It's been a long time since we've had a new post, and what better time to kick off blogging again than our ONE year anniversary!
A year ago, several of us had a vision. We wanted a warm, welcoming group of babywearers that could educate each other on a peer-to-peer basis, growing and learning together, and meeting other parents wherever they were at in their babywearing journey, and helping them find and share the babywearing love. Our group has grown by leaps and bounds since this day last year, now well over 500 members! and still growing!
Thank you for hanging out with us on this wild ride. I know I've been enriched beyond measure in getting to know all of you, and I hope all of you are the better for being part of us. You are what makes this group awesome. Let's continue on this track into the New Year, and see what happens.Ashleigh, one of our admins, has been in contact with a representative from Beco Baby Carriers for a long time. He was generous enough to hook us up with not one, but TWO Beco Soleil's, and gave us discretion on what to do with them. Next, you'll get to hear from Ashleigh and the others that tried the Soleil about what they did and did not like about the carrier, and the best part . . . At the end of this post, we are giving one away!
Ashleigh writes:
Beco Baby Carriers was so kind to donate not one, but TWO Beco Soleil Baby Carriers to Babywearers of the Midlands! One traveled around to gather some love, and the other will be given away at the end of this post! The traveler will live in our Lending Library so future mamas and babies can try it!
Most of us really loved this carrier. It comes with a hood and a pouch that both snap onto the carrier, which is pretty neat. The straps can cross in the back for comfy front carries, and the waist and shoulder strap buckles feature a tri-lock buckle for safety.
When I put my 3.5 year old in it she said "Oh, mommy, this is comfy!" Not what I was expecting from a carrier that only came up to her shoulder blades! But she loved it, and it was surprisingly comfortable for me as well, considering how long she is!
Mamas and Papas all around the Midlands enjoyed this carrier, from Gilbert to Blythewood, and everywhere in between! Without further ado, here are their reviews and pictures!
1. Kristina
"I tried it with criss cross straps and I didn't love it over just wearing them the regular way. And I think it might encourage the straps to sit closer to my neck, which I did not like. I haven't tried it without the criss cross straps... I need to do that to compare. I will say though that the panel is probably a good inch narrower on either side than my Tula. Which I did not like for nursing purposes. I'm one to want to be pretty discreet when I nurse which I can easily do in the tula without any kind of cover or even the hood. I guess that extra inch of panel on either side is pretty significant of a difference for me because holy booby overflow everywhere city in the beco! No bueno. Here's a pic of the beco on top of my tula so you can see the difference...”
"It definitely is MUCH more airy and open than the Tula. The panel is also a bit taller so would last longer than the Tula. And the top part of the panel has a padded part so it's like a little pillow for baby. I thought that was kind of neat. I also like the belt buckle. You buckle into it from both sides so for some reason it feels like you can get a super perfect fit. There are definite perks with this one. But for me at the moment the ability to nurse pretty discreetly is quite high on my list. But for non-nursers or less modest mamas than I am, this is a pretty good option for an SSC as far as my rookie self can tell."
"This girl is forever trying to give me a heart attack. But she held up in it well and unsuccessfully tried to fling herself out. Even though she's too big for it (height and seat-wise), she wasn't going anywhere... And it was pretty comfy for me”
"Had a super fun time with the Beco today....& even made the best memory with it: DH tandem wearing the babies for the first time ever! Love it! It was also the first time my 1st baby (2y/o) got to play in an SSC (didn't wear her much as a baby). She had the best time. The giggles were priceless."2. Brady
"Beco spent the weekend on the farm. My poor wraps were neglected. Loved the sleeping hood. Benjamin found it comfy & so did I."
“I've had it for 30 minutes and have realized that I have no choice other than to sell the Gemini. Didn't know a SSC could be so nice. Sorry to bash the other beco product but this one is miles better.
“Ok. So the Beco Soleil review: It helped me grocery shop, do horses stuff, keep Benjamin happy, and work on some wood projects in the shop!
For reference, Ben is 6 months old and 20 pounds in these pictures and almost 29 inches long. At first glance I was surprised to see how unpadded the soleil was compared to my Beco gemini. This turned out to be a great thing. It made a more supportive seat, held him closer, and was MUCH cooler. The panel is significantly wider than the Gemini, which really no longer goes knee to knee on Ben (and hasn't for months). The panel does have legs out padding which seemed nice. The sleeping hood was a luxury with many snap options to get a perfect fit. I LOVE THIS! And pockets (built in and snap on) were great too and something I definitely miss on the Gemini. I chose the Gemini because it seemed to be one of the few SSC that you can use from birth without an insert but knowing what I know now, I would have gone a different way, perhaps even purchasing a soleil instead. I really, really loved it.”
