It's summer, it's warm and sometimes even too warm. While the temperatures are driving sweat to our foreheads, you may wonder if it is sensible and healthy to have your baby in a carrier in such conditions. How warm does a baby sling get? And does having mesh fabric really make the difference?
A carrying consultant and mother in Croatia asked herself the same question and started the ultimate live test. At a constant room temperature of 25 degrees she placed her baby alternately in different baby carriers without and with mesh. At the beginning and at the end of each test phase (10 minutes) she took a picture with the thermal imaging camera. In this way she was able to determine exactly what her child has to endure in a carrier.
She used a Tula Free-to-Grow and a Free-to-Grow Coast as test carriers. She did the same experiment with an Ergobaby Adapt and an Adapt Cool Air Mesh. She wore a cotton T-shirt herself and her baby a cloth nappy and a cotton undershirt. The results of both tests more than amazed her Croatian colleague. Because in the Tula cotton carrier without mesh fabric, the temperatures only rose by 0.5 degrees Celsius within 10 minutes - at least in the upper part of the carrier. In the lower part, the thermal imaging camera measured 1 degree more, which could also have been due to the fact that her son was relieved in the diaper at the moment of the test phase. This result could have been even better.
But if the cotton carrier is already doing so well, what happens to the coast-version of the Free-to-Grow? After all, the fine-meshed fabric allows the air in this version of the carrier to circulate even better... and indeed, the temperature in the carrier even drops from 29 to 28.4 degrees Celsius in the upper part and from 27.7 to 27.1 degrees Celsius in the lower part! This proves that the mesh fabric does its job outstandingly well. However, in her small experiment, the carrying consultant also finds that a hand on the baby's back and breastfeeding in the carrier automatically leads to an increase in temperature.
So if you want to carry at these temperatures, it's important to keep a few things in mind so that the baby sling doesn't get too hot and you can continue to enjoy carrying without risk. Remember to wear the right clothes and use sun protection.
Now you are ready for summer!