Wilkinet
Price: £37.50 inc. P&P

Score:

What you get: Fabric, padded baby seat with well padded shoulder straps, secured to the parent by highly adjustable cloth ties. Machine washable. Suitable from birth to 30lbs.

Where you get it: Mail order 01239 841 844 On-line: babyworld shop or www.wilkinet.co.uk

Why you'd want it: Babyworld verdict: Definitely rated the most comfy and best for a newborn and young babies by our testers. Rated for the fact that its straps mean it is infinitely adjustable. Wilkinet claim 80% of its carriers are sold through word of mouth recommendation - a fact that pretty well speaks for itself.

Parents' comments:

• Brilliant - very supportive of a little baby and very easy on your back. My baby is now nearly 3 months old so I put him in the facing outwards positionand he absolutely loves it.
• Easy to use, only takes a couple of goes to get used to the straps which are fantastic at really holding the baby onto you comfortably so he becomes an extension of my body rather than a great weight hanging off me. The straps also really spread the weight well over your shoulders and torso.
• Excellent instructions and customer service - even if you lose the instructions (like I did between babies!) they will send you out some new ones and are always willing to give help and advice. You can even download an instruction video!
• Very good value for money

• This is designed to be used on your hip or back as well as front but I didn't find these positions as good as on the front.

• The straps put people off but they actually make this a fantastically well-designed carrier, once you try it you wonder why you ever worried about them! They occasionally get grubby if you're putting it on outdoors - but everything is machine washable so not a major problem.

Mothercare
Three-way carrier
Price: £30.00

Score:

What you get: Fabric carrier. Baby can face to you or outward and from six months can be carried on your back . Detachable head-hugger cushion, lumbar support for parent, two dribble bibs, soother holder and net storage bag. Machine washable suitable from birth to 12kg (approx 18 months).

Where you get it: Stockists 08453 30 40 40
On-line: www.mothercare.com

Why you'd want it: Babyworld verdict: A good amount of thought has gone into this to make it comfortable and practical carrier. Weight is spread well by the design and baby is held in a good position. It is also very fairly priced.

Parents' comments:

• I had not used a carrier with a lumbar support before and I found it made a big difference - it took the pressure off your shoulders and also really helped hold the baby into your body.
• Very easy to put on and adjust into a comfortable position and easy to get the baby in and out thanks to a combined Velcro/buckle adjusting system. The Velcro is very easy to position or undo quickly so you can get yourself roughly sorted and then more safely secure the buckles.
• Good value - you get a lot of carrier for your money - versatile and with good added extra features like the head hugger, spare dribble bibs and soother holder.

• The fabric is nylon with a polyester filling which I wasn't that keen on but it did mean that the whole thing was very light, very hard-wearing and practical. Mothercare say this fabric has a 'breathable' feature and although synthetic neither I or the baby got hot or sweaty as I had thought we would.
• Using the carrier on your back is quite comfortable but the straps sit across your chest - this was fine on my husband but felt odd across my big bust! I felt like I was wearing some kind of bizarre corset with my boobs poking out each side - if was comfy enough but I just thought I looked so odd at the front I didn't want to go out in public! Probably depends on your bust size.

Tomy
Freestyle
Price: £29.99

Score:

What you get: Fabric carrier. Baby can face to you or outwards. Padded shoulder straps and lumbar support for parent. Padded fleecey seat with soother holder, storage pocket and detachable dribble bib. Machine washable. Suitable from birth to 9.5kg (approx 12 months).

Where you get it: Stockists: 02380 662600
On-line: babyworld shop or www.tomy.co.uk

Why you'd want it: Babyworld verdict: This is a good quality, well finished carrier which has some nice added features, looks quite funky and works well for a fair price.

Parents' comments:

• We really liked the fleecey material in the padded seat which seemed really comfy and cosy for the baby.
• This was very straight forward to put on and secured in quite a high position on my body which felt pretty comfortable.
• The cross-over straps spread the weight over your back well and the lumbar support seemed to add to general carrying comfort.

• The instructions explain how you can use the carrier while breast feeding - this is certainly possible but not great - you have to pull your breast around the side of the carrier seat and it all just felt a bit odd to me although I suppose it might be handy in an emergency!
• +/- The main securing clips are easy to use but unfastening and securing the fabric through the top D-clips and then poppering is a bit of a fiddle.

Baby Bjorn Carrier
Price: around £46.99

Score:

What you get: Padded fabric baby carrier which completely detaches from straps and adjusts to expand as baby grows. Machine washable. Suitable from 3.5kg to 10kg.

Where you get it: Stockists include Jo Jo Maman Bebe 0870 241 0560
On-line: www.babybjorn.com or www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk

Why you'd want it - Babyworld verdict: The main advantage of this carrier is that the baby seat detaches completely from the straps which does make life easier in many instances.

Parents' comments:
This carrier is a simple, no fuss design which looks stylish and does the job but is pretty pricey given it has relatively few added features.

• Excellent when the baby is tiny and facing inwards. It has lots of head support and when new born my baby was so snugged up against my chest he went into a deep sleep whilst I got on with the housework completely hands free
• This looks very stylish unlike most other carriers which seem very cutesy and mumsy - and there is a choice of colours to choose from.

• Good when the baby is older and wants to look out - I used mine from new born until my daughter was about 10 months old - but obviously the amount of time you can carry on using it depends on the weight of the baby, other friends have abandoned it much earlier if they have heavy babies.
• The baby 'seat' is one-sided - ie there is no fabric actually against the parent. This is good because you don't get so hot and can detach the baby partially to breast-feed, or totally without waking a sleeping baby

• but it does mean the baby dribbles down your clothes! There is no dribble bib.
• Parent comfort is OK when the baby is tiny but I found my back ached a bit after a while
• weight is spread but cross-over straps but there isn't any lumbar support
• Expensive - although it's good quality I don't think it's worth that much money for the amount of time you use it

Kids in Comfort
Sling Easy

Price: £29.99-£36.99

Score:

What you get: Shaped fabric sling - 100% cotton - with padded edge - fits across body and over one shoulder, secured with adjustable rings. Machine washable. Available in several sizes to suit your body size. Suitable from birth well into toddler hood.

Where you get it: Stockists: 01189 404942
On-line:www.slingeasy.co.uk

Why you'd want it - Babyworld verdict: A sling style carrier is very easy to use but quite different to most carriers. Some parents find them just a bit too "alternative" but if you like the look they are versatile, comfortable and definitely worth a try.

Parents' comments:

• Slings do a fantastic job of spreading the baby's weight right across your body which really helps make carrying more comfortable.
• The sling nicely cradles a small baby but is also brilliant for when your baby is bigger and the natural position for carrying is on your hip.
• Very easy to breast feed discreetly while you're still wearing the sling.

• This particular sling has a padded edge which adds a bit of comfort and support for the baby and helps defuse the weight more comfortably but I found I got really hot and a bit bothered with it - it was like having an extra layer of clothing on!
• Quite a mother-earth type of an item - not one my husband felt very at ease wearing!