Dreamgenii Snuggleroo Baby Carrier Review

We asked new mum Catherine Hudson to put the Dreamgenii Snuggleroo Baby Carrier to the test with her daughter Iris, aged five months.

A baby carrier is one of those pieces of baby gear that parents tend to love or loathe. But once you've tried one, it's fairly common to end up wondering how on earth you ever coped without it. Still, working out which is the best baby carrier for you is a bit of a minefield, so we asked Catherine and her daughter to put this one to the test.

From promoting bonding between parent and child to making it possible to send a text or make a sandwich at home whilst keeping your baby close, a baby carrier can be indispensable for new parents. And for babies with colic or reflux, being held upright in a baby carrier can bring some serious relief from symptoms.

When you're out and about, a baby carrier comes into its own. From leaving your hands free to push an older child's buggy while keeping your baby close to popping into the shop or heading off on a muddy walk without a pram slowing you down, the right baby carrier truly can make life easier for new parents.

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Design

Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Weighs: 500g | Age: Birth – 15 kg

The Dreamgenii® SnuggleRoo Baby Carrier is a soft cotton baby carrier that's easy to put on and simple to adjust so you can find the perfect fit.

It's cleverly designed to recreate the tight embrace of the womb so that your baby feels safe and secure in the carrier. It also supports your baby's hips in the correct position - legs apart and knees bent - to promote healthy hip development and prevent Hip Dysplasia.

The Dreamgenii® SnuggleRoo Baby Carrier can be worn in four different ways and is suitable from birth until your baby is around 12 months old.

It's easy to adjust for a comfortable fit, thanks to handy straps and a support band, and it's available in three neutral colours; Light Grey, Charcoal Grey, and Black.

Comfort and features

Our parent tester, Catherine Hudson, admits to being a bit skeptical whenever she comes across a piece of baby gear that's billed as being easy to use. That's understandable - most parents know the pain of falling for that promise, only to find themselves wrestling to fold a fiddly pushchair in the rain. We've all got stories like that, so we can see Catherine felt suspicious when she read that very promise whilst unboxing the DreamGenii SnuggleRoo Carrier.

"I admit, I procrastinated massively over trying it out at first, because swathes of sling fabric with no real end or direction have always made me a bit nervy," she says. "But the SnuggleRoo takes the guesswork out of using it, thanks to two adjustable straps at the back that help you to position and secure it."

That said, Catherine still found herself turning to YouTube - and that was after reading the instructions - for guidance on how to put this carrier on. "The instructions advise putting it on like a T-shirt, but it is essentially two pieces of fabric crossed over, so that didn't massively help me," she says. "I solved the confusion - baby brain going on here, for sure - by taking the carrier along to a baby group and getting a sling devotee to show me how to put it on."

That worked - kind of. "For babies under six months of age, you carry the baby facing into your chest, which I did manage but not single-handedly and not without ever really knowing for sure that I hadn't given her a wedgie," adds Catherine. "You put one leg through one side, creating a 'seat' from the fabric for the baby's bottom, then the other leg through the other side. Sounds fab, in theory, but in practice, I wasn't really convinced I had it quite right."

The Dreamgenii® SnuggleRoo Baby Carrier is a very particular type of baby carrier - more like a wrap-style sling that you use to wrap your baby onto your body than the type of structured carrier that our tester feels more comfortable and confident using.

That said, for parents who love the idea of babywearing using a soft carrier but like the ease and security of easy-to-adjust straps, the Dreamgenii® SnuggleRoo Baby Carrier is a pretty dreamy option. Whether it's the best baby carrier for you, therefore, comes down to which type of baby carrier you feel more comfortable using.

Value for money

The Dreamgenii® SnuggleRoo Baby Carrier is seriously affordable. For our tester, it didn't offer the longevity that she's looking for in a carrier - and would be willing to pay extra for. But it's a brilliant value buy if you want to try out a soft baby carrier without spending lots of money.

Our tester didn't manage didn't fall in love with the Dreamgenii® SnuggleRoo Baby Carrier but she's certain that some parents definitely will. "I think there are three types of parent when it comes to transporting a baby - those that prefer prams or pushchairs to a carrier, those that like the robustness of a structured baby carrier, and those that prefer soft slings or wrap-style carriers for gently carrying your baby close," explains Catherine. "I think the latter - people who are all in for slings - would rate the Dreamgenii® SnuggleRoo Baby Carrier as a top choice, due to the added bonus of how easily adjustable it is and the secure fastening method compared to slings that you have to tie around your body."

Overall, our tester would recommend the Dreamgenii® SnuggleRoo Baby Carrier as an option for a newborn, but she found it less practical to use beyond three months. "I really had to battle to even get her in the carrier by then, and she was so alert that she didn't want to be cocooned," says Catherine.

How will you know if it's right for you? "If you love a sling, I think you would probably enjoy this carrier," Catherine says. "I have always been bamboozled by jersey slings, so perhaps my brain isn't hardwired to make the most of them, but I do see that it had the potential to be very useful when Iris was a newborn. It would have kept her very cosily cocooned, with no hard edges or buckles to get in the way. This carrier would also have made it easier for me to sit down while carrying Iris - something I never managed comfortably with other types of baby carriers."