when it's good, it's very good - but when it's bad ...

I bought the Mei Hip as an alternative to a traditional mei tai for use when traveling. I love using a mei tai, but it can be unwieldy in airport security checkpoints and the like, what with the long straps trailing everywhere when I have to take it on and off. The Mei Hip is more streamlined; only one of the straps, the one that reaches around your shoulder to the other side, is long. It is easier to manage.

First time I used the Mei Hip, I really liked it. Well, I hated the waist buckle, because it was hard to adjust quickly. That was easily fixed, however - I just took the buckle off and tied the waist straps in a knot, as I do with my mei tai. I found the shoulder strap buckle easier to adjust.

At this time, my daughter was about six mos old and weighed about 16 pounds. It was late fall, and I was using the product mostly outdoors, over a coat. Under those conditions, the Mei Hip was quite comfortable. It was perfect for airport security and short trips around the neighborhood.

However, as my daughter got heavier, and when I wasn't wearing a coat, the Mei Hip became unusable. This is partly because it is inevitable that a one-shoulder carrier will become uncomfortable with a larger child - two-shoulder support is the advantage a regular mei tai or a backpack carrier. The Mei Hip has a design flaw, though - the shoulder strap is of very thin material, and completely unpadded. Without the padding of a winter coat underneath, the pressure against my shoulder became uncomfortable.

Note that your child really should be sitting up pretty well to safely and effectively use this product - I would say 4 - 6 mos is the minimum age range. Unfortunately, by 8 -9 mos your child will likely be too heavy, which gives this product a pretty short life span.

This is a very attractive product, nonetheless, much prettier than the Playtex shoulder carrier, for example. But Ella Roo also makes beautiful regular mei tais, and you will get more use out of one of those. (You can use it for both front and back carries with pretty heavy kids; my daughter is now 1 and over 20 pounds and I easily carry her both front and back with a mei tai.)

The Ella Roo styles are also more sophisticated and simple than a lot of the other mei tais you'll see. The mei tai is a "crunchy granola" kind of product, and a lot of other brands reflect that in the design. I guess I am "crunchy" politically and parentally, but prefer not to show it!