As a long-time computer geek and first-time mother, I've been quickly dunked into the dizzying world of baby paraphernalia. The infantino EuroRider was one of the items my family gave me at our baby shower. Baby Lara is 4 weeks old now, and the EuroRider has become an item we use every day.

The EuroRider is rated for babies 8-26 lbs and runs $34.99 at Target. It's made of a cloth-covered padded material that's easy to wipe clean. You can also machine wash it and hang to dry, which I've done a couple times after spit-up incidents.

The first couple times I tried to use the EuroRider, I gave up because I was daunted by the rather confusing array of straps. Granted, I was trying it while baby was crying, so my patience was short and the attempts were brief. The third time I studied it I quickly figured out the straps, and we were on our way! It took me few more times to figure out that I was wearing the device too low, which puts more strain on the back. Worn high on the chest like it's supposed to be worn feels pretty comfortable. I'm wearing it and the baby as I type (she's up to 12 lbs now.) I've been wearing it for a couple hours this morning, and my shoulders are starting to ache, but in truth I can't imagine there's any way you can cart around 12 lbs all day without a little discomfort. It's certainly not much worse than it was carting her around on the inside the last month of the pregnancy!

The EuroRider feels very secure. I have no concerns about cleaning up the kitchen, hiking around the yard, or hanging the laundry with her attached. If I bend far forward though, I put a hand behind her head to make sure she doesn't start to slip. Otherwise I have great mobility. Activities like dishwashing and brushing your teeth are a bit impeded though, since the baby is right there at your upper chest. I do have to snug up the straps every once in a while when I'm doing a lot of bending--they seem to slip or shift a little. It's also near impossible to adjust the center cross ring on your back by yourself--you'll usually need to ask someone else to pull it into proper position for you. Kind of like trying to scratch the absolute center of your back between the shoulder blades.

The main disadvantages of the device are that you can't nurse and that since the carrier is designed to have the arms and legs sticking through for security, you can't place your swaddled baby in it securely. Also, it's very difficult to remove a sleeping baby without waking her. The instructions suggest that you can do so by holding her against your chest while unstrapping, however the loud RIP of removing the two velcro side straps and the fact that there'll be a radical position change as you lie her down means a realistic success rate of about 10% of getting her down without waking her. Not satisfactory odds for the sleep-deprived new parents!

The EuroRider can be used with the baby facing in against your chest or outward away from your body. This makes it a good first baby carrier. While the baby is too young to support his head he can face in with the head supported by the carrier, comforted by your closeness and the sound of your heartbeat. My baby fell asleep quite often this way. When the baby gets older, can support his own head, and starts to notice the outside world, you face him outward so he can get a good view of everything. You'll eventually need to switch to a different carrier as this one puts all the weight on your shoulders.

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It's now months later, and I wanted to post an update about my experiences with the EuroRider. I really loved it up until the baby got to be about 16 lbs. Then it started to hurt my shoulders. I've now switched to using two different baby carriers, depending on situation--one carries her on my side (the Hip Hammock) and the other carries her on my back (the (Ergo Baby Carrier). I love 'em both, and baby's up to 19 lbs. I also found that I could often remove the sleeping baby quite easily from the Eurorider by only undoing the right side and gently "rolling" her down to a bed with the carrier, then taking her out of the carrier. It's easier for the parent and baby to experiment than to explain with text. I still heartily recommend the Eurorider for younger babies, especially for the ability to carry the baby face-in when they're really young. As they get older (about 6-8 weeks), they start to like facing-out so they can watch what's going on. Be careful at this stage though, with the baby right in front of you, he/she can reach things you don't intend. I was putting cream and sugar in my coffee one morning and Lara grabbed the coffee mug. Fortunately it was barely warm coffee, so nobody got hurt. Once the baby gets grabby, it's safer to wear them on the hip or the back, or be very, very wary when you're working with scalding or cutting items.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 34.99
Age Range of Child: 0 to 12 Months