About Mei-Tai Carriers

The traditional Chinese Mei-Tai carrier is considered to be the most popular modern Asian baby carrier on the market. It became famous due to to the increased comfort for both the parent and the baby that comes from the lack of too much fastening. Mei-Tai carrier can be used for both newborns and toddlers making it a great choice for parents all over the world.

A Mei-Tai is a rectangular piece of cloth with straps sewn to each of the four corners. Usually they are used as front and back carriers. The hip position is also available but is not very popular. Back carrying can be done at several heights. Due to the absence of buckles, these carriers can be custom fitted to any wearer.

Most Mei-Tai carriers are made out of natural fiber materials. The material used for straps is usually more durable. The body of some Mei-Tai carriers are made from a woven wrap. Usually modern Mei-Tais have special features for additional comfort. They come with hoods and headrests for supporting a baby\’s head while she is sleeping. Most of the hoods are either removable or can be hidden into a special pouch.

Some manufacturers offer different sizes of Mei-Tai carriers. They come in “infant”, “standard” and “toddler”. Such sizing is very comfortable for the wearer but will require more expenses. There are also one-size Mei-Tais.that can be used for babies of all ages from infant to toddler.

In order to provide more comfort to the wearer some Mei-Tai carriers have some padding at the waist area. It can be perfectly fitted to the body\’s width or extend further around the waist curve. There are also structured waist Mei-Tais which are similar to soft-structured carriers. These carriers have buckles in the waist area and straps on top. Such carriers are usually called “half-buckles”

Types of Mei-Tai Carriers

• Wrap type – Such Mei-Tai baby carriers have straps without padding and the wearing style is similar to a wrap.
• Padded strap type – The straps of such Mei-Tai carrier have some padding in the shoulder area. The rest of the strap looks the same but has no padding.
• Wrap straps – the shoulder area is padded and the rest of the straps are made very wide to provide better weight distribution and more comfort to the wearer.

Positions

• Front carry
• Back carry
• Hip carry

Advantages

• Simple use. A Mei-Tai is one of the easiest-to-use baby carriers on the market today. According to the reviews, most moms and dads need just one simple instruction to understand how to deal with Mei-Tai.
• Adjustable. Due to the absence of buckles, too much fabric and additional features, the Mei-Tai baby carrier is very adjustable and can easily be switched between the wearers. You can customize your Mei-Tai just by tightening to loosing the straps. There is almost no going wrong when you are putting on Mei-Tai baby carrier.
• Price. Since Mei-Tai carriers are not too complicated, they can be very cost-effective, but only if you go for the one-size model. Buying a special Mei-Tai for each age might be costly.
• Weight distribution. Since the weight is distributed between the two shoulder, Mei-Tai carriers don\’t cause back pain.
• Absence of buckles makes this carrier very soft and comfortable to wear since you don\’t need to face any rubbing from such accessories.

Disadvantages of Mei-Tais

• The absence of cradle position makes it uncomfortable for the newborn babies. While the manufacturers claim that Mei-Tais are fine for newborn, most parents still consider buying them for children 3 months or older.
• Knot tying. In order to learn how to use a Mei-Tai baby carrier, you need to know how to tie a good knot. If this is a problem, then this carrier will be impossible to use.
• Long straps. Long straps have a tendency to lie on the ground while you are tying the baby to yourself. This can become a real disadvantage during rainy days.
• Hip carrier position is not very comfortable. If you are a fan of such position, you will not appreciate a Mei-Tai carrier. There are other much more suitable baby carriers with hip position out there.