The Mei Tai Learning Space

The Mei Tai Baby Carrier

The Mei Tai is the one carrier that truly does it all: front carry, newborn carry, back carry, high back carry, toddler carry. And it as easy to use as a soft padded carrier and as comfortable and as versatile as a wrap. This comes as no surprise to the millions of Asian mothers who have traditionally carried their babies in mei tais for centuries. The mei tai is essentially a square piece of cloth with short straps on it for around the waist and longer straps for the shoulders. There are no snaps or clips of any kind, the mei tai is knotted in a similar way to the wrap. Tying a mei tai is a lot easier than a wrap, though, since the position for the baby's body is already made with the square. The ties are quite narrow at the bottom, so you don't have a huge mass of cloth to knot the way you do with a wrap.

This streamlined appearance makes the mei tai a great urban carrier, since it will go with any kind of clothing and looks good, too. Fashion conscious parents who wouldn't dream of walking down the streets of London with a backpack on may find that the mei tai works better for them than soft padded carriers.

And parents who want to take their babies hiking should take a good look at the mei tais, too. Unlike soft padded carriers like the Ergo Baby, the mei tai can be worn high up on the back, in the so called High Back Carry or Tibetan Carry. Used by parents in the Himalayas for centuries, this carry puts the entire weight of the baby up on your shoulders, making the baby seem weightless. You can literally hike all day with your baby in a good mei tai worn with the high back carry. And it won't get too hot for you or your baby, since a mei tai only has cloth where you need it and not where you don't, as with a wrap.

Mei Tais are as good for newborns as they are for older babies, but a cradle carry is not possible. If it is important to you to carry your newborn in a cradle carry then you might want to get a sling as your first carrier and go from there.