There are lots of stretch wraps out there, and lots of opinions about them, but what are the facts? Here's a comparison of some of the stretch wraps available.
My 4 month old and I tested out a Sleepy Wrap, Moby, Anaju and a Wrapsody Stretch Hybrid. My daughter was about 14.5 lbs when we did the comparison. We tested them all during a 4 day period so she wouldn't be a different age or weight in order to make it a fair comparison. We took before pictures with the wrap on, but without baby, then a photo when I put her in the wrap and one after wearing her for an hour or more. I apologize for the leaning baby. I know it makes it harder to compare her position before and after, but she likes to lean! :) Guess the view must be better that way.
Anaju
Time worn: 1 hour 5 minutes
The Anaju wrap is made out of a bamboo jersey. It is super soft, thin, and light with moderate stretchiness. Noticed only a slight settling of the baby in the wrap over the time worn.
Moby
Time worn: 2 hours
Moby's are a pretty common brand. I have heard many describe the Moby as "saggy", but I found there was no significant sag even after wearing my baby for 2 hours in the Moby. I did realize I had tied it too loose in the first photo and had tied it slightly tighter before putting my baby in the wrap (middle photo). Overall, the Moby was comfortable with only a slight settling of my baby while I wore her.
Sleepy Wrap (now Boba Wrap)
Time worn: 1 hour 5 minutes
First, let me start out by saying that Sleepy Wraps (re-branded Boba Wrap) are VERY stretchy! They are by far the stretchiest stretch wrap I have used. Because of that, I have to wrap super tight when using the Sleepy Wrap. Note how long the tails are even though the Sleepy Wrap is shorter than the Moby and the same length as the Anaju, that will give you a good point of reference for how tightly it is wrapped.
Now, I took 4 photos this time because 20 minutes in, I noticed that my baby was significantly lower in the wrap. So I took a photo so I would be able to see if there would be any further sagging after the initial settling I was noticing. In fact, my baby dropped much lower after an hour had passed. I think I probably could have avoided any sagging if I had wrapped a little tighter, but I had thought it was tight enough.
So if you're using a Sleepy Wrap, make sure you wrap
very tightly. The first time I used one, my baby was only 9 lbs and tiny and she still sagged way down because I didn't have it tight enough. So make sure you wrap tight enough to be secure and safe with the amount of stretch it has.
Wrapsody Stretch Hybrid
Time worn: 1 hour
The Wrapsody is a stretch hybrid and not a true stretch wrap since it only really stretches width wise and not length wise. It's nice and thin, but still supportive. It can be used with much older and heavier babies than a standard stretch wrap can. It can also be used to do a variety of carries, including back carries which are NOT recommended with standard stretch wraps.
How they line up
Because of the varied stretchiness of these wraps, I don't trust my ability to measure accurately and fairly. So instead, I placed these wraps side by side so you can see how the length compares. The Anaju is slightly shorter than the Sleepy Wrap, with the Moby and Wrapsody about the same length.
Width comparison
Like before, I felt the most accurate way to compare the width of the wraps was to stack them. The Wrapsody was the widest with the Anaju and Moby being the same length. The Sleey Wrap was the narrowest of the group.
Weighing your options
I threw all of these wraps on my postal scale to see which was the lightest in weight. Now I am sure the actual weight of a brand of wrap may vary since every wrap may not be cut to the exact same size. But this will give you a good way to compare between brands.
Sleepy Wrap (aka Boba Wrap)- 1 lb 3.2 oz
Anaju - 1 lb 6 oz
Wrapsody Stretch - 1 lb 6 oz
Moby - 1 lb 10.6 oz
Now the Anaju and Wrapsody weighed the same amount, but you also need to consider the amount of fabric. The Wrapsody has significantly more fabric than the Anaju when you consider the fact that it is both wider and longer than the Anaju. So even though the Anaju and Wrapsody weigh the same, the Wrapsody is technically lighter inch for inch. Similarly, the Sleepy Wrap came in as the lightest, but this is not surprising considering it is so much narrower than all the others. So it is not necessarily the lightest wrap overall, in fact, it is one of the heaviest in my opinion.
Thick or thin
There is no good way for me to measure thickness, so I am going to have to resort to describing the feel as best I can. This is very subjective and totally my opinion. I'll list them in the order I think is thinnest to thickest.
Wrapsody: Feels very thin to me, like a very thin, cool t-shirt.
Anaju: Slightly thicker than the Wrapsody, but still thin, light, and breathable like a standard t-shirt or jersey knit sheets.
Moby: Much denser than the previous wraps. Has a tightness in the fibers of the fabric than make it feel heavier and warmer, like a thick t-shirt material.
Sleepy Wrap (aka Boba Wrap): Reminds me of super light stretchy sweatpants. Feels kind of on the thick side, but the stretchiness and looseness of the threads almost makes it feel like it could be airier than the Moby.
My recommendations
After trying these wraps out, there are certain situations where I would recommend one over the other. Here are a couple I thought people might be interested in.
Summer babywearing:
Any of these can be used in summer time, but some are going to be hotter than others. I think Moby would be the hottest, but I also used one of the UV Mobys all summer when my 2nd was a baby and we both did fine. We were hot, but that's unavoidable when it's 90+ degress out and you're in the sun. But I think the Wrapsody Stretch and Anaju would be much better for summer babywearing. The Moby and Sleey Wrap would be hotter than the others, so I would avoid those if possible.
Age & Weight:
Most brands say they can be used up to 18 months, but you are not likely to find an experienced babywearer say that. That being said, they aren't exactly lying. I have a friend that used a Moby until her daughter was well over a year and it worked well enough for them. But you are going to find that stretch wraps are not as supportive as baby grows and becomes more wiggly, so generally we recommend you find another carrier once your baby is older.
So how long would I use these wraps? This is very subjective depending on the weight of your baby and how comfortable you are wearing them in that wrap, but here's my opinion.
Sleepy Wrap (aka Boba Wrap): 2-3 months since it is SO stretchy
Anaju: around 4-6 months, depending on the weight of your baby
Moby: 6 months since they aren't as stretchy as an Anaju or Sleepy Wrap
Wrapsody: easily 12+ months. I'm not sure at what weight I would start to find this wrap less comfortable, but it is definitely supportive enough to use well past a year.
Again, I am not saying that these wraps can not be used past these ages, just that it might not be the ideal carrier after a certain point and I would not
recommend them past that point. I believe most would still be safe to keep using if wrapped correctly, though I do have concerns about the Sleepy Wrap. In my opinion, I think the Sleepy Wrap is too narrow and way too stretchy to be used for 18 months.
Did I leave anything out?! Let me know if you have any questions!
