Product Reviews
Carrier Review: Baby&Me Belk-S first (old model)
I always wanted a hip seat to test and for consultations. When I saw an ad of Baby&Me on Instagram I got immediately interested.
Why? Because their carrier is a little different!
Before I got my used Baby&Me off of Mercari, I already had tested the Lucky Polban.
The Polban also has nice features but is still different.
A general overview of Hip Seat Carrier
The idea behind a hip seat isn’t bad. It was meant as an easy way to carry a tired toddler. For fast ups and downs.
Only later, additions like a separate backpanel were invented to also sell it for smaller babies.
But this just isn’t working!
The seat has a fixed width. For newborns, a special insert and backpanel are needed, which is, most of the time, far from creating a perfect, healthy, and safe position.
The width of a hip seat might work for babies from age 6 months ~ 12 months, depending on the model and child. From 12 months it should fit every baby.
Even if you use an infant insert, there will be a time before this 6 months where the hip seat will not fit well but you can’t use the insert anymore.
The seat is slightly going down towards the belly of the carrying person. In combination with the backpanel, this will tilt the hips in the opposite direction as we want them to have. The upper part of the pelvic bones is tilted forwards, we want them tilted backwards.
Also, all these carriers do not support the curled position of a newborn. The attached backpanel will push the baby in a hollow or straight back. For older children it might not be a problem, but for smaller babies it is uncomfortable and far from a good position.
Also, there is no good support towards the sides and sometimes even a risk of falling for small babies.
The Baby&Me Hip Seat
While the Baby&Me has the Japanese safety certificate from 4 months onwards, it is no exception in regards of positioning. There is no infant insert but it has an optional backpanel that can be attached to the seat.
And! The reason why I wanted to have the Belk-S first system, a separate waistbelt that attaches to the backpanel instead of the hip seat and which shall make it fit newborns as well.
If it does, we will see later.
What I thought every hip seat has, is a pocket in the seat. However, the Baby&Me seat does not have a pocket in the seat! It has a polymer core that can be removed to be able to wash the carrier in the machine. A small pocket at the belt can keep small essentials like keys, tissues, or maybe one diaper and wipes.
The belt closes with velcro and has a safety buckle on top. This is common with most hip seats.
While it is possible to buy the hip seat alone, more common is the set with the backpanel to make it a handsfree option. Hip seats alone are never handsfree and there already have been several accidents with babies falling from the seat.
However, due to the positioning like on a chair, I wouldn’t recommend having the baby on it for a longer period of time. Even with the backpanel. In my opinion a hip seat doesn’t replace a good fitting and comfortable carrier.
If buying the Belk-S first set with the separate waistbelt, the carrier can of course be used for longer times too.
Personally, I am not a big fan of carriers that don’t have a step-less adjustable seat. The Baby&Me first is a system with only two settings: narrow and wide. Having experience with the Baby Björn I can tell that with this system it is barely possible to have the knees of the baby higher than the bottom – the recommended position for the first months of life. When watching pictures of the Baby&Me, I also think that the new version, the one I do not have, has a higher backpanel with reduced possibility to have the airways free. Regarding the usability for newborns I am quite skeptical and would recommend a newborn friendly carrier. You can find my blog post about that here.
Buy a baby carrier for newborns!
You are pregnant and thinking about what baby carrier for newborns would be best?
Checkpoints
Let me guess, you priorities are lying in buying from a safe brand (well-known, well-established),...
All in all I think that this combination: Belk-S first is quite nice from age 4 months (hip seat from 6 months) onwards for people who really want a hip seat, but also want to continue using only one carrier even for longer periods of time. This system keeps you quite flexible.
When looking at the price though, buying a good carrier you can use from newborn to toddler and a second option like a sling for ups and downs might be the better option. A used stand alone hip seat of a good brand might be good too.
As always, I also recommend to try it once to see if it’s comfortable for you.
Baby&Me has a rental option and of course, you can try the older model with me too.
For the whole fitting test and explanations, see my video on YouTube!
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