Preface by Tami Grosset
We recently were gifted a couple of 'Size It's by our friends at Manduca.
I asked some of our Manduca fans in OBG to try the Size It out and give it a review. Carmen took the challenge and here are her thoughts! Thanks Carmen, for taking the time to do this for us!
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Out of the package, the visual instructions for the Size-It are quite simple and easy to follow. The padded section goes within the elastic loops that hold the integrated infant insert in the inside of the carrier. You clip the buckle around the outside of the carrier, place your baby in the Manduca and tighten each side while having your other hand on baby's bottom. The package states that the Size-It can be used with or without the integrated infant insert. The function of the accessory is to cinch the width of the seat so the "M" or froggy position can be maintained during the in-between phase when the baby is too big for the infant insert but too small to use the Manduca without the insert. For babies that are cloth diapered or those wearing winter gear outside of your jacket, this can happen fairly early.
My baby is 4 months old, 14 lb and has a long torso and short chubby legs. We have been using the Manduca with the integrated infant insert since 1-2 weeks of age with the Manduca unzipped. She is cloth diapered so recently the infant insert has become too tight when an extra layer of winter clothing is worn. As a temporary fix, I've been putting a warm hoodie and fleece pants on her during our winter walks, under my babywearing jacket.
As you can see from the photos, an "M" position can be maintained when the following are used: the integrated infant insert (photo #1), my unpatented Scarf-It (photo #3), the Size-It (photo #4) and a shoe lace (photo #5). In contrast, when the Manduca used on its own (photo #2), you can see that her legs are splayed slightly outwards due to the width of the seat.
Overall, I didn't notice a difference in comfort when the different accessories were used with the Manduca. Although it is a neat accessory for a great SSC, I wouldn't purchase it since a similar function can be achieved with a scarf, shoe lace or hair scrunchie. If the Size-It was included with the SSC as a package, I would definitely use it.
Hello, thanks for your honest review. I am wondering about using the scarf or shoe lace to accomplish the same thing as the Size It. Would you say one is better than the other? My mind tells me he scarf might be more comfy, because it's more padding? My little one is only six weeks old but in cloth nappies, so his bum is huge and I think this puts him into this awkward in-between stage - too small without the insert and too much bulk with it. Also, the baby insert is so fiddly and takes me ages to set up, so anything that's quicker would be awesome.
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