3. Jessica L.
"We had the Beco over the Halloween weekend and Lillian and I loved it. It was a million times easier to put on compared to my mei tai carrier. I am so thankful that we got to try it out. And glad we got to be a part of the Beco's journey through the Midlands!"
4. Chris
We have it now! Today it went to hang out with a friend for lunch, went to Sissy's school, and took down Halloween.
DS is 18 mths, 25 lbs and wears size 2T clothes. We wore the Beco almost exclusively for 3 days. The fit was good for us, but right at the "will soon be outgrown" end of good. The seat was barely at knee to knee and the back came up to his shoulders so that he could easily go arms in or arms out. I found the body to be lightweight, which will be nice in the hot SC summer. It has a pocket on the waistband that is the perfect size for phone, debit card and keys. There is an attachable pouch that I never used, but it looks easy enough figure out and is the perfect size for a diaper and a few wipes. There is a snap on hood as well. The snaps for the hood and pouch are both covered by a bit of fabric, for hood you flip the fabric down, for the pouch you flip it up to access the snaps. Because they are somewhat hidden, but are right by each other it is pretty easy to get them confused which will either make the hood fit short or make it hard to fasten the bottom of the pouch.
The straps were adequately padded, but I love heavily padded straps so I could have used a bit more. There were multiple ways to adjust them, including fit adjusters at the top so that you can get the straps just right. The straps offered the option to unclip so that they could be crossed and I really appreciated that the shoulder straps had a tri lock buckle that required two hands and some know how to unclip. I have one child that used to unclip my shoulder straps while I was wearing him in a different SSC and that would not happen with this Beco.
The waistband was very structured and quite stiff, and as a result, it pushed my pants down some, but I think it will get better as it breaks in. I had it narrowed down almost as tight as it could go and I wear a size 10 pant, so this might not be the ideal carrier for a petite mama but there was ample room for a plus size wearer.
The waistband also had a tri lock buckle which honestly, was my single biggest pet peeve with this carrier. When wearing on the back, it was just a bit of a learning curve to remember that I need two hands to release the buckle, but when wearing on the front, it took a good bit more coordination and I was really annoyed one day when I forgot about it and went to do a nap transfer and couldn't get out of the carrier the way I normally do and woke baby up trying to push that little button and squeeze the tabs behind my back. Grr!
Overall, the Beco soleil is a solid addition to the carrier market. It fit my big boy pretty well, has a lot of great features and nice accessories, and as a bonus, the new fabric options are really nice and seem to offer a little bit of something for everyone. This is a solid carrier option that I would recommend without hesitation!
5. Vicki
"Juliette and I tried out the Beco today-a walk in Harbison forest with the dogs, the vet's office, and organinzing. Love baby wearing! How else could I take the dogs to the vet (60 lb border collie mix & 80 lb deaf husky mix). Busy day.
I liked the little zipper pocket which was great for the house key. Overall the straps were comfortable and weight distribution was good, but it felt like Juliette would quickly outgrow it compared to the KP. I also had trouble getting used to the safety buckle."
6. Carmen
Woohoo!!! We have the Beco now! So far we love it!! As soon as I put Tristan up in it, he loved it!!
Tristan and I love it!! My son whom is about 22 pounds at 12 months old and wearing size 12-18 months clothes (mostly 12 months) says that the Beco fits him like a glove!! The Beco is very easy to adjust, is soft but sturdy, and very comfy!! The safety feature on the buckles could be a love/hate kind of thing!! Babywearing with the Beco this past weekend has helped me to become more proficient with back carries!!
"Our son appeared very happy and comfortable in it! The Beco fit my son like a glove! I enjoyed the fact that adjusting it is extremely easy! Much easier than our Ergo. Back carries were much easier & faster! The Beco makes BWing much more enjoyable than it already is!"
7. Christy (Smurfette)
We've had a blast using the Beco! It was far more comfy than the Ergo. That's probably only because my waistband is all warped/bent though. At first glance I thought it would be uncomfortable because of the thinly padded straps (in comparison to the Ergo Sport). But it was uber comfy! Had a wider seat, so Finny-Boy was more comfortable in it.
I found the hood to snap more closely than the Ergo's hood. So, it held his head better at naptimes on my back. This was the first time I had two SSC's in my possession for tandem wearing during "fussy" times. Z's a big boy but I wear him during "rough" parts of the day! The design is pretty gender neutral too. So Da wore Finn & said it was easy to figure out and adjust.
