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.  (Scroll down for UPDATED INFO)

The OhSnap fits babies from 15-45 pounds using either a front carry or backpack position.  It is comparable 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.

Updated August 11 2010 – The Oh Snaps are getting popular! We now have them in 5 solid colors and 20 fabric prints. These are in-stock items, no waiting. The solid color carriers are black, espresso, steel, charcoal, and caramel.See photos of the fabric print choices below. the only one not pictured yet is the Apple viceroy. Remember, if you have a small baby, the regular Babyhawk is right for you, the Oh Snap is only for older babies, like one year olds and toddlers. you can begin using it with a baby who is sitting up and weighs 15 pounds, but really the carrier design is optimized more for a larger baby than that. We do have one OhSnap baby carrier available to try out in our physical store, but the rest of our supply is in the shipping location so it is better to order online. Click to shop the Babyhawk Oh Snap carriers

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!

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

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

The Original Beco Butterfly has been on clearance and now here is an additional coupon for our blog readers – buy any $109 sale priced Beco Butterfly and get an additional $20 off with code “Butterfly20″.  Effective Oct 1-10 2008

The Beco Butterfly original won a 2008 great gear award from Shape You magazine! Congrats!