and might never be….
I know that many of you are from the USA and would love to test and have products from your country.
However, as a babywearing consultant from Europe, it is hard for me to support this company. In this blog post I would like to tell you why.
LÍLLÉbaby is on the American market for a very long time. Their first important patent was filed in 2008. And even though this patent shows a carrier with an adjustable seat which could be used on front, side, and back, the carriers of LÍLLÉbaby were not of the same standard like other baby carriers for a long time.
This means, it was difficult to adjust their carriers in a way that the baby, independent of the age, sat well and comfortable in it in the M-Position.
While the major brands Ergobaby and Manduca still didn’t have the adjustable seat in 2008, many other carrier brands in Europe started to sell their stepless adjustable carriers which provide the M-Position in that year. Examples are the Bondolino from Hoppediz, or carriers from Babyzouks or Lea von Flenz. Baby Roo also had adjustable carriers in 2008. Not to mention the many self-sewn carriers and brands long forgotten because they do not exist anymore..
Only years later, when the stepless adjustable seat of carriers like Ergobaby or a tiered adjustability like BabyBjorn was already standard, LÍLLÉbaby filed a law suit in 2019!
The law suit was filed against many carrier makers from America and Europe alike who sold their adjustable carriers in America.
The consequence of this law suit was, that either the very good carriers which provide the M-Position were not sold in America anymore, or the brands had to pay a large percentage of their sales volume to LÍLLÉbaby each time one of their carriers was sold in America.
Only after the law suit, LÍLLÉbaby started to sell their carrier that looks a lot like a mix of Ergobaby and BabyBjorn. They clearly took advantage of what others had developed so far.
And even now, when looking at their product pictures, the babies are far from sitting well in the carriers. Only toddlers seem to sit good in them.
Also, many small brands in the USA still only offer the “Buddha seat” option for their carriers. This means, babies are placed feet in in the carrier, which is ok when done correctly, but still more risky than the feet-out option in adjustable carriers. Small brands can’t pay LÍLLÉbaby for using the adjustable seat. Only a while ago, Happy Baby launched their first adjustable carrier. I am pretty sure that they did it because they reached a sales volume where they can afford paying the fee.
What LÍLLÉbaby has done is taking the chance from small businesses to create baby carriers that are designed to their best for the use for newborns. They also restricted the variety available in the US. Thus, taking away the chance from parents to buy a carrier that is fitting their newborn and is comfortable for themselves. So either choosing a carrier from a big company, buying overseas, or paying a lot for an adjustable carrier from a small local brand.
As a baby wearing consultant I wish for every family to having the right to choose. I can’t comply with LÍLLÉbaby’s company philosophy and that’s why I won’t buy a LÍLLÉbaby for my collection.
You are free to learn the basics of babywearing with me, learn what makes a good and comfortable baby carrier, and then order a LÍLLÉbaby to see if their carrier is a good option for you (you can return it if it isn’t fitting you!).
But please understand that you won’t be able to directly try one during a consultation with me.
If you already own one and need help with it, I am of course there to do a carrier check with you to help you adjusting your LÍLLÉbaby!