i-angel Miracle Hipseat and Baby Carrier

Suitable from 10 to 44 pounds—about one month to three years—the i-angel Miracle Hipseat and Baby Carrier offers tons of versatility for babywearing, and it's really comfortable, too. This chic carrier has four basic configurations—baby carrier (narrow leg), baby carrier (wide leg), hipseat carrier and hipseat—and each of these can be worn in multiple ways, with options for front, back and a side carry with the hipseat alone. The hipseat is where this carrier differs from a lot of other soft structured baby carriers. It's essentially a seat support for your child that attaches to the waist belt. While the hipseat isn't hands-free on its own, when it's combined with the carrier, it adds extra support for your baby's hips. 

BABY SAFETY 

One of the key rules of safe babywearing is your little one needs to be visible and kissable: Your baby's head should be around the top of the carrier, with their nose and chin clear of fabric or your body to ensure proper airflow. We found that this carrier offers good support for baby's head and neck without excess fabric that can limit airflow. Hip dysplasia is another concern with babywearing, but the i-angel Miracle has a narrow (six inches) and wider (15 inches) seat width so that the carrier can grow with your baby, preventing your little one's legs from dangling, which provides better support for the hips.

BABY’S COMFORT

Our parent testers' babies were nice and snug in the i-angel Miracle Hipseat and Baby Carrier, but they could still move their head, arms and legs freely. The carrier's durable, breathable fabric coupled with a mesh ventilation panel kept little ones from getting overheated, and soft fabric is gentle against baby's skin.

PARENT’S COMFORT

As your little one grows, the support and comfort of your carrier is going to become more and more critical. The i-angel Miracle’s shoulder straps have ample padding, and the waist belt provides good support. None of our parent testers experienced any discomfort in their upper or lower back while using the carrier; they felt their child’s weight was evenly distributed across their shoulders and that the waist belt reduced strain on the shoulders and sat well against their bodies (no baby carrier bulge thanks to the belt's four-inch width). The hipseat can be worn with the carrier, below baby's bottom (against the wearer's stomach) to further reduce pressure. Tip: Make sure that the hipseat is worn around your waist, not pelvis, and that it’s not too loose when your baby is seated—otherwise, it can tilt inward, causing uncomfortable pressure on your pelvis.

EASE OF USE

Setting up the i-angel Miracle was pretty simple for both our editors and parent testers. The manual is light on instruction, but diagrams are coloured and clearly labelled so there’s no guesswork in terms of what goes where. There aren't any instructions for setting up the hipseat carrier, but it's pretty intuitive—a little velcro here, a zipper there and you're set. The multiple seating positions are organized by your little one's age, so determining what position is safe for your baby is a breeze.

The i-angel Miracle Hipseat and Baby Carrier has sturdy snap buttons, heavy duty buckles that don’t pinch and a wide velcro strap that made our parents feel it was extra secure. It takes two to get a good fit, however, as the buckle straps are located in the back and are hard to tighten if you don’t have a lot of shoulder flexibility. What’s super handy are thick elastics at the end of each strap: roll up the loose ends and you can secure then out of our way in a flash. And one nice feature is the zippers on the front of the carrier can be locked simply by pushing inward until they click into place.

A bit more detail in the manual on how to place baby in the carrier would be welcome for new parents. It's easiest and safest to place baby in the carrier while sitting on a couch: loosen one of the shoulder straps or take one off altogether to slide baby in. For the back carry, our testers felt that placing baby in the carrier was a two-person job.

CLEANING

This carrier isn't machine-washable, unfortunately. Machine washing may damage the buckles, which would compromise the safety of this carrier. It can also affect the colour of the fabric: i-angel doesn't chemically treat their fabrics, so they're less colour stable. The i-angel Miracle should be hand-washed in cold water with a mild detergent and laid to dry in a shaded area. You can also spot-clean stains with a wet towel; i-angel recommends removing the foam insert before getting started.

VALUE

While the i-angel Miracle Hipseat and Baby Carrier is on the high end of price points for soft structured baby carriers, it has a lot to offer, and all of our parent testers feel that the comfort of the carrier, quality of the materials, and all of its features—big and small—add a lot of value. The hipseat and wide velcro waist belt provide great support, and the ventilation plus other little features—like the elastic strap holders, easy-access side pockets, sleeping hood and teething pads—make it worth the splurge if you can swing it.

FINAL WORD

Our editors and parent testers were all impressed with the i-angel Miracle Hipseat and Baby Carrier. It offers good comfort and support for both baby and wearer, with lots of smart features—all in sophisticated fabrics. Our parent testers were very satisfied with this carrier and hipseat, rating the ease of use, quality and value as good or very good. They wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to other parents and they unanimously feel it's worthy of the Today's Parent Approved seal. And the true sign of a great product: Our parent testers have made the i-angel Miracle their go-to carrier when they're babywearing.