Q: Why don’t you carry the Ergo?

A: It’s complicated! You may be surprised but we actually do carry the Ergo in our physical store location! We just don’t show it in the online shopping at tendercargo.com among all the other kinds of carriers.

The reason is that Tender Cargo’s roots are in the independent brands. We stock a dozen kinds of baby carriers, slings, and wraps, and our selection has always favored the smaller brands, the ones you can’t find in mainstream big-box stores. And likewise, our customers are looking for the niche brands, not the dominant player.

With that said, you might be wondering why we carry it in our physical store! the reason is that we like showing people all the choices, and having them out to try on side-by-side. If you come shop with us in person, you can see and test every carrier until you are sure you’ve found the right one for you! While many people walk out with a Beco or a Babyhawk, it is an important part of the decision process ot also try on the Ergo and see the differences. And of course, we have the full selection of colors and accessories for people who find that the Ergo is their favorite after all!

Did you notice? We slipped some Babyhawk brand  “Oh Snap” carriers into our baby carrier section!

The Babyhawk brand is a very respected little company in California, ran by the mom who founded it. They’ve been making mei tai carriers for years and they just launched the new Oh Snap. We were among the first to get it in store and currently there are  8 colors here for immediate shipment.

The OhSnap fits babies from 15-45 pounds using either a front carry or backpack position.  It is comprable to a Babyhawk Mei Tai in its style and design, except there are no long straps to tie, and it offers good waistbelt support for carrying older children or for carrying a child for long time periods such as hiking or day trips. The adjustability is meant to fit a women’s size 0 to 22.  The carrier is not meant to be used with newborns, and no, there aren’t any snaps on it, just buckles.

Shop the Babyhawk Oh Snap carriers here

We are getting many questions about the Beco Butterfly availability. Here is the latest information:

The original Beco Butterfly is retired and was replaced with version “Butterfly 2” with some noteworthy design changes! The Butterfly 2.0 blog thread on colors and stocking is here. We have 12 colors in stock – solid black and brown and the prints : Avery, Carnival, Argyle Deer, Grace, Lenka, Panthers, Paige, and Zoye. The limited edition Scooters print with orange straps is on sale for $189 $159. The fall colors will sell out before long and no more will be made – this means Grace, Argyle, Lenka, Panthers, Scooters and Avery. We are currently well-stocked but all the Becos move fast and we will run out on the fall colors before long.

These ship free the same day or next day after you order them.

The automatic free shipping is FedEx ground. There is a new map on our policies page for delivery speed with Fedex ground service. You may find you live close enough to get overnight or 2nd day service at the Ground price.

Everybody is curious about how the Beco fabric prints look close up and in the sunlight, so we blog these whenevr we can. Check the sidebar for the “butterfly photos” section. Our homemade close-up outdoor shots of Isabella and Olivia are here. Extra images of Abby Sara and Natalie are here. We also took photos of Aubrey, Ethan, and Emma – especially useful because you can clearly see the words in the popular Emma print.

Many people ask about the sold out colors – we can confirm that the following are out of stock and not being made any more:

Duo organic owls in sand, sky blue, or rust orange

Jacob, Sara, River, Hannah,

exclusive custom-made Abby, Mia, Olivia and Emma.

Thanks a bunch to Meghan for sending in real-life photos of her Beco. The toddler shown here in the front carry position is about 24 pounds and 32″ tall. The fabric color is Grace, a unique floral design that looks great on the Beco carriers.

Click the images to enlarge

Today we have 6 new babyhawk colors in stock and 4 bestselling babyhawks are now here in the toddlerhawk version as well!  Every babyhawk and toddlerhawk in store is reversible to a solid color.

Babyhawk carriers are a long-established brand in comfortable infant and toddler slings. They’re actually a Mei Tai, meaning that they tie on to you with two easy straps, not buckles or snaps or rings.  Once you try once or twice, it is so fast and easy to tie the waist straps and then the shoulder straps and you’re done – and it is perfect for sharing the carrier with another adult of a different size, since there are no settings or buckles to change between you.  The babyhawk includes a folding headrest for infant head support and is also useful for older babies or toddlers who nap in the carrier. The two-shoulder design makes it effective and comfortable even for growing toddlers. Babyhawks are meant for front, back, or side positions and are quite reasonably priced at $80 for about 2 years of useful life with your child, longer if you save it for a future little sibling.

babyhawk mei tai baby carrier

front carry in a babyhawk mei tai

Today we restocked our BabyHawks in all the colors that were so popular they sold out!

There are 21 colors in stock now – half our selection is shown below. These are stunning in person.

Every carrier is suitable from birth to 40 pounds. Babyhawk mei tais are versatile to match your outfits and the places you go since each carrier has one side with a design and one side of solid color. This is really helpful when two adults want to share one carrier but have different preferences about the design.

Black strap Babyhawks that reverse to solid black

Chocolate, Espresso, and Olive solids are in stock as well.

The Pikkolo baby carrier’s maker has a blog with several shots of position tips.

good bottom position

getting deeply seated

checking the pikkolo sides

demonstration of baby’s bottom not well-seated

The Scootababy hip carrier is a popular new product in our store, though this quality company has been around for years, it is new for us and people are responding warmly. We brought them in with some prints first and now the basic solids are here. They’re all made in CA, $119, ideal for age 6 months to 3 years.

Check out the store Pikkolo page, we have 8 hot new colors in stock! 6 cool prints plus two nice new solids.  Sand is pictured here, the khaki tan with brown piping, where the toddler is showing off some sleeping hood action. There is also a dark brown solid, Cafe au Lait.

Compared to last year’s Pikkolos, these have a softer brushed canvas, which is especially apreciated on the head covering, which you see here has nice gathered edges and attached to slips on the shoulder straps. It is very useful for cuddling a child’s head if they fall asleep on the go, and also for sheilding them from exposure to sun, wind, or light rain. Of course, it is totally detachable, so if you don’t want to use it, you can just leave it home.

The new Pikkolo prints are Cloud, Jewel, Mocca Rouge, Pardise, Orbit. And then the solids, Sand and Cafe au Lait.  Also in stock are some of the summer colors, Flame, Jet, stone, and solid black, and these do have the new softer brushed canvas.  The Spa print is sold out but we’re leaving it visible because it has some detailed customer reviews and we don’t want those to disappear!

We marked the original Butterfly baby carriers down to $99 tonight

The Beco version 1 clearance sale has sold out of so many colors already, here is what we still have in stock – espresso brown, metro black, Chloe, Abby, and Isabella