Baby Carriers
Buy and sell baby carriers in Guatemala.
Long before buckled carriers reached the shops, babies in Guatemala rode on their mothers’ backs in a perraje, and cloth from local looms still turns up sewn into wraps and ring slings next to the padded carriers. New or pre-owned, a carrier usually changes hands with plenty of life left in it: a baby outgrows the newborn wrap within months, and the buckled carrier goes in a cupboard once the child would rather walk. Either way, the things to settle before you pay are the weight it is made for, whether the label is still sewn in, and whether every seam that takes the load is sound.
Wraps, ring slings and buckled carriers:
three ways of holding a baby, each suited to different months. A stretchy wrap is a long piece of jersey, soft enough for the first weeks, that starts to sag once the baby gets heavy. A woven wrap does the same job in cloth that does not stretch, so it carries a toddler as well as a newborn, at the cost of learning the ties. A ring sling goes over one shoulder and tightens through a pair of rings, the quickest for a baby who wants up and down all day. Buckled carriers have a waistband, padded straps and an adjustable seat panel, and they are the easiest to pass from one parent to the other. Listing titles often use one loose word for any of these, so go by the photos rather than the title.
A carrier for Retalhuleu heat or a Huehuetenango morning:
where you carry matters more than the brochure. A jersey wrap goes round the baby in several layers and a padded buckled carrier presses two warm bodies together, which is pleasant in the highlands and hard going on the Pacific coast or in Petén. For the lowlands, look for a mesh panel, or for the single layer of cotton or linen a ring sling gives you. Then check the weight range on the label against your baby, and look for a seat panel that widens as the baby grows. A carrier is for the places where a stroller gets in the way, and with the baby on your front, your back is free for a diaper bag.
A stretchy wrap or a buckled carrier, and what each is worth used:
a plain stretchy wrap costs around Q300 new and a basic buckled carrier around Q650 to Q750, with the big-name ergonomic carriers well above that. A buckled carrier from a known maker, with its label intact, keeps a good part of its price, because the structure barely wears in the year or two one baby uses it. A stretchy wrap loses its spring with washing and use, so a well-used one is not much more than a length of jersey. Woven wraps run the other way: they soften with use, and plenty of parents would rather have one that is already broken in.
Buckles, bar tacks and rings on a second-hand carrier:
look wherever the weight is carried. On a buckled carrier, find the dense zigzag stitching where each strap joins the body and check for broken threads, click every buckle shut and pull hard on it, and make sure the webbing is neither frayed nor stiff. The label with the model and manufacture date should still be sewn in, so you can check for a recall. Hold a wrap up to the light for thin patches, pulled threads and mildew spots. On a ring sling, the rings should be smooth, with no weld seam, and the join where the fabric is sewn around them should be stitched several rows deep. A sling sewn from market cloth can be beautiful, but loose rings and home stitching have been tested by nobody except you. Be wary of a big-name carrier priced far below the rest: copies circulate, and thin webbing, a vague label and loose stitching give them away.
A carrier your toddler has outgrown, ready for its next family:
photograph the label, each buckle, the strap joins and the inside of the seat panel, where wear shows first. Give the weight range, say whether a newborn insert or a hood comes with it, and how it has been washed. For a wrap, give the length and the fabric, and if it was woven by hand, say where: buyers look for that. A parent coming in from Sololá to collect it will want to try it on with their own baby before paying, so allow time for a fitting and bring the instructions. Most carriers have a knack to them, and showing it is part of the sale.