with legs forming an “M” in all three carry positions. The variety of positions is very useful for both the child and the parent since what is suitable for infants might not be such a great idea for toddlers and vice versa.
This carrier has a high learning curve which makes it hard for some parents to get to like it. Some moms reported giving up on this carrier since it was too hard to put the baby into it without someone’s help. The most trouble they had was with the back carry position. If the carrier is worn correctly, the baby is offered the most possible safety. The adjustable straps allow the parent to tighten the baby while wearing.
Ellaroo Mei Tai has several disadvantages that are hard to overlook. One of them is the absence of padding on the straps. This makes it uncomfortable for the parents to wear a heavy baby. In fact, most parents report that once the baby reaches about 18 – 20 pounds, this mei tai causes backaches.
Overall, this is a good versatile baby carrier for parents who are not afraid of learning how to use a mei-tai and are ready to buy a new carrier (such as SSC) when the baby gets too heavy to wear for this one.
