I received this item and monetary compensation in exchange for my review. All opinions remain my own.
Before I became the #TryAllTheBabyGear blogger that I am today, we went to a resort in Mexico with a 6-month-old Cub. I didn’t even know that there was such a thing as a baby carrier for the water, but boy do I wish I had! Here we are, in 2013, about as far into the pool as we ever got:
Our hotel room only had a large shower stall, so it was awkward to bathe Cub. The best beach for swimming was a decent trek over marsh and sand, and my buckle carrier got soaked every time we made the journey. If I had a DeLorean, I’d go back to that blissful vacation and pack my ByKay AQUACarrier.
The AQUACarrier is a wrap-style carrier made of a fine gauge knit, 100% polyester fabric. It absorbs very little water, wicks away moisture and sweat, offers over 90% UV protection and dries quickly. It can be used, provided you are both comfortable, from newborn to toddler. The current safety rating is for children up to 20 lbs.
Sadly, there is no vacation down south anywhere on the horizon, and big brother’s loathing of pools means I haven’t brought his sister to the pool yet since I can’t exactly just leave him alone in the observation area. I’m looking forward to the water park this summer and to hitting the pool when Papa Wolf is free to wrangle his water-averse son while I splash with Little Miss Cub.
It’s been unseasonably hot in Calgary (last week we hit 28•C), so I at least got to pretend we were going to the beach and try out our AQUACarrier. It was easy to put on (even if it’s your first time with a wrap) and very comfortable for the both of us.
I figured I would at least give it a try in the shower. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not so enamoured of my children that I feel I cannot even be without them in the shower. However, at a public pool, in a hotel without a bathtub or once in a while for fun, it’s handy to be able to wear Little Miss in the bathroom. I wasn’t sure if she’d like it, but her wide grin and giggles while she watched me wash my hair and then hers was proof she loved shower time with Mommy!
ByKay also makes an AQUASling in the same material.
I chose to go with the AQUACarrier over the sling because I am somewhat sling-challenged, and because I prefer a two-shoulder carry. That said, there are advantages and disadvantages to both styles, so it will depend on your particular preferences when choosing the wrap or the sling for your aquatic adventures.
Shop & Connect
ByKay is based in the Netherlands, founded by mother of four, Kay Poeler, ten years ago. They don’t just make water carriers! They make a variety of structured carriers, slings, wraps and mei tais.
Maman Loup sponsor, Lil’ Monkey Cheeks, carries a variety of ByKay Carriers. Find out more about the brand and locate a retailer near you by visiting their Canadian distributor, PEC Canada.
The AQUASling & AQUACarrier are available at my sponsors, Lil’ Monkey Cheeks and Gentle Nest! (shipping to the US & Canada).
KD says
April 28, 2016 at 2:26 pmMy baby and I would take my preschooler to the pool!
Steph I says
April 28, 2016 at 2:36 pmI would wear her this summer in my parents’ backyard pool!
Gloria says
April 28, 2016 at 2:44 pmI would wear my baby on a similar trip that we’re planning to Mexico!
Jeannine cymbalisty says
April 28, 2016 at 2:47 pmWith Baby girl arriving soon, we’ll have all summer to wear at the beach, the lake and likely our small pool In the backyard! It would also be ideal if we go fishing! I won’t have to worry about wrecking our other carriers ?
Smistecki says
April 28, 2016 at 3:12 pmI would wear my new little squish out at the lake – hoping for another little fish that loves the water!
Carine says
April 28, 2016 at 3:23 pmWe are hoping to go to Cuba for Christmas, it would be perfect for our little guy! 🙂
Chelsea Janelle says
April 28, 2016 at 3:38 pmI wold use it in my parents pool or if we go on a beach vacation
Alanna says
April 28, 2016 at 3:51 pmI would wear my little guy when we go camping at the lake.
Cara Inglis says
April 28, 2016 at 3:55 pmI’d love to use this at our community splash pad!
Jennifer Muir says
April 28, 2016 at 4:02 pmI would use this in Iceland! (And hopefully somewhere tropical!).
Barbara says
April 28, 2016 at 4:56 pmI’d use the aqua carrier and use it in the pool!
Melissa P says
April 28, 2016 at 5:29 pmI would take my baby and toddler to the wave pool!
Ashley morel says
April 28, 2016 at 6:00 pmTo the beach with my toddler and family.
Heidi says
April 28, 2016 at 6:35 pmI’d wear my youngest when I take her two older sisters to the pool.
Shannon says
April 28, 2016 at 7:21 pmI would wear my baby in the pool and at the beach on our trip to Colombia in June.
Danielle Petryshyn says
April 28, 2016 at 7:50 pmI would use it for going to the beach!
Esther Pelletier says
April 28, 2016 at 8:15 pmI would wear it at the pool, splash pad, and lake/beach!
Jennifer S says
April 28, 2016 at 8:19 pmI’d wear my daughter while swimming as she sometimes gets scared 🙂
MelindaJ says
April 28, 2016 at 8:51 pmCuba! I’d babywear in Cuba in the ocean ???
