How many times have you wished for an extra set of hands since the baby was born? I know I have—countless times. But I will admit to rolling my eyes whenever I read or heard about women “wearing” their babies and how it promoted a sense of security for their children (and a built in privacy factor for public breastfeeding) and even fostered greater independence as the children grew. Wouldn’t it instead foster a needy, clingy, whiny children who never wanted to be put down?

Why would I intentionally sign up for that?

But my curiosity won out, especially when plenty of friends whose opinions I respected jumped on the baby-wearing band-wagon, so I broke down and ordered the most economical baby-wrap I could find: Moby Wrap. For only $34.95, I would be able to carry my baby close to me in a variety of positions, be free to choose if I wanted to leave the stroller home when I went out for the afternoon, and enjoy the giddy sensation of being hands-free. If it worked, wonderful. If not, there was always eBay, right?

As doubtful as I was, I will admit to being hooked the first time I tried it after my little Buttercup was born in June of this year. Due to maternal high-blood pressure, I was induced almost 2 weeks early and I firmly believe that Buttercup needed a little extra TLC the first few weeks because she had been evicted before she was ready to check-out of the Mommy Hotel on her own.

Buttercup spent hours at a time in the Moby in the newborn hug hold, and I just smiled politely and ignored comments from family and friends when they told me I was going to regret wearing my baby. I knew they were wrong.

Sure, she needed to be held constantly as a newborn, but I have yet to meet a newborn who has not. And as she grew, she also began showing the very signs of independence I had read about. When she was a newborn I couldn’t put her down for five minutes, but at 5 weeks of age I could place her in her bassinet and she would stare gleefully at the ceiling fan. I loved the Moby. And the convenience of just throwing it in with the regular laundry only reaffirmed it’s place as my favorite and most convenient baby product.

I’ll admit it is a bit difficult to figure out at first, but it comes with easy to follow instructions. If you practice with a doll or stuffed animal before trying it with your baby you’ll be good to go in no time. With a little more practice, it will be a breeze to shift the baby’s position and breastfeed on the go. This nifty (and comfortable) device comes in 13 colors, but I’d recommend the organic cotton in Natural. At $69.95 it makes it easy to camouflage spit-up, matches everything, and is made of environmentally-friendly fabric. Other bonuses include the long life expectancy of the Moby Wraps, which you can use comfortably from birth until about 35 pounds.

Even cuter (and smarter) is the Mini-Moby for ages 3-6. For only $14.95, you can give your older child a sense of “being like Mommy” while helping them transition to the role of big brother or sister. And since your toddler will be used to seeing you leave your Moby on all day, you can breath easy that you won’t be wrapping and unwrapping your toddler throughout the day.

Additional options for a little more style include the silk brocade and fleece options available with the Moby-D for $54.95. Oh, and you might as well just buy two Moby Wraps now. That way, you have one to wash and one to wear. I know I wish I had thought that far ahead!