The Story Behind the Sprout: Your New Favorite Newborn Baby Carrier

Looking around the babywearing world, we saw a lot of options for newborns, but none that matched the ease and comfort of the Lark. We had already brought you the Kid Lark to help you transition from baby to toddler, but many of you wondered if we could take what we love about our Lark and bring it to a newborn carrier. You asked, and we listened! Read on to learn about why we created the Sprout and for a special introduction to your new favorite newborn baby carrier.

Newborn babies have specific safety concerns that should be taken into consideration when choosing the right carrier and wearing them. Check out this article for newborn safety information and carrier recommendations. Read on for a brief discussion of newborn carrier considerations that we thought about when designing the Sprout Newborn Carrier.

Non-Buckle Carriers for Newborns

There are several newborn carrier options that don’t have buckles. These include stretchy wraps, woven wraps, ring slings, and meh dais. Stretchy wraps, like the hope&plum baby wrap, are great for newborns. However, their weight limit across brands is usually around 35 lbs, and many wearers report discomfort when their babies reach 15 lbs or so. This means they don’t have a wide window of use, necessitating the purchase of another carrier if you want to babywear beyond 2-3 months (pro tip: you do!). This generally includes other carriers made from similar fabric with 3-way stretch too.

Woven wraps give you the snuggliness of a stretchy wrap, but offer more longevity. However, they have a pretty steep learning curve and take time to set up, even if you’re an expert. Plus, all of that woven fabric can get pretty pricey.

Ring slings and meh dais are good options that can grow with you from newborn through toddlerhood. However, they’re not for everyone! They definitely have a steeper learning curve than most buckle carriers, so can feel limiting to families on-the-go or who don’t have time to dedicate to what can feel like a Babywearing 101 course. Also, not all ring sling and meh dais are created equally. If you’ve bought these carriers from a different brand, they may not be made from high quality, natural fabrics with a well-thought out design. This might make them feel less comfortable or they may not last as long as you’d like.

Buckle Carriers for Newborns 

Lots of caregivers look to buckle carriers for ease. They can feel more straightforward to learn and quicker to use once you get the hang of them. Unfortunately, some of them don’t allow for proper positioning of a newborn or, even if they do, feel too stiff or uncomfortable for everyone. 

If you’re buying secondhand, you may find some of the earlier buckle carrier options for newborns. These came with bulky inserts or allowed for questionable practices like rolling up a blanket under their bottoms. The bulky inserts were difficult to position properly. Rolling up a blanket allowed for too much user error. Both of these options relied on tucking baby’s legs up inside the carrier, which made it easy to position baby with their weight on their feet rather than their bottom. This easy positioning mistake could lead to loss of circulation in their feet and legs. Ideally, your newborn carrier will allow for baby’s legs to be out and supported from knee to knee without going past the knees and spreading baby’s legs too wide. 

Several buckle newborn carrier options allow for baby to sit in a narrow base, supporting their pelvic area rather than their upper legs. While this is safe for most babies without preexisting hip conditions, it is usually more comfortable and better ergonomically to choose a carrier that can cinch down to support baby from knee to knee and expand as baby grows. If your baby does have a preexisting hip condition like hip dysplasia, be sure to choose a carrier that supports baby from knee to knee as narrow-based-carriers can cause additional complications.

Even more modern buckle carriers created specifically for newborns may not be safe, comfortable, or practical. Some, like those made from stretchy fabrics, may work only for the first few months. Others with H-back straps and hard-to-reach buckles may feel too difficult to put on by yourself. Some cinch along the bottom of the panel, but cannot cinch small enough to properly support most newborns from knee to knee. Some have panels that come up too high, obstructing your view of baby’s airway. Brands with carriers like this claim that the panel extender offers additional head support. We say that if the carrier can be properly tightened to fit our smallest wearees, their head, neck, and spine will be supported anyway without additional fabric covering their head or face. Some newborn buckle carriers cannot be worn high enough on the wearer’s torso to get a small baby close enough to kiss. Still others are designed with an additional panel piece that sits between you and your baby, preventing easy nursing. 

Our Lark Baby Carrier, for example, is not designed to properly and safely wear newborns. There are plenty of buckle carriers on the market that have similar features to the Lark that claim to support newborns. But now you know what to look for to make sure your newborn carrier is safe, comfortable, and practical!

We had noticed a lot of these issues with buckle carriers designed for larger babies. Our answer was the Lark Baby Carrier. We wanted to make a more intuitive buckle carrier that was easier for users to wear independently. We wanted the ease and speed of a buckle carrier with the same snuggle level as a baby wrap, ring sling, or meh dai. Then, we heard our community members ask for a carrier like the Lark that would be safe for their newborns. So we went back to the drawing board! We took all the features we loved about the Lark - the crossback straps, the apron-style waist, the soft panel made from natural fibers free from bulky foam padding - and redesigned them to work for newborns too. The Sprout took root and grew from there! 

Even though we updated it to remove all padding in the shoulder straps and panel, it still feels like a cloud for those smaller babies. Our crossback design distributes baby’s weight evenly without padding getting in the way of your snuggles. We removed the back carry feature, but were able to widen the straps even more. The Sprout is designed for our smallest wearees who wouldn’t be safe in a back carry anyway, so you don’t need to fold the straps in like you do for a Lark back carry. This means they can spread even more across your back, really optimizing that weight distribution. It also goes without saying that we sized down the Lark panel height to safely fit newborns.

We designed the Sprout with everyday caregivers in mind, so we know everyone will find something to love about it! Our two sizes

 ensure comfort for a range of bodies and reflect our size inclusive values. The natural fibers and minimal padding make sure each carrier is soft, floppy, and moldable to your baby right out of the box. The Sprout packs down to fit in the palm of your hand! It’s compact enough to keep in your diaper bag, stash in the car, or bring anywhere without taking up much space. When your baby needs to be held it's there and ready to go, and clipping it on and securing baby will feel like second nature in no time! The crossback design ensures comfortable weight distribution and independent ease in setting up the carrier and tightening it. Before you know it, you won’t be able to imagine life with your newborn without the Sprout. Check out the Sprout Newborn Carrier collection and see for yourself!