Carrying Works review of Alfie Sleepy Nico Baby Carrier
Review of Sleepy Nico's Alfie Baby Carrier
Amy Bower, The Carrying Works
Sleepy Nico Baby Carriers are hugely popular locally & the ones in The Carrying Works Library are no exception. We have a number of them in the library & some weeks it is almost one in then one out again!
Since we’ve had our second child, I’ve made it a bit of a mission to put library carriers through their paces & recently we’ve been putting the Sleepy Nico to the test with our two year old son as he’s a little older.
The latest addition to our library was their new charity design - Alfie. I spotted the sneak preview on the Sleepy Nico Facebook page which prompted me to order one almost instantly & I can’t deny that I might have done a little squeal when I opened the parcel! The gorgeous fabric teamed with the rich green cord makes for a really eye-catching carrier. Not only that but I love the story behind the carrier.
Let’s change direction from discussing how beautiful the carrier is, what about ease of use or how it feels to wear & carry your child in?
Both myself & my husband are normally users of woven wraps, occasionally using buckles for quick trips, but to give this one a really good test, we used Alfie as our sole carrier for a week before he had to fly out on loan to a lovely family! As we switch between who carries the boys regularly, ease of adjustment is hugely important & it is really simple with the Sleepy Nico. There is a buckle at the waist & one on each shoulder strap. If you use the carrier with straight/H straps then there is also the buckle on the chest strap that may need some adjustment. We mainly used the carrier with crossed straps & being able to remove the chest strap entirely when doing so is another feature we appreciated.
Adjusting the straps is as simple as pulling the webbing to tighten or lifting the buckle to loosen which means it was easy to switch between us as we pleased. Once on, it was easy to get a comfortable fit for both the adult carrying & Theo being carried.
The gentle padding to the shoulders is comfortable but doesn’t feel stiff or overwhelming. The soft padding in the waist means it is comfortable when carrying but, if you need to sit down in the carrier, the waistband doesn’t become uncomfortable or make things awkward.
Being able to sit down in a sling is something that we have found hugely important as a family. Less so now Theo is older but when he was younger, he could spend many an hour in the sling both at home or out & about - meaning we have eaten many a meal with him sleeping soundly on our chests!
We’ve used this carrier for quick trips into shops, the nursery run & days out. We used it for quick ups & longer carries. The simplicity & ease make it quick to use or change between person carrying. The structure of the carrier with its soft fabrics & gentle padding make it super comfortable. And the choices of fabrics & colour combinations, even the option to design a custom carrier, has created some stunning designs. I can honestly say the Sleepy Nico was a pleasure to use.
We had so many compliments on the carrier & so many people asking about it during the week we were using it. I have to say. we were a little bit sad to see him head off on some new adventures! In fact, maybe we should add another toddler size to the library for when Theo is a bit bigger…
Amy x