Can I wear my baby facing out in the Ergo?

I get this question so often, I thought I'd get all my thoughts down on paper. Or wherever this is mysteriously stored!

The Ergo baby carrier is not designed to wear your baby facing out. Can you still do it? Well, that depends on what age your baby is. For a very small baby, yes, you probably can wear your baby facing out. In fact, if you think of the Ergo as a Mei Tai, you can do it just like you would for a Mei Tai.

But now I have a question for you. Why do you want to wear your baby facing out? I believe that the popularity of the Baby Bjorn has led everyone to think that this is a natural way to wear babies. It is my opinion that it is not.

Think for a second about how you pick your baby up. Do you walk around holding your baby in front of you, facing out? Not if you're like most people I know. You naturally put your baby on your hip or tummy to tummy. Other holding positions are on your shoulders or piggy back. Yes, I occasionally grab my baby like she's luggage, holding her under one of my arms, but that's another position that I wouldn't sustain for very long.

The point is that a baby is not meant to be facing out for long periods of time. First, the entire front of a baby is vulnerable. Babies are meant to feel safe against an adult facing in. And second, when a baby is facing out, she can never see your face. It's important for baby to check in with you and see how you're reacting to what's going on in the world.

Some people then argue with me that a baby on your back can't see your face. True. But generally when you put a tiny baby on your back, she'll fall asleep or fuss, and a bigger baby doesn't mind as much. And you should stand sideways when you're wearing a baby on your back and doing interesting things so she doesn't miss out. She'll let you know if she's bored back there!