When is baby ready for a forward facing baby carrier?

When to carry your baby forward facing: the right time

Carrying your baby forward or outward facing is something you likely will do intuitively even without a baby carrier. As soon as your baby is around five-six months, they have likely reached a stage of development where they can hold their head well and have a more stable torso. They are more alert and can see more and more of their surroundings with their eyes. You can simply feel that they enjoy taking on your perspective and so naturally opt to carry them around the room in your arms looking outwards. So if you've been wondering when you can start facing baby outwards in your baby carrier, the answer is probably now! 

How do you know for sure? If you can tick off all the below then you’re officially good to go! Baby needs to be:

• at least five months old 
• big enough that their chin easily clears the headrest (when folded) - even when their bum is really deep in the carrier seat for an ergonomic position. 
• in a low-stimulus environment. It's best to try out this new position at home, in your garden or in another quiet environment so that your baby doesn't get overstimulated. 
• awake and alert (if baby gets sleepy/falls asleep then make sure to turn them back to face you)

Some of the advantages for you and baby include: 

Satisfy curiosity naturally 

As we have already mentioned, carrying your baby facing out to the world around them is something that you do intuitively even without a baby carrier. It is simply part of natural baby handling as soon as your little one signals that they are ready. You are responding to their need to discover more of the world.

Train spatial perception

When your baby is born, they can initially only see a maximum of 20 to 25 centimetres. This distance increases quickly over time. At five or six months, they can therefore enjoy training their eyes and thus their spatial vision in the room, in the forest or in another quiet environment.

Promote motor and communication skills

If your baby is outward facing they can use their feet and hands to reach for anything you hand them. With these small movements of arms and legs, the spine can straighten up more and more, which is necessary for learning to walk later on. Constant movement impulses gently train your little one's muscles. It also allows your baby to communicate and interact with other people around them.

Ergonomic carrying

Basically, everything you know about ergonomic babywearing in the other carrying positions also applies to this position: your baby sits in the ergonomic and hip healthy spread squat position with their knees higher than their bum and their back is supported in a developmentally appropriate way. An ergonomic forward facing baby carrier therefore promotes your baby's healthy physical development.  

Mythbusting forward facing 

There are those who hold on to the myth that outward facing can’t be done ergonomically.  but this only relates to baby carriers that have not been designed so strictly for ergonomics, so called narrow-based carriers. A tell-tale sign of this is when you see baby's legs dangling straight down in the carrier, unlike in an Ergobaby carrier where baby is supported ergonomically knee-to-knee in a wider panel. This is also confirmed by the experts from the Aktion Gesunder Rücken (AGR) association and the International Hip Dysplasia Institute (IHDI) with their endorsements and certificates.  

You may have heard that it can be overstimulating for baby to face outwards and while this can be true, you can take steps to prevent this from happening. You know your baby best so monitor them and make a decision based on their cues. Make sure that baby is always awake and ideally in a low-stimulus environment (e.g. at home, in the garden, in the woods etc.). Stop outwards facing after a short period of time (usually 10-20 minutes) or if you notice that your baby starts to ‘zone out’, get sleepy, upset or restless, or is obviously no longer enjoying this position. If this happens then simply turn them back to face you.

Would you like to try it out and carry your baby outward facing? Then you'll be spoilt for choice at Ergobaby. We’ve got several ergonomic baby carriers to choose from. Read the summaries below to find the one that suits you and your family best. 

Omni Deluxe: The Omni Deluxe is our newest and therefore best baby carrier within the Ergobaby family, offering you all four carrying positions. Like the other baby carriers in the Omni collection, it is ready for use from birth (3.2 kg) and accompanies you right through toddlerhood (20.4 kg). The wide waist belt has lumbar support and the shoulder straps are well padded to ideally distribute baby's weight across your body. If you want to switch from the inwards facing to the outwards facing or vice versa, it can be converted in a flash thanks to its handy sliders.

The Omni Deluxe is available in breathable mesh fabric, cotton or linen. The mesh option is currently the most breathable baby carrier around and therefore ideal for heavy-duty babywearing or for anyone who gets sweaty easily. It is also a real storage miracle, as it has a total of six storage pockets for your phone, money, keys, dummy, wet wipes, burp cloths etc. so you always have everything to hand. And if you share the carrier with other people, practical markings on the straps help you to quickly return to your usual and favourite position. 

Omni Dream/Breeze: The Omni Dream is made of brushed SoftTouch™ cotton, a soft cotton fabric that is particularly gentle on baby's skin. The Omni Breeze is made from breathable SoftFlex™ mesh material. Both have the same adjustment options as the Omni Deluxe, but only have three pockets instead of six for storing keys, cards and other items.

Omni Classic (formerly the Omni 360): As its name suggests, the Omni Classic is the classic among the Omni carriers. You can also recognise this from its design, which looks more technical and less slim and flowing. It is cosy and lightweight and is also available in cotton and mesh versions. It can be used up to a child weight of 20 kg. A detachable pocket allows you to store your keys, phone and other items. 

Aerloom: Our machine-knitted and sustainable Aerloom baby carrier is a great choice for active parents. Thanks to the innovative FormaKnit™ material, it feels tailor-made for you and your baby. In addition, ventilation is already integrated thanks to the machine knit. The thread used to make this baby carrier is largely made from recycled PET making it a great sustainable choice. It accompanies you until your little one has reached a weight of around 15.9 kg and, in addition to the outward facing it also allows you to carry your baby on your front facing inward or on your back. Take note, its stylish designs are limited edition so they are only available while stocks last.

Lift/Alta hip carrier: It might not seem like an obvious forward facing baby carrier but our Lift hip carrier and Alta hip carrier both support forward facing. The well-padded wedge seat is attached with just one click thanks to the wide and padded hip belt, allowing you to quickly pop your child on and off - for spontaneous and short everyday carrying moments. It can be used from six months to toddler age (approx. 7.7 to 20.4 kg). Our hip seats also have two practical storage pockets.

Embrace: Our Embrace carrier is specially designed for newborn cuddles but is suitable for babies up to 11.3kg (usually around 12 months old) so it also allows for forward facing once baby is ready.

If you now want to carry your baby forward facing, grab your Omni Deluxe and adjust it first. To do this, move the Velcro fasteners inside the waist belt to the outermost position so that your little one's legs are spread wide. Then check that the headrest is correctly positioned, i.e. folded outwards. Now it's time for the sliders. Move them all the way inwards/down. Then extend the shoulder straps and put the Omni Deluxe on around your waist. Once the waist belt is high and tight and securely fastened, you can put your baby into the carrier. Then once all the straps have been fastened and tightened, you can check your baby's fit again and, if necessary, pop your hands under their thighs and gently adjust/tip them to place their bum even lower in the seat. This will also make sure that their back is supported and rounded in line with their development. Their thighs should be well supported from knee to knee. 

For all those who prefer to see this live and in colour, there is a helpful instruction video here and our full range of instruction videos for all models here.

Forward facing baby carrier - exploring the world together

So now you not only know when the time is right to wear baby forward facing but also the advantages are and what to look for in an forward facing baby carrier. And as long as you stick to our checklist for making sure baby is ready to enjoy this position then nothing should stand in the way of you discovering the world together.