Your first carrier: how the Ergobaby Embrace works for a newborn

Newborns want to be held, and you still need your hands. Here is what makes a newborn carrier different from one you have to adapt, how the Ergobaby Embrace goes on, and the fit checks that matter most in the early weeks.

Why a newborn carrier is a different thing

Most structured carriers are built to grow with your child, which is useful later and awkward at the start. A newborn has very little head and neck control and needs their back supported in a soft curve, their airway clear, and their hips held in the gentle frog shape that lets the joint develop properly. A carrier sized for a toddler does none of that on its own, which is why so many of them need an infant insert, which is one more thing to buy, fit and worry about.

A newborn carrier starts from the opposite end. It is sized for the body that is actually in it.

What the Embrace is

The Ergobaby Embrace is the one in the range built for the beginning. It is a soft knit carrier rather than a stiff structured one, so it has some of the feel of a wrap with none of the wrapping.

Why parents reach for the Embrace. Video: Ergobaby

It takes a baby from 3.2kg to 11.3kg, roughly birth to around twelve months, and it is newborn-ready with no insert. The seat adjusts so the fabric spans knee to knee at whatever size your baby is, which is what gives you the knees-higher-than-bottom position everyone talks about. There is padded support behind the head and neck for the weeks when that is doing all the work.

The straps cross over at the back rather than clipping across your chest, which spreads the weight over both shoulders and is kinder on your back than it sounds. They are also designed to spread out rather than dig in.

The Ergobaby Embrace carrier seen from behind, showing the cross-back straps — The straps cross at the back rather than clipping across your chest. Photo: Ergobaby

Getting it on

This is the part that sells it. It goes on like a top: you slip it over your head, then there are three clicks and you are done. No tying, no long tail of fabric trailing on the floor of a car park, no second adult required.

The sequence is the same every time. Put the carrier on yourself first with the waistband snug and level. Hold your baby high against your chest with one hand. Bring the panel up their back with the other. Fasten, then tighten a little at a time, alternating sides, until there is no slack anywhere.

Putting the Embrace on, step by step. Video: Ergobaby

It is also cut to fit a wide range of bodies, from petite through to 4XL, which matters more than brands usually admit. A carrier that does not fit the wearer will never fit the baby properly either.

Then check the fit, every time

The quick version is TICKS, from the Lullaby Trust and the UK sling consortium:

Tight, so they are held against you rather than slumping
In view at all times, with nothing covering their face
Close enough to kiss, their head just below your chin
Keep their chin off their chest, with a finger's width of space underneath
Supported back, in a natural curve rather than folded forward

With a newborn the chin one is the one to watch. A baby whose chin drops onto their chest can restrict their own airway, and they are too young to lift their head and fix it themselves. Check on them properly and often, rather than glancing down.

Facing out, and when

The Embrace does a front outward carry as well as the inward one, but outward facing is not for the newborn stage. Wait until your baby has strong, steady head and neck control and can hold their head up unaided, which for most babies is somewhere around five or six months.

When you do start, keep it short. Twenty to thirty minutes is plenty, and turn them back in the moment they look tired, glazed or start arching away. Facing out is a great deal of world at once with no shoulder to hide in. It is also not a position for sleeping, so the second their head droops, turn them around.

The practical bits

It is machine washable, which you will need. Fasten all the buckles first, put it in a pillowcase, wash cold on 30 degrees with a mild detergent and no bleach or brighteners, then air dry.

The fabric is a stretchy knit, 79% polyester, 17% viscose and 4% elastane, so it moves with you rather than holding its shape rigidly. It is light enough to fold into a changing bag and not resent carrying.

In winter, remember that you are one of your baby's layers and the carrier is another. Dress them for the carrier rather than the weather: a vest, a sleepsuit, maybe a cardigan, and a hat, mittens and socks for the bits that stick out. Not a snowsuit, which stops them sitting properly and overheats them fast. Put the warmth on the outside of both of you with a carrier cover or your own coat over the top.

The details

Ergobaby Embrace Newborn Carrier, £99.90. From 3.2kg to 11.3kg, around birth to twelve months. Front inward and front outward carry, newborn-ready with no insert, adjustable seat for hip-healthy positioning, padded head and neck support, cross-back straps, machine washable.

It comes with Ergobaby's lifetime guarantee and a 30 day money-back guarantee, and UK shipping and returns are free.

If in doubt, get a second pair of eyes

A fit that looks right in a mirror can still be wrong, and nobody can see their own back. Your health visitor will check it, and most areas have a sling library where someone will adjust it for you for free and let you practise. Ten minutes there saves weeks of guessing.

Motherhood readers get 15%

Take 15% off the Ergobaby range, the Embrace included, with the code MOTHERHOOD15.

Shop the Ergobaby Embrace

AD: this article is a paid partnership with Ergobaby. Product details and prices come from Ergobaby and were correct at the time of writing. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions and the Lullaby Trust's TICKS guidance. If you are unsure about fit, check with your health visitor or a local sling library.

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