News

By Carol Natukunda

HER maternity leave was tormenting. Each day that passed, Josephine Nalugo,30, wondered what she would do when her baby finally arrived. Would she abandon the baby for the sake of her job or would she resign and breastfeed?

Days went by, the baby came, but even on the last day of her leave, she had not made up her mind. That was way back in 2004.

By Curtis Lum, The Honolulu Advertiser

Having a baby can be a life-changing experience for a woman. For Karin Frost, giving birth to her first child also spawned the start of a life-altering business.

Frost owns Ergo Baby Carrier, which produces a line of baby products — including backpacks, tote bags and diaper bags — all designed by Frost.

She was a 41-year-old first-time mom in 2001 when she felt compelled to develop a baby carrier for her newborn son.

She was disappointed with the baby slings and pouches on the market and wanted one that kept her son as close to her body as possible, while also being comfortable.

Today, Frost's company sells 10,000 to 12,000 Ergo BabyCarriers a month at a base price of $92.

What makes her product different, she said, is that the carrier lets the bulk of the baby's weight sit on the mother's hips. The carrier also is designed so the baby's weight doesn't put much pressure on its spine.

THEBUZZ
Erika Engle

It was an incredible plum for ERGObaby Inc., a small business on Maui.  The company’s baby carriers appeared in Parenting magazine’s 20th anniversary issue, listing 20 products the magazine’s editors were “so glad were invented in the past 20 years.” 

“We were just thrilled,” said ERGObaby Sales Manager Angela Pennette.

Only 20 products made the list and the Maui-born ERGObaby carrier was right up there with potable DVD players, washable markers and the sippy cup.

Babywearing is the practice of wearing or carrying a baby or child in a sling, a wrap or other form of carrier for a substantial part of the day. The constant motion and touch has beneficial effects on the neurological and emotional development of the baby. Babywearing is an instinctive parenting style, as old as parenting itself. In much of the rest of the world, babies are and always have been carried or worn in a sling all day until they could walk. In industrialized western cultures, parents have been conditioned to believe that picking up and holding your child too much would "spoil" the child and discourage independence Modern research reveals quite the opposite: babies who are held and carried all the time and have their need for touch met in their first year do not become clingy and overly dependent. They cry much less and they grow to become happier, more intelligent, more independent, more loving and more social than babies who spend much of their infancy in infant seats, swings, cribs, and all the other plastic baby-holding devices that don't provide babies with human contact. The physical and psychological benefits associated with baby wearing encourage children to feel secure and content and build a solid sense of self-esteem. Babies feel safe when their needs for food, warmth and touch are met; and when they are within close proximity to their trusted parent or care-provider.

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Having a baby can be a life-changing experience for a woman. For Karin Frost, giving birth to her son six years ago also meant the start of a life-altering business.

Frost is the owner of ERGO Baby Carrier Inc., which produces a line of baby products that includes a popular baby carrier that she designed. The company also sells other items, such as back packs, tote bags and diaper bags, all designed by Frost.

The Maui resident was a 41-year-old first-time mom in 2001 when she felt compelled to develop a baby carrier that fit her needs. Frost said she was disappointed with the baby slings and pouches that were on the market and wanted one that kept her son as close to her body as possible, while at the same time being comfortable.

Apparently many other mothers had the same thoughts because once word got out that Frost had designed a carrier that supports the baby as well as the parent, requests started rolling in. Many parents heard of the ERGO Baby through Internet forums and other chat rooms.

By Amy Koslowski

As seen in the: LASplash.com > Babies and Parenting

Baby wearing is back in style!  It never went out of style in some areas of the world, but in westernized society, we tend to vacillate between ancient ways and modern modalities.  Hopefully, in the end, we find balance.  This is certainly the case for me in searching out the right next baby carrier for myself and my 10-month-old daughter.

As Seen in: Daddy*drama 

For the longest time, mommy*drama talked about getting a new baby carrier. Supposedly, the little one had outgrown the Baby Bjorn, not to mention the back pain she gets wearing it. After some shopping, she settled on the ERGO Baby Carrier. Imagine the look on my face when I saw the UPS box. How dare she buy something not previously endorsed by Daddy*drama!

As Seen In: Daily Candy

Your motto, preparenting: Cogito ergo sum. “I think, therefore I am.”
Your motto now: Parentus ergo chiropainus. “I parent, therefore my back really hurts.”
Our advice? Drop the first and last Latin words and revel in an Ergo baby carrier.

We’ve crowned a new winner in the carrier section (sorry, Bjorn) . . .

The Baby Bjorn was our top carrier pick in the last several editions of our book, but we have crowned a new winner this time out: The ERGO baby carrier.