Boba X Tips & Tricks

Boba X Tips & Tricks

The Boba X is the newest addition to our collection of carriers! It features an adjustable seat and panel, padded waistband and shoulder straps with PFA's (perfect fit adjusters). It also comes with a detachable hood and added toddler extensions! 

It is designed to keep your baby close to your chest in a natural ergonomic position - upright with their spine curved gently into the natural fetal tuck position (also known as the spread squat position or the M position) with their knees at hip level or higher.

The facing in, “tummy to tummy”, position keeps the baby as close to your center of gravity as possible so their weight is distributed evenly around your body as baby curls in, rather than you needing to lean back to compensate for the baby’s weights if carried facing out.

That means babies themselves play a significant part in being carried!

The spread squat oriented towards the parent position allows good airflow, spine and hip support and is also a safe position for babies to sleep, not to mention a common favorite place to nap with their little head resting on your chest surrounded by the familiar smell and sound of your heartbeat.

Apart from the calmest slumber, babies benefit from being carried facing their parent in a myriad of other ways - in addition to being nourished physically and psychologically, babies who are held often are nourished by a whole sensory world that moving through the day with their mother provides.

When your baby is carried, calm and alert, she is in the optimum state for observing and processing her surroundings. When she experiences something in her field of vision and is able to turn to you to see your response, with you as her reference point, she gets optimal tactile, visual and auditory stimulation and gets to learn about the world from a safe space.

Tips

The Boba X’s adjustability enables optimal positioning from birth to toddlerhood and beyond - supporting them gently from the knee pits up to the back of the head.

1. Optimal Support for Optimal Comfort

The Boba X’s adjustability enables optimal positioning from birth to toddlerhood and beyond - supporting them gently from the knee pits up to the back of the head and enables you to wear your baby without an infant insert, but rather with an adjustable seat!

Look for the velcro on the inside of the waistband under the fabric and pull the sides of the panel as close to the center of the panel as needed so your baby is supported from knee to knee and attach it with a flat press of your hand. Adjust the seat width as your baby grows for optimal support and comfort! Simple as that!

Adjusting to a brand new babe:

This is what a comfy ride for a toddler looks like ...

The Boba X also features an adjustable panel! The hood pocket is a good reference point for adjusting the height of the panel when wearing a small baby that doesn’t have sufficient head control yet - just shorten the panel so the hood pocket is at the back of the baby’s neck (with the hood rolled in).

If your baby is already older and has no need for extra head support, you can shorten the panel so it reaches up to the back of their neck or up to the armpits when wearing a toddler who likes to have their arms out.

2. Troubleshooting the Waist Belt

For optimal comfort and even weight distribution position the waistband and sufficiently tighten so the carrier sits firmly on your hips (imagine how one might carry a hiking backpack) as opposed to the weight being distributed only on the shoulder straps with loose waistband resulting in shoulder and back pain.

The exact position of the waistband will depend on the size of your baby - the top of their head should always be close enough to kiss. This means you’ll wear the waistband quite high when your baby is small and move it further down your body as your they grow bigger!

For even weight distribution aim to buckle the waistband so it sits parallel to the floor rather than tipping forwards to be lower at the front!

Incorrect vs. correct waistband positioning

3. Troubleshooting the Shoulder Straps

Did you know that Boba X features a two way buckle, that makes it super easy to tighten and release no matter if you’re wearing your baby in front or on your back!

We also added the PFAs to our straps so there is a right fit for every body! See more info on the PFAs below!

Our Boba X straps also feature a chest strap that is attached on sliders make it super easy to adjust even as you’re wearing your baby!

The height of the chest strap will depend on how broad your shoulders are, whether you might be breastfeeding, where on your back you might need the most support, so we do advise you to play with the height of the chest strap - a few inches can go the extra mile!

How to reach the strap if you’re not a gymnast or don’t have an extra pair of hands available ...

4. Get it right EVERY time!

Once you’ve set your waistband where you want it to be, take your time to position your baby well before putting on the straps - it will make it much easier to have the carrier fit just right later without a lot of adjusting with your baby already in!

  • Hold your baby close to your chest.
  • Have them in the ergonomic position over the waistband.
  • When they’re in the correct position, hold them with one arm and reach underneath the panel of the carrier with the other.
  • Smooth it over their back before putting on one shoulder strap at a time.
  • Encourage the pelvic tuck by holding your baby’s calves and gently pushing them upwards so their knees are at hip level or higher and their pelvis tilts slightly creating a natural curve in their spine.

Instigating a pelvic tuck ensures your baby’s weight is resting distributed evenly in the carrier seat. It encourages their spine to curve gently and will allow them to actively contribute to being carried, making babywearing much easier and more comfortable for both of you!

Tricks

When your baby naps in the carrier make sure they stay visible and kissable - close enough to kiss, that their airway is open and that the nose and mouth aren’t obstructed.

1. Hood

The Boba X features a super practical hood pocket that will also double as additional head support for small babies that haven’t mastered great head control yet! Just roll it up and stuff it in the pocket!

Bonus tip: This is also a great reference point when shortening the panel for a small baby - the hood pocket should be located at the back of your baby’s neck.

You can also remove the hood if needed or attach it anytime for additional head support for sleeping toddlers, weather protection or more breastfeeding privacy!

2. PFA's

Petite mamas, this one is for you!

Have you ever felt you needed to tighten the straps of your other carriers just a little bit more? We listened and added the perfect fit adjusters to our Boba X straps and these few cm/inches really make a world of difference!

By tightening the PFAs you bring the padded part of your Boba X straps closer to the panel of the carrier for better weight distribution and much more comfortable ride!

On your Boba X you can adjust the length of the straps with a double adjustable buckle AND the PFAs meaning there is a right fit for every body. We found that a good reference point is aiming to have the purse strap on top of your shoulder and go from there.

3. Feeding on the go!

We all know breast is best - but it’s not always the most convenient - remember those hours spent stuck on the couch for cluster feeds? Or when they’ve just dozed off in your arm, but will definitely wake if you put them down and there goes your hour of silence?

Learning to feed in your Boba X is much easier than is may seem, thanks to our quick release breastfeeding buckle and infinite adjustability!

We have a whole article with tips on what to wear, breastfeeding holds and many more here!

4. Purse Strap

That little extra thoughtful touch that you didn’t know would make your life so much easier!

Buckle your purse, bag or backpack and grab your kids hand or your coffee cup, push the swing (or stroller if you need to), hold your umbrella or walk your pup, you’re hands are free!

It’s also a great reference point when adjusting the length of your straps - you want the purse strap to sit on top of your shoulders.

5. Crossing the Straps

Did you know you can even cross the straps on your Boba X? Some wearers find that it helps distribute baby’s weight more evenly across their back!

The most common trouble with crossed straps is the straps digging into your neck. If that is the case, simply pull each strap vertically down your back before clipping it into the buckle. 

Before tightening, move the straps further out on your shoulder and make sure the cross is in the middle of your back. Voila!

6. Folding the Boba X

We know your Boba is in continuous use, but just in case you ever need to pack it - there is a super easy and neat way to do it!

That’s an in depth view of just some of the features of the carrier, but if you have any questions about any of our carriers, we’d be happy to answer them! We even offer free fit checks and access to our FB group where we offer a ton of info and support!

Join us here!