BabyBjörn Carrier Miracle Review – So Much Has Changed!

I love it when a brand actively listens to it’s customers. The new BabyBjörn Miracle is a testament to just how seriously the BabyBjörn product development team take their mission in ensuring their baby carriers provide the best possible environment for the child. Did you know they visit test families at least three times a week to observe how their products work in real life and to see what needs exist?

I had the original BabyBjörn carrier for Maddy and Fred, and while I loved it for the first few months, I found that from around 6 months, my little pork chops just got too heavy. Technically they still “fit” in the carrier, but my shoulders seemed to bear the brunt of their weight, and it made carrying them just too uncomfortable.

So here is where the Miracle has introduced some pretty impressive changes into the BabyBjörn range. With just one hand, and with the baby still in the carrier, the adult can move the distribution of the baby’s weight from between the shoulders, to the waist and hips. I actually was a bit sceptical at first – I thought it’s either going to be a tricky process to adjust, or the “change” in feeling is going to be quite minimal. I am AMAZED that you can make the change with just one hand, and it actually brought almost instant relief – keep in mind that Lucy is 10 months old and just under 10kg, so the weight  distribution to my hips made a dramatic difference. Another change is the padded waistbelt which makes it very comfy.

There are plenty of strap adjustments so it is easy to get the perfect fit, by tightening in some places, and loosening in others. I have never actually used a carrier with a back support, but I found it stopped me from slumping my shoulders, which stops the sore muscles that you usually feel AFTER you take the carrier off.

Now here’s the thing about my little Lucy, and the problem I have found with other carriers. I know some babies are completely happy to just rest their heads against their Mummy’s (or Daddy’s!) chest, but not my Lucy. She has a bit of a THING about throwing her head back. She looks bizarre, but she is completely content to have her head at a backward 90 degree angle. The problem is that the human head is HEAVY, so she needs me to flip her head back to normal position. I know I know, even as I write this I think how weird that all sounds but hey, it is what it is. And then when she falls asleep (which babies do a LOT when they are in carriers) I would have to support her head because it would naturally fall backwards. But the BabyBjörn Miracle solves these problems.

The Miracle has a few options, which I love, because it caters for all sorts of babies including babies like Lucy! The head support is brilliant. It is lovely and thick and padded, and it supports Lucy beautifully – even when she tries to do her backwards tilt THANG. So the head support can be up or down, depending on what is best for YOUR baby. Here is the backwards tilt – she LOVES it!

When she is really awake and active, I also have the option to forward face her. The head support simply folds and fastens down so that she has full visibility. She has never been “worn” forward facing before, and it was funny to see her reaction as she got used to it all. At first she kept looking up at me to make sure I was still there, but once she was comfortable she loved looking around and reaching out to touch things. I love that she can interact with her environment while she is forward facing.

The carrier is also fully adjustable to be used from newborn (3.5kg) right up to 12kg, which is about 15 months. So as baby grows, so does the Miracle to adapt to the size of the baby. You can wear baby right up high in “heart to heart” position, or down lower which develops eye contact and smile contact (yes I made that term up!).

The picture below is on a school run, Lucy was able to move her arms around to a comfortable position, and was just about to nod off for her morning nap.

My only thought was that there could possibly be a little more support for baby around the hips and crotch area when facing Mum by bringing the knees up a little higher (like a frog). However when considering that this carrier also faces frontwards, it’s easy to understand how difficult it would be to design a support system that worked equally well in both rear- and forward-facing modes. So, like with all carriers, it depends on what features are most important to you, and how comfortable your baby is. Given that Lucy is interested in forward facing, and the fact that I would use this carrier for quick trips and school runs, the Miracle certainly ticks all the right boxes.

All seams on the Miracle on the outside so that they won’t chafe little arms or legs, and the head support straps have extra padding so they are nice and soft against baby’s cheeks.

So after two years of development, the BabyBjörn Carrier Miracle really provides both parent and baby with a myriad of options, allowing baby to be worn comfortably for the parent, whilst also adapting to baby’s changing needs as she/he grows.

The Miracle retails for $199 and is available from most baby retailers and department stores.