LeMastering Motherhood: SaddleBaby Pack Review

Sometime last year a picture of a baby carrier that held your toddler on your shoulders came across my Facebook Newsfeed. I remember seeing it get pinned and reposted on the baby wearing boards but I never came across it in person and wasn't certain it existed past a random internet picture.

Guess what?? It truly does exist and it's a lot of fun. The SaddleBaby is an innovative shoulder carrying design that allows the wearer to place the 2-5yr old on their shoulders safely and securely. It's not a gimmick or Chinese knock off carrier but a well thought out and soundly made safe baby wearing device.

When it arrived at my door, I was thoroughly surprised with the professional packaging and information that accompanies the SaddleBaby. I received both the SaddleBaby Original and SaddleBaby Pack to review and share.

The SaddleBaby Original is often preferred by men due to the placement of the main carrier belting, directly across the chest. I have worn it myself and it's doable but not as perfect for women as the Pack is! I'll be posting a separate post and review of the Original with fun pics highlighting my husband wearing our children.

The SaddleBaby Pack consists of a fully functional streamlines backpack with waist fasteners, Attached to that is the ergonomic saddle and removable/adjustable ankle/leg cuffs that secure your little one. The cuffs are suggested to be placed directly above the ankle of the child. Their leg length determines where the chest clip strap will be placed on the adults body.

The saddle itself is a sot but dense foam-like material. It has a grip covering on the inside to help your little one stay seated. All materials used in manufacturing have been tested and approved by the US CPSIA. I love that you can load up your SaddleBaby Pack for the day and have a toddler carrier attached and waiting too!

SaddleBaby cares abut safety and has a very thorough and descriptive manual that accompanies your carrier. It's required to read the manual and understand how to properly use the carrier before trying it out! Their website also has instructional videos!! You can see how to use the Pack here and the Original here.

We took our SaddleBaby Pack to the zoo then later took fun pictures at home to help with this post. As you can see, if you leave the pack empty the backpack tends to ride up in the back. It's not uncomfortable even when it does and is not an issue once the backpack contains items. Carter is a fan of asking to be worn then asking to walk a few minutes later. With SaddleBaby, I could say “yes” when he asked to go up and then back down again in repetition without having to unpack and configure a carrier then store it away again once he was done. Instead I simply lifted him onto my shoulders, strapped his legs in and off we went until his next request!

Here is a wearing tip, After placing your child on the saddle take a look in a mirror or have a friend let you know how their bum is sitting. On initial wearing Carter tended to lean forward more than needed and would often not be fully utilizing the saddle as shown in this picture. That's an easy fix we mastered on subsequent uses. Just adjust the saddle so it's held closer to your neck with the webbing and buckle component that go along the backpack straps.

Once we figured out he tended to shift in the saddle we corrected his seat before wearing!

There are only two small changes to the design of the SaddleBaby Pack I would love to see. I wish the Saddle Baby had a handle for the kiddos to hold. Just like when they are on my shoulders they love to hold my face or hair!! I also would love to see the ankle cuffs and the check strap not be connected. That way I could adjust the chest strap for comfort and the ankle cuffs as needed for my child's individual height.

If you're looking for a carrier you toddler will find fun and cool and you'll be able to safely wear definitely check out the SaddleBaby products. You can purchase your SaddleBaby with 1yr warranty direct from the company here.