It has been taught forever and the day that the key to a good rucksack carry was (is?) getting a good seat. Since the rucksack is a one layer carry worn on the back, the reasons behind this seemed logical and gave most new back wearers and veterans alike the peace of mind that baby was secure on their back where the wearer had no eyes to constantly monitor baby’s position. The mindset of the hive mind was that getting a good seat also prevented seat popping which was one of the drawbacks to this back carry, especially if one had a wearee that liked to fidget or leg straighten.
There has been much variance and evolution of the rucksack carry over the years that has formed from different schools of babywearing teachings, hobbyist’s geekery and educator’s real life practice of testing the carry with their clients and subsequently breaking down the carrier with new techniques to work for that individual. All carries, including the rucksack carry have their own fundamental steps and final carry but the process of execution and end visual can vary slightly. The process of getting a good seat and what a good seat actually looks like is still much up for debate – in fact the new teachings indicate a seat is actually not required at all!
You might have heard about the importance of getting a “M” seat where the knees are higher than the bum. This “M” seat is an ideal position for baby to be in as it reflects their natural spine and hip position when carrying them in arms or on your back without a carrier. However, it seems that this “M” position was integrated with the definition of what a seat is over the years and consequently this could look very different depending on many variables. Consequently, this has resulted in a lot of confusion of how a good seat should look and how to do it.
These variables included how high the baby was positioned on the back, the size of baby, the size and shape of the wearer and what process the wearer used when executing the ruck carry. Some people tucked the fabric of the wrap up high between them and their baby with a visual of baby sitting in a deep hammock; some just shimmied a bit of the fabric between baby’s legs so that the fabric running knee to knee stayed put with the M position clearly pronounced and to more recently, allowing the fabric to just drape across baby at the bottom (not tucking or shimmying fabric between wearer and wearee) and then later pinned but not tucked in any way with baby in a position similar to sitting on a chair.
So which technique is the best one or is the “right” one?
Upon much thought and practice with this carry, interviewing educators and everyday wearers, we feel like there is no “best” technique except the technique that feels the best for you. We often find when teaching a carry that the wearer will take the foundations of what we teach and tweak it to their personal tastes. We can touch upon the pros and cons to each method but what we strongly recommend is trying out the different techniques and seeing which one feels the most comfortable for you and your child. With all this being said, it is crucial that whatever technique you decide to employ in your ruck process, please ensure you follow ALL safety recommendations by the manufacturer and use your common sense. Safety is the most important. Refining technique comes second 🙂
Making a Deep Hammock Style Seat in a Rucksack Carry
Pros
- Baby is less likely to pop the seat when in a deep seat
- Can secure a fidgety child or a child that has a tendency for leg straightening
Cons
- Can be time consuming to get that “seat”
- Is an additional step in the ruck process and can be intimidating for new back wrappers
- Can be difficult to execute with a fidgety child or a child that has a tendency for leg straightening
- Probably not as comfortable for “most” children
- Usually baby is leaning back or is lower when in a deep seat which also results in the top rail from wearer to wearee in a dipped or “U” position which is not the most ergonomic
- Some children feel more restricted in a deep seat as their mobility and flexibility is limited
- Tendency for more slack in this type of seat which can result in pressure points for the wearer, re-adjusting and a lower all around comfort level
Making a Moderate “M” Seat in a Rucksack Carry
Pros
- Baby is less likely to pop the seat as knees are higher than bum
- Can secure a fidgety child or a child that has a tendency for leg straightening
- Baby is in an ergonomic position
- Baby is usually higher and therefore can view the world at your level which has many positive aspects on their development
- Usually the top rail from wearer to wearee is a straight parallel line which tends to be the most comfortable for both baby and wearer
- Is the traditional method used for many years and taught by many babywearing schools
- Minimal “seat popping”
Cons
- Can be time consuming to get that “seat”
- Is an additional step in the ruck process and can be intimidating for new back wrappers
- Can be difficult to execute with a fidgety child or a child that has a tendency for leg straightening
- Tendency for some slack in this type of seat which can result in pressure points for the wearer and re-adjusting since there is afterall some fabric shimmed up between baby’s legs which with gravity and time can loosen and cause slack
Some popular videos!
Seatless Rucksack Carry
Pros
- Very quick
- Eliminates a step that is in the other two more traditional methods and therefore is a good method for new back wearers and wearers who have fidgety babies
- By holding the bottom rail and middle of the wrap at all times, it eliminates the bottom portion of the wrap from moving or riding upwards especially with fidgety babies or leg straighteners
- Is less restrictive for leg straighteners
- Baby is usually higher and therefore can view the world at your level which has many positive aspects on their development
- Many wearer’s report that they find less adjusting and higher comfort levels with this method
- Less seat poppage as the tails are being used to pin the bottom and middle of the pocket
- Baby has more flexibility with their legs
- Minimal “seat popping”. Even though this method is called the seatless, there is still a seat to some extent but not the “traditional” seat. Think of baby sitting in a chair versus a hammock.
Cons
- Usually the top rail from wearer to wearee is a sloping upwards instead of parallel which could result in some slack as baby settles over time and with gravity taking place
- Some wearers feel baby is too high
- Some wearers feel that this carry is not the most ideally ergonomic
Check out the slide show by clicking on the first image and scrolling through!
An informative video!
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