I never really paid much attention to baby carriers until I was pregnant with Mimi. Sure I’d seen them out and about but I just assumed a pram would do the trick. Did I really need to add a another baby product to our never-ending newborn shopping list?

If you’re expecting and not sure if a baby carrier is essential, have a read of our Baby Carrier explainer and shopping guide here. Of course, every parent and every baby is different. For me, a baby carrier was an essential baby item, however, I know many other parents who would put them in the ‘nice to have’ category. There are a few styles of baby carriers too, including sling baby carriers, wrap baby carriers and soft structured baby carriers (you can learn about their differences here).

Baby carriers are especially good if you’re looking for some hands free action, if you’re walking somewhere where your pram can’t travel (e.g. beach or bushwalks) or if you have a koala like my Mimi who will only fall asleep on my chest. I’m not sure I understood their wonderful appeal until I became a mother myself and now I really can’t imagine not having a baby carrier in my life.

After receiving the results from our The Baby Edit survey, I decided to test the baby carriers that ranked most highly among our community. The Tula Explore Baby Carrier was a top favourite and is designed to grow with your baby. You can use this product from when your bub is a newborn to when they’re a toddler.

While this product is suitable for newborns, I started testing it when Mimi was three months old. Even though she was an average-sized bub, I felt more comfortable using a fabric wrap carrier rather than a structured baby carrier in the early months (I was very lucky to have a range of products to select from as I was testing them for The Baby Edit!).

A wrap baby carrier is a piece of fabric you wear across your whole torso and across both shoulders to create a pouch for your baby to sit in. Learning how to use a wrap baby carrier can take some practice and be time consuming until you master the art of the perfect wrap. You want the wrap to feel both comfortable and supportive for both you and bub.

Once I felt Mimi had outgrown the wrap carrier, I started testing soft structured carriers including the Tula Explore Baby Carrier. This product can be worn in six positions and I started using it in parent facing mode (with Mimi facing towards me).

Depending on how old your bub is when you start to use it, you will need to adjust the size of the carrier accordingly. If your bub is a newborn, you will need to ensure the baby carrier is in newborn mode (you can also purchase an additional newborn insert from Tula). This size is a little more compact and folds to include padded head and neck support for bub. 

Types of soft structured carriers

There are essentially two types of structured carriers. One that has an inbuilt insert where you can put bub in and then let go while you put on and fasten all the straps. The other style has no insert, where you need to place bub on your chest and then have one hand on bub until all straps are secure and you can let go. The Explore falls into the latter category.

Preferred usage for a slightly older baby

Consequently I found it a little trickier to use the Explore Baby Carrier with a small bub. There are a lot of straps and clips to manage while also juggling a baby. There’s some one handed action involved here. First you harness the baby carrier around your waist, then I would pick up Mimi and find a position that felt comfortable for her on my torso. The general rule is that bub has to be close enough that you can still reach to kiss them on the head. Some one handed action is involved next, you have to hold your baby with one hand while putting on the arm straps and then clipping them together behind you.

While Mimi was less than 4 months old, I would have preferred a little more support when I was putting on the baby carrier. There’s a bit of juggling required but once we were all clipped in I felt way more relaxed.

Key takeaways after testing this product

This product is really good if you’re using it among a few people, perhaps another parent, grandparent or carer, as this carrier fits any size with its adjustable straps. In our family, my husband and mum also used the Tula Explore Baby Carrier. If you’re quite petite, I will say the shoulder straps while padded and supportive can feel a little bulky. 

I also really liked that this baby carrier has a little pocket at the front for your essentials. This was especially useful for walks around the block, where I just needed to carry my phone and keys and didn’t want to be weighed down by a backpack (note: I lived in activewear without pockets).

The Tula Explore Baby Carrier also comes in a variety of prints and designs, which I know would appeal to many parents. This product is also made from 100% cotton, which was really soft and nice for Mimi (you can also buy them in linen blends which I think gives it a more premium look and feel). Some of the other baby carriers I tested had materials that were a little rougher to touch.

This product has a weight load of 3.2kg to 20.4kg, so you can use it well into your child’s toddler years. I’ve also tested this product when Mimi up to 17 months in forward facing position. I definitely found it easier to use as she got older. When your child is no longer a newborn, just be sure to adjust the size of the baby carrier (you can watch Baby Tula’s video channel for a demo).

If you’re looking for a baby carrier with a newborn insert or something with less buttons/press studs instead of buckles and clips, this may not be the baby carrier for you.

In my experience, I found the Tula Explore Baby Carrier gets the job done and is easy to share among family members. It’s not the easiest to use with a newborn but once they have more control of their bodies it’s super simple to use. The fabric used is also super soft, full of personality and easy enough to spot clean.

The Tula Explore Baby Carrier was tested and reviewed by Emily with her daughter Mimi (from 0 to 18 months). This product was modelled by Ellie and baby Alaina. Photography by Sarah Collins, produced by The Baby Edit. Read our 2022 Best Of Baby Carrier List as ranked by the thousands of Australian families we surveyed here.

This is general information only. If you need personal, health, medical or technical advice when it comes to your growing family, please seek out a professional.