Can we talk? Here's where I discuss random topics, dish some dirt, and answer your questions. BTW, any products recommended are products that I bought myself, not freebies sent in exchange for a positive review.
What about the Beco Butterfly?
Mary Beth asked:
I see you now have a Butterfly for sale! Can you tell us the difference between the 4th Gen and the butterfly?
Hi Mary Beth,
I don't actually have a Beco Butterfly Baby Carrier for sale, those won't be out until early January at best. I do have Beco 4th Generation Baby Carriers in the print "Cocoa Butterfly" for sale here. Not too many left, but some. I can see how this is confusing. ;-)
To answer your question about the difference between the current Beco 4th Generation carrier and the new Beco Butterfly carrier, here goes.
I've written before about Ergo's nasty little habit of threatening everyone and their mother with a lawsuit (including me, I got a letter from an Ergo attorney over my online use of the term "fools" to describe them, among other things).
Well, it looks like Ergo might now get a patent for certain aspects of their baby carrier. To celebrate, they are hassling all makers of soft structured baby carriers and demanding that they stop making anything even remotely similar. Never mind that Ergo has stolen features from other carriers themselves (an Ergo is basically a reconfigured Baby Trekker), they were the first to file for a patent, so they are looking to crowd out everyone else out of the market by playing the heavy.
What does this have to do with anything? Well, the Beco 4th Generation carrier is similar to the Ergo carrier in basic structure. You know, like a Volkswagen is similar to a Ford. Come on, they both have four wheels and a steering wheel and an engine. They're practically IDENTICAL, right?
Never mind that the two carriers feel quite different, and fit a whole different set of body types. Ergo is claiming that the 4th Generation is infringing on their patent...you know, the one they don't have yet.
So...Beco will no longer produce the 4th Generation carrier. It will be discontinued at the end of the year. If you want one, better get it now.
Instead, Gabby at Beco has come up with a brand new design called the Butterfly. I am not allowed to say much about it, so I'll be brief.
The new Butterfly model is a fairly drastic change from the current 4th Generation Beco. It has an inner layer of fabric that the baby is buckled into, the baby can then be put on either your front or back. Back carries become much easier, since you can basically put the baby and carrier on as a single unit, like a backpack.
For experienced babywearers, there are a few extra steps (buckling baby in on both sides, *then* putting the carrier on and securing it), so if you already know how to do back carries well, this might be a frustrating carrier for you.
But if you are nervous about putting your baby on your back by yourself, or if you are new to babywearing in general, it's a great solution.
I'll be carrying the Butterfly in all four available prints as soon as it comes out.
Meanwhile, if you really like the current Beco 4th Generation, the Nana's Jetpak is quite similar. I am expecting a shipment of those to arrive in dyeable fabric any day now.
The Pikkolo from CatBird Baby is actually my new favorite carrier. I am getting a shipment of those in December. Right now I only have a very few, but they are sweet. Super durable, great design details. They need to be washed before wearing, as they are quite stiff to start out with, but once broken in....amazing. More details to come...stay tuned!Labels: Beco, Butterfly
New developments
Lots of changes here recently at The Portable Baby. I'll dish the dirt on them a bit, don't want to keep you all in the dark.
1) I am no longer an Ergo distributor. I donated a dyed Pomegranate Ergo to Attachment Parenting International's fundraising auction, someone at Ergo saw it, and my wholesale account was terminated. Ergo does not allow alteration of their products, period, no matter how attractive the alteration, no way, no how. This was not the first incident in which the management of Ergo have shown their nasty side. They regularly harrass their distributors, and other small carrier manufacturers. Such nice people. NOT.
 If I didn't have Ergo's legal team breathing down my neck and sending me nastygrams, I'd say that they are fools and need to either go to business school or else learn to think out of the box a bit. Maybe take management lessons from Crocs, a company that understands that customization can be win-win for everyone. Especially something like color...it's not like I'm tearing the carriers apart and re-stitching them, or altering anything structurally important. The dyed carriers just look prettier than the standard colors offered by Ergo.
Overall, things have turned out fine. I had gotten a bit lax about investigating and trying different carriers, so this was a good reason to start exploring the latest and greatest out there.
I bought a Beco Baby Carrier a few months ago, just to see what everyone was raving about. Well, I LOVE it, even more than I loved any of my Ergos. So I have placed a big order for lots of different Becos in both solids and prints, and am looking forward to receiving them and spreading the Beco love amongst all of you.
I will also be carrying the Patapum Toddler Carrier as a lower-priced alternative. This is another great carrier. It's not as fancy as the Beco, but costs about $40 less. I have asked Patapum about dyeing and customizing their carriers (which only come in black, navy and khaki) and they said "No problem!" so I will be able to offer you alternate color possibilities.
Keep your eye on the Baby Carrier page for upcoming developments.Labels: baby carrier, Beco, Ergo
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