Babywearing has helped this family tremendously & this BWing community has saved my sanity. Thank y'all so much for lettin' us take part in the Beco's journey."
8. Simone
"This is our fourth SSC we have tried and it is our favorite. I wore it putting laundry away and when we went to get our Christmas tree. The straps are so lightweight and comfortable. I'm on the taller side and this was absolutely perfect. I would love to have one.
I like it more than the Tula. I can't even explain it but there is something wonderful about it! She'll be 2 next month and it fit great. The straps were so much softer on the Beco!"
9. Kelsey
"Just got home from work and put him up! First thought is...
Holy straps! Maybe I'm just OCD but long straps bother me. We're doing the
cross strap carry and it's so comfy!! The straps are soft and way more
comfortable than my Ergo. I also like that the waist clip is in the center. I
do have it tightened ALL the way, so a mama any smaller than me would probably
find it too loose."
"I really loved being able to try out this Beco! It was so comfortable. I loved the padded straps- much softer than my Ergo! I also enjoyed the centered waist buckle and ability to cross the straps. Levi must have enjoyed it, too, because he slept during our entire grocery store trip! :) Thankful for this opportunity."
10. Melanie
I loved how the Beco felt, weight-wise. It seemed like a really light fabric, but sturdy, which would work nicely in the heat. The straps also felt lightweight, which made them easier to tangle, but the padding was nice, and didn't get diggy over the 2 hours that I wore it at the zoo and the farmers market. The two-handed buckles were irritating, though! I can see they would feel more secure, but with chilly hands, I lost quite a bit of time trying to find that third point to press! With that exception, we both liked it, and would definitely find many uses for it, both in our stash and sharing with friends!"
11. Jess B.
"During my time with the Beco, we used it for grocery shopping and Christmas tree shopping. He was weightless for at least an hour before my lower back started aching a bit. (He weights about 17.5 lbs) The shoulder straps were different but I got use to them and actually kind of like how it buckles. Little man liked it for sure! He knocked out very quickly!"
12. Erin
"Today Beco traveled all around Columbia and helped with Christmas shopping. She is a very light SSC which was nice when carrying bags already. I think it would also be nice in summer for SC. It was nice to have the chance to try out this SSC."
13. Stephanie
"First I tried this out on my youngest but she is small and did not fit very well in it yet. Then I tried it on my 3 year old who loved it. We even tried it while I was wearing my youngest on the front. This is only the second SSC that I have tried and overall I really liked it. It was light and easy to carry my little guy in it and he asked to get in it several times while we had it, which was nice since he hardly ever wants to be carried anymore. I liked the hood and the pocket. The waistband was very supportive and comfortable. One con I had for it was the shoulder straps. I have narrow shoulders so at times it felt like it was slipping off of them. Also the idea of the trilock was nice but at times made it difficult to get off. Overall I would recommend this carrier to a friend but find that it is better for babies that are a little bit older."
14. Katie
"I only wore the Beco twice and not for a long time. But I enjoyed it mostly. I could easily raise the
waist strap over my baby bump. It provided plenty of support through the shoulders that I hardly felt any pressure around the waist. I didn't like the straps release direction since I am more use to the kp which can release from either direction. I also almost lost the chest clip since it is so easily removable and the Waist band lock threw me off completely with that third little button."
15. Marissa
"I'm a mei tai gal, so at first I didn't care for all of the buckles and straps.
However, once I got her in I found it surprisingly comfortable. Hunter is 19mo and about 22 lbs.
The extra lock on the waistband is a bit to remember, but not too bad. The curve of the straps didn't fit me too well, but I'm sure if I spent more time adjusting all of the straps I could get a better fit.
Hunter sat high enough for my liking, and her weight sat pretty easily on my back.
Overall, one of the best SSC's I've tried."
Summary
Pros:
Crossable straps for front carries
Large panel size makes it a great choice for older/bigger infants and smaller toddlers.
Soft, comfortable shoulder straps
Lightweight
Ample webbing to fit many sizes of parents
Cons:
Not the best choice for smaller babies
The curved of the straps may not be the best fit for some parents
Not the best choice for very slender parents
The safety waist buckle is a challenge to become accustomed to - overwhelmingly this was mentioned in the reviews
And now....drumroll please....... these numbers were put into random.org, and the winner is.....!!!!!
Christy!!!!!!!
Congratulations, "Smurfette"!
We hope you, Da, Finn, and Z enjoy it SO MUCH!
Thank you all for participating in our Beco travels! The biggest of thank you's to Alex Kazlowitz at Beco Baby Carrier for showing us an AWESOME carrier that our members will love for years to come! We are very grateful for this opportunity and your generosity.
