The Best Carrier Options for Newborns

Baby Tula offers options to wear children from 7 to 70lbs! Our carriers make it possible to carry children comfortably as long as you both need it. Most people find Tula in the infant stage, though, where there is quite a bit to choose from. What carrier do you choose for your newborn baby? We are here to help! 

Your newborn carrier should facilitate the natural position that baby takes on your body outside of a carrier. It is simply replacing your arms around your baby on your chest. A newborn naturally rests on a caregiver's chest with their spine rounded, their pelvis tucked, and their knees higher than their bottom.  All of our newborn options support this. You will notice that our carriers support baby's torso so that they do not slump down. This is critical to prevent a chin to chest position. All of our carriers facilitate an easier to execute "legs out" position in the carrier. You do not have to worry about positioning baby's legs for them or about baby having weight on their legs. This all goes back to honoring baby's natural position. 

Here are Baby Tula's options for newborn wearing: 

Free-To-Grow Baby Carrier

The Free-To-Grow is our very first infant buckle carrier not to need an infant insert. It is fully adjustable in both height and width to support a newborn baby starting at 7lbs. Our community loves the simplicity of this carrier and how the single layer of fabric on your baby feels close to the experience of a woven wrap or sling. This carrier is intuitive to use and has a streamlined, minimalist look to it. When baby is older and ready, you can also use this carrier for back carrying. 

Explore Baby Carrier

The Tula Explore is our first carrier to offer a world-facing position! This feature will not impact your newborn wearing experience as that stage comes later. The Explore is fully adjustable in width and height and can also accommodate a newborn starting at 7lbs. Explore features an innovative body panel with smooth moldable padding to help support all carrying positions. It also offers a moveable support pillow for newborns with little to no head or neck control. After the newborn stage, you can use this carrier for baby to face out or for a back carry. 

Ring Sling

A Tula Signature ring sling goes through the ages and stages of babywearing so well. For your newborn, you will wear them in a heart-to-heart position. As they grow and want a different view, they can easily move over to a hip carry. Ring slings adjust to fit your baby's exact size and offer a little more liberty with where baby is placed on your chest since there is no waistband or shoulder straps. Our community loves the simplicity that a ring sling offers in terms of feeding/nursing. In addition to an upright position, you may try a semi-reclined position (while baby is actively swallowing only) to mimic an in-arms cradle hold. Ring slings are also a favorite in warm climates. With just one layer of fabric, it may help with feeling overly warm too. 

Ergonomic Standard Baby Carrier 

Our Standard Tula is the carrier that started it all. It has been a fan favorite for over a decade. To use our standard Tula with a newborn, you will also have to include our infant insert. Our infant insert provides the necessary lateral support and boost to get baby visible and kissable in the carrier. While the minimum weight to use the standard Tula without an insert is 15lbs, you may find that your baby does not fit the carrier quite yet at that point. Many families find that the infant insert is necessary for fit for 6 months. There is no substitute for using the infant insert, but your Standard Tula is so generously sized that it might be the only carrier you ever need! Why might someone choose one of our adjustable carriers over the tried and true Standard? Some families find that the addition of the infant insert adds more warmth than they would like. Using the Standard + Insert combo also means that your carrier is in 2 parts for a while. With all the things to think about during that newborn brain fog, you would not want to forget your insert at home! Read more about the infant insert here.
A Note about the Tula Lite and Tula Toddler Carrier 

We are often asked if either the Tula Lite or the Toddler Tula can be used for the newborn stage. The answer is no. Neither carrier adjusts to fit a newborn or can be adapted to fit one. We absolutely still think that the Tula Lite deserves a spot on your baby registry. It will fit before you know it, starting at 12lbs. The portability and storage will be so valuable as you emerge from that 4th trimester period and are doing more outside of the house. Candidly speaking a Toddler Tula is huge! A newborn would get lost in there. It’s something to add to your wishlist once your child is tall enough for 2T clothing.