Storchenwiege carrier
I have had the Storchenwiege Carrier in my range for a long time now. I would like to report on my experiences with this carrier here. In the meantime, there have been some minor changes to the carrier, which I will discuss in this article in particular.
Summary
About the manufacturer and the baby carrier
Storchenwiege is a German manufacturer, which was founded in 1996 by Günter Schwartzer. He himself is a textile engineer and developed his own baby sling after the birth of his first granddaughter, who wanted to be carried a lot. It was important to him that the sling could also carry larger children and also that it fulfilled certain ecological requirements. In the meantime, the company is run by his daughters and the product range, which can be found on the website www.storchenwiege.de, for example, has grown considerably.
According to the manufacturer, the Storchenwiege Carrier should fit from birth to toddler age, with an upper limit of 15kg. In my experience, however, the carrier fits up to size 86/92 at the most in terms of bar width.
The tested carrier is a half-buckle carrier, which means that it has a belly strap that is closed with a buckle, as well as straps that are tied. Meanwhile, the carrier is also available as a slim variant, which is suitable for particularly slim women. Here, the belly strap is knotted, making it a classic mei tai carrier.
Depending on the color, the price of the carrier is between 90€ and 110€. This puts it in the lower to middle price range of baby carriers. There are the baby carrier in a variety of designs such as natural, graphite, lilac, turquoise, aqua, green, navy and some more.
The baby carrier can be purchased on Amazon or the online store natuerlich-familie.de.
The waist belt of the baby carrier is relatively narrow and only very light, but softly padded. It is sewn to the side of the back part, so that there is no belly strap in the direct sense on the back part itself. The back part goes elongated still slightly lower than the belly strap. The waist belt is closed in the middle with a three-point buckle. The webbing used on the new models is different than my model, which should make it easier to tighten.
The web adjustment is done with two webbing straps that are tightened on the side of the abdominal belt to make it smaller. As a result, as the web width itself increases, the belly strap also increases in size.
The height of the back section can be easily adjusted laterally. In the older models a drawstring is used for this, the new model has webbing straps here. The headrest can be gathered and attached to the straps with the help of buckles. There is padding on the back of the knees. In the new model, the padding is a little wider. The neck width can be adjusted with a drawstring. Here, however, I would rather recommend tying, because otherwise a very punctual pressure could arise.
The straps are very soft and relatively thinly padded. Near the base of the straps, they are somewhat tied by a fabric band and thus narrower at this point.
For back carrying, a chest strap can also be purchased, which is threaded into the straps and closed with a buckle. This costs 7,50€.
When wearing
I was able to see the Storchenwiege Carrier being tested by parents in my babywearing sessions, but also tried it out myself with my son and daughter. It turned out that the bar width is not sufficient for the children up to 15kg, whereby size specifications by weight instead of clothing size, I find, are fundamentally difficult.
On the waist belt was often criticized that the webbing is difficult to tighten. This also corresponds to my experience. In the renewal, with a new webbing and modified buckle, this should go much better, however.
In particular, I am bothered by the waist belt that the length is dependent on the web width. With larger web width I had to close the buckle in front, because otherwise the belly strap was clearly too long for me. Here, the belly strap of the Storchenwiege Carriers Slim, which is for tying, is certainly a good alternative.
In addition, I feel the fabric of the back part is not sufficient to buffer the pressure of the knot on the abdomen. So I would tie a knot in the back shortly after birth to prevent it from pressing into the gap in the abdominal muscles (rectus diastasis) that is still present.
The straps usually fit snugly due to the little padding, so the baby's view is not restricted. However, as my son got heavier, this also meant the pressure didn't distribute as well.
When wearing the back, the chest strap was very helpful. Whereby this slips easily when tying, because it must be pulled through the straps before. A subsequent insertion would be easier in my opinion. The neck width may need to be adjusted by tying, otherwise the head is not sufficiently supported.
Tying instructions for the Storchenwiege Carrier
You can see how to put on the Storchenwiege Half-Buckle in this instruction video, for example, using various snapshots.
Washing
The manufacturer states that the Storchenwiege Carrier can be washed at 40 degrees. I have always washed it only by hand, where no problems occurred.
Conclusion
The Storchenwiege Carrier can be a comfortable carrier for smaller, lighter babies. The padding of the straps fits well, and the belly strap is pleasantly soft. With increasing weight, pressure points developed on my stomach and shoulders, which is why I no longer used the carrier for longer carrying excursions.
Overall, the new Slim model is a significant improvement over the model I tested.
FAQ about the Storchenwiege Carrier
From when and until when can the Storchenwiege Carrier be used?
For many babies, the carrier fits from around size 50/56, which is often from birth. For some delicate, small babies, the carrier is still a little large. This must then be looked at and decided individually.
In my experience, the Baby Carrier is suitable up to a maximum size 86/92 with regard to the width of the bar. However, the manufacturer states that the carrier is usable until the baby weighs about 15kg. However, this has little significance. It is important that the fabric still reaches to the back of the knees of the baby.
Can I breastfeed well in the Storchenwiege Carrier?
Yes, in general it is possible to breastfeed while wearing the carrier. However, it is not always possible and is not a good option for all mothers. With a carrier such as the Storchenwiege Carrier or the Storchenwiege Carrier Slim, it is easy in principle, as the straps can simply be tied a little looser here. However, breastfeeding while carrying sometimes requires a little practice.
Since this question comes up frequently, I write about this topic in detail in my article Breastfeeding while Carrying.
Which is better the Storchenwiege Carrier or the Manduca/ Limas/ Mysol?
Which carrier is better for you and your baby is difficult to answer. So I can't make a blanket statement here about which baby carrier is better. This is simply very individual and I would therefore always recommend trying out carriers before buying. Some stores offer test packages for this purpose and otherwise most babywearing consultants also have a large selection of baby carriers to try out.
Basically, the system of baby carriers is also different - half-buckle and full-buckle baby carriers. I have already written reviews of many different baby carriers on my blog, which may give you some guidance. However, I am also talking about my personal experiences, which do not necessarily apply to you. The following test reports might be of interest to you for these questions:
*Thisis an affilate link. If you purchase from the store, you will receive 5% off your first order and I will receive a small commission.