The Mothercare Two Way Carrier served our family well.

There are a whole range of baby carriers on the market from slings to two way carriers to three way carriers of many different makes and price ranges.

My husband and I knew a baby carrier would be essential for our newborn baby as we like to get out and about and go for walks.

We bought the carrier at the same time as a whole host of other babies goodies so we were keen to keep the price tag low to prevent heart failure on getting to the checkout.
Therefore we decided to take a gamble and buy Mothercare's own baby carrier as opposed to the other more expensive makes.

We chose the two way carrier because it allowed you to carry the baby on your front facing towards you and facing outwards and that was all we needed. A three way carrier also allows you to carry the baby on your back.

Scrimping on the amount we spent on the carrier actually paid off because it was by no means deficient in quality or comfortableness or durability.

It lasted us until our daughter was six months old and we had to then move onto one of those large hiking type backpack-style carriers simply because she was getting too big and heavy.

This particular carrier is designed for babies up to six months so we were spot on there in our decision it was no longer usable and the weight limit is around 8kilos.

Many mothers of newborns choose to wear their babies in slings but I was concerned about how well supported the baby would be in one of those. At the same time I wanted the closeness of having my baby held right next to me and I found the Mothercare carrier was by no means deficient in this. I could put my daughter in the carrier facing me and have good eye contact with her while she benefited from the warmth of being snuggled up close to me. At a young age she would very quickly fall asleep in the carrier with the motion of my walking and not only did I carry her in it on walks but also around the supermarket as she seemed much happier in this than her car
seat strapped to the trolley or in her pushchair and it was also good when I knew I was going to go into shops in town with quite a few steps, enabling me to leave the pram at home.

As my daughter grew my husband tended to take over the carrying and at about four months we turned her round so she was facing outwards and she got a lot out of being able to look around.
It was only as she turned five months that the strain of her weight on my husband's front carrying her over long distances became too much and we realised we would have to buy a new carrier soon.

I found it quite uncomfortable wearing the carrier by this point as she was simply too heavy. Also her weight started to drag the whole carrier forwards so she ended up almost looking down at the floor as we went along rather than straight ahead and when she fell asleep the carrier just didn't give her any support and her head would be lolling right forward.

The carrier was difficult to put on when we first got it and it took a few times looking in the mirror to work out which buckle went where. There are four buckles to fit. Two at the top to keep your baby's head in place and two in line with the top of the baby's legs to help form the
seat that the baby sits in. But once you have the straps properly adjusted and you get used to putting your baby in and making sure they are secure it becomes quite a simple process.

We bought the carrier for around £30 and it has not shown any signs of wear and tear.
I would advise any new parents to buy this Mothercare version of a baby carrier but just bare in mind - and I would say this is the case with all of them no matter the price tag - there will come a time when your baby simply outgrows it and you will have to invest in a new, heavy duty one.