Review and Reader Discount!: Sprout Pouch Baby Sling

I’m constantly amazed about how much differently we do things with our 2nd baby. Some things we do better because we learned from our mistakes with Nadia. Some things we do differently because Isaac is a TOTALLY different baby, and then others we do out of pure necessity. Toting Isaac around is a good example of how life with two kids has forced us to do things differently just to survive. I was never much of a baby wearer with Nadia. My husband and I were both around practically every day for the first 9 months of Nadia’s life. We always seemed to have enough arms to keep her happy. On occasion we’d wear her in our Baby Bjorn, and we gave the Ultimate Baby Carrier a try, but we never really found a need for any other full-time baby carrier. Now that I’m not just carrying around a very heavy infant, but also dragging a sometimes uncooperative toddler behind me as well, I really have found a need for an extra set of hands. Since hiring a full-time nanny seems a little excessive, we've had to resort to baby carriers to pick up the slack. One of the best ones in our current arsenal is the Sprout Pouch.

The Sprout Pouch is a pouch sling that is sized to fit the wearer and can be worn over either shoulder. The company gives you three options for how to position your baby. The first is the traditional cradle carry, there is the front carry for when your baby is able to hold up his head and then finally the hip position for babies who are able to sit up on their own. We’ve been using the front carry and occasionally the hip carry with Baby Ike, and I have no real complaints. Carrying Isaac in the sling has definitely eased some of the pull on my back and shoulders that I was getting from the Baby Bjorn. All of the Sprout Pouch slings are made from a blend of 97% cotton and 3% lycra spandex. This gives the sling just enough stretch to keep Isaac comfortable, put prevents the sling from stretching in length and becoming unsafe.

We started off life with two kids by simply using our Baby Bjorn. The Baby Bjorn is perfectly functional, however, I love the convenience of just throwing the sling on, throwing Isaac in it and heading out. I use the Sprout Pouch mainly for trips outside with the dog, when I'm lugging a bunch of stuff to our car which is parked on the street, or if I'm making a quick run into a store without my stroller. A definite bonus is that I can easily toss the Sprout Pouch into my diaper bag. I don’t have to worry about remembering it or carrying it separately. I also appreciate that there is no complicated folding required. With the Sprout Pouch, the only thing you have to remember is that your baby’s butt sits on the seam. Easy enough.

As for sizing, Sprout Pouch offers a table to help you find your correct size. I had no trouble figuring out my size, and when the sling arrived, it fit perfectly. There's also a little wiggle room when I carry Isaac on my hip, but all I have to do is fold the fabric over at my shoulder and the carrier is snug, but still no overly tight. Because the Sprout Pouch is lined, it still looks attractive even when the shoulder is folded. A potential drawback of any of the sized slings is that unless you and your husband are the same size, you can’t share carrying responsibilities like you can with a carrier like the Baby Bjorn. They are not a one-size-fits-all kind of product. While this means a very comfortable fit for the wearer, it also means purchasing more than one if both parents have the need to carry the baby around.

I don’t find that I use my Sprout Pouch around the house very often. I feel like while it is very comfortable to wear, it adjust too much when I’m doing housework to really be as functional as I would like. It stays on great for vacuuming, but slips around too much when I have to bend over to pick up toys and crayons and shoes. I’m never concerned that Isaac will fall out, and I always keep a hand on him when I do bend over, but it adjusts enough that it no longer feels as comfortable. I’ve also found that the sling limits how high I can reach in the cabinets because the carrier does come down over my shoulder. Again, not a flaw specific to the Sprout Pouch, but a problem I’ve found with pouch slings in general. Honestly, now that Isaac is older, he doesn't want to be sitting in a carrier while I work around the house. He'd rather be exploring his toys or playing with his dog, so, I don't find this to be as limiting as I used to.

On to the full review. All ratings are on a four-star scale.

Function *** - The Sprout Pouch works great for transporting Isaac to and from the car, etc., but is not perfect for housework. It just adjusts too much for my liking. However, it is SUPER easy to use. You just fold it and slip it on. It also is the perfect size to fit in my diaper bag. I never worry about whether or not it will fit because it takes up virtually no space. It was very easy to find the correct fit for me and Isaac seems to fit into a little more comfortably than he does in another sling that I own. One drawback is that it is sized to fit which means the need for two if mom and dad are not the same size, but want to share carrying responsibilities.

Style ****- There is a handful of attractive patterned options and also a basic black version as well.

Price - *** At $56, the Sprout Pouch is not cheap, but it’s also not overly expensive when compared with other carriers. Almost all that I’ve seen start around the $50 mark. A small price to pay for an extra set of hands!

Overall Rating *** - The Sprout Pouch is a great sling. I find that I use mine at least once a day which makes it worth the expense. I truly would be a lot less sane without the Sprout Pouch because I really don’t know how I’d keep up with my very independent toddler while toting “Tons of Fun” around in my arms. Even little chores like taking the dog out in the front yard are difficult while holding Isaac in my arms. The Sprout Pouch has delivered tons of relief to my aching arms while still being comfortable for me. This is a definite contender in the baby sling arena.

The good people at Sprout Pouch have offered all Kid Buy Product readers a $10 discount. Simply go to the Sprout Pouch website and enter the code "kidbuy" to receive your $10 discount. This offer is good through 9/30/08. Thanks Sprout Pouch!