After a lot of pondering, I finally bought the Scootababy.  What happened?  Gareth swiped my hand and I spilled my hot chocolate on the Ergo.  For three whole days I could not use the Ergo and had to carry Gareth in my arms or in the ring sling.  By the end of the first day, my arms were giving way.  I switched to the ring sling and I swear I was starting to lose sensation in my right arm by the time we were ready to head home.  When the Ergo came back from the wash smelling of sour milk, I decided that my health was definitely worth the price of the Scootababy.

The rationale for buying another structured baby carrier:

My initial hesitation against buying the Scootababy was because it was expensive.  However, if you think about it, a baby carrier is like a garment – you use it to “wear” your baby around on a regular basis.  You could even consider it a fashion accessory since it is used so often.  And if you’re going to wear something around that often that covers you up, isn’t it perfectly justified to have more than one?  Unlike some of my more expensive clothes, I get a lot more mileage out of my baby carriers because I use them on a daily basis both at home and while I’m out.

Why did I choose the Scootababy?

Gareth is a curious baby.  He loves to look around at the world as I’m walking.  I figured that I would either need a carrier that could side carry or one that allows the baby to face out.  Since I was getting another carrier, I figured I should get one that would also be able to accommodate Gavin.  The weight limit requirement ruled out a lot of other baby carriers immediately.  Throw in the need to face baby outward and/or carry baby on the hip and the only ones left were the Pikkolo and the Scootababy.  I chose the Scootababy in the end because the Pikkolo design looked messy to put on.  Also, it didn’t look quite as comfortable compared to the Ergo.

Scootababy versus the Ergo

Benefits of the Scootababy:

• allows baby a better view of the world
• easy to put on

Benefits of the Ergo:

• sleeping hood makes it easier to help baby fall asleep.  Sometimes when Gareth is tired and cranky but unable to fall asleep, all I have to do is bring up the sleeping hood to block his view, walk briskly and he’ll fall asleep quickly.  Part of the reason why it is so difficult to get Gareth to sleep is because he can’t tune out his environment.

What I like about the Scootababy:

• pretty comfortable for a hip carry.
• easy to use
• can use as a front carry with minor modifications
• you can nurse baby easily
• you can switch sides and change the shoulder you’re actively using

What I didn’t like about the Scootababy:

• no sleeping hood
• hem at the point where the fleece shoulder cup attaches to the carrier digs into my chest and feel a tad uncomfortable after a while.

I was a little disappointed that they didn’t have the design I wanted – 27Palms:

I ended up getting the plain taupe instead.  I was tempted to make an online purchase to buy the design I wanted from a store that had it in stock but decided in the end that I should support the local businesses so I bought it from Tiny Tapir – or rather “Cloth Diapers and Baby Carriers” in Bangsar Village 2.  It cost me RM455.  Online, the Scootababy retails at $119.  Throw in the freight charges and the price is about the same.

I carried Gareth in the Scootababy for a few hours today and I must say I was not disappointed.  Aside from the seam digging into my chest, I thought the carrier was pretty comfortable to wear a heavy infant in for several hours.

Update 25/6/10 - Tiny Tapir has managed to reduce the price of the Scootababy.  It is now retailing at RM420!