Viv Sluys says
April 28, 2016 at 10:18 pmMy baby is child #4 on our family so we go to the pool and lake a lot! I would love to have my hands free to help my other daughters with swimming while still keeping my little baby with me!
kathy downey says
April 29, 2016 at 6:03 amI would wear my baby at the Beach !
Jon T says
April 29, 2016 at 9:31 amHopefully we would wear baby to Cuba this Fall!
Sabrina D'Arcy says
April 29, 2016 at 10:24 amI would use it at the pool and hopefully at the beach.
Tara says
April 29, 2016 at 5:40 pmGrammy is taking us on vacation in September, and our aunt has a pool that we would love to visit this summer, and wearing baby boy sounds like a safe solution!
Lisa P says
April 29, 2016 at 8:14 pmWe would wear baby in our in-ground pool!
Larissa Macklem says
April 29, 2016 at 10:13 pmI would wear my 16 month old at beautiful Okanagan Lake BC this summer, and at the splash park, and at friends’ pools, and at the ocean on the coast when we go on vacation and to visit Aunty and Grandma & Grandpa!!
Melanie Morin says
April 29, 2016 at 11:07 pmI would wear my baby at the beach and at the pool in my apartment complex
Monica Miller says
April 30, 2016 at 8:42 amMeemaw and Papa just bought a cottage on the lake! So I would wear Huckleberry in the lake…all summer long!
Holly MacRitchie says
April 30, 2016 at 10:18 amI live very close to Lake Huron, so I would take it to the beach to swim with my little one!
Sunnie says
April 30, 2016 at 12:17 pmId take my little man to the pool.
Anne-Marie says
April 30, 2016 at 5:23 pmI would wear my baby in my Mother-Baby aquafitness class!
wendy browne says
April 30, 2016 at 8:43 pmMy apartment overlooks the pool and I have been wanting to take my baby in it.
Janice says
May 1, 2016 at 1:03 pmI would wear baby in the shower!
Sabrina Hansne says
May 1, 2016 at 3:39 pmI would take my squish to the pool, the spray parks, and outside with my preschooler during sprinkler time.
Sabrina Hansne says
May 1, 2016 at 3:50 pmEdit: I would use the carrier.
Linda Passerini says
May 1, 2016 at 4:50 pmI would choose the carrier 🙂
Doriana Hutton says
May 1, 2016 at 5:43 pmHaving an aqua carrier would be so handy for showering!!! Also for trips to the splash pad 🙂
Kayla Lewis says
May 1, 2016 at 9:39 pmHer Auntie’s pool!
Maryhtc says
May 2, 2016 at 5:57 amGoing to my friends pool with my toddler and a trip to the beach this summer
Elishia says
May 2, 2016 at 6:39 amI would love to take my daughter to the beach this summer, and the ring sling looks like it would be so easy!
Libby says
May 2, 2016 at 10:53 amI would wear my baby in the shower. That sounds like fun.
Andrea L says
May 2, 2016 at 2:57 pmI would wear it to go to the waterpark!
Linda says
May 3, 2016 at 11:51 amI would wear my baby in the lake in the summertime.
Rekha says
May 3, 2016 at 2:03 pmI’d love to wear her to a local splash park, and also on a tropical vacation next winter… already looking forward to it!
Sydney White says
May 3, 2016 at 6:55 pmI would wear baby girl at the beach and in the pool!
Susanne says
May 4, 2016 at 12:21 amI would go wear her at the beach in Hawaii next time 🙂
Trisha Murphy says
May 4, 2016 at 2:13 pmI would most definitely wear it for a day at the lake/beach! Also to get her used to the water before starting swimming lessons this summer!
Shayleigh Bennest says
May 5, 2016 at 10:49 amI would wear my little guy at the lake so I’d be better able to take my toddler in swimming
Breanna Rae (Nagy) says
May 5, 2016 at 11:46 amI would wear babe EVERYWHERE! We are on Van Island so we are literally surrounded by multiple bodies of water at our fingertips – ocean beaches, lakes, rivers. I am a water lover and spend the majority of my summers in or near water..I was wondering how I’d manage this with a new babe, and it looks like a water sling or carrier will do just that!
kayla sheehan says
May 5, 2016 at 12:23 pmThe beach, the pool and the shower on those days that my husband isnt home to help watch him, while i grab one.
Michelle Fraser says
May 5, 2016 at 12:28 pmWe are going to Old Orchard, Maine this summer and would love to sit in the ocean with my little munchkin who will then be 10 months old.
Cheryll says
May 5, 2016 at 5:33 pmWe just got back from Florida and this would have been ideal. I wish I had seen this post a month ago! This summer we would use it at the pool so I would have free hands to help the little man’s sister. Also likely in the shower because he does not like the bath and a carrier would be much safer!
Jen Houle says
May 5, 2016 at 6:24 pmMy husband is doing Ironman Coeur D’Alene this summer and we have rented a VRBO on a lake. I will wear it there!
Megan says
May 6, 2016 at 6:04 pmIn the shower 🙂
Eve Garner says
May 9, 2016 at 1:44 pmThis would be perfect for taking baby to the spray park with his older sister so I can join the fun ! ?
Kyla says
May 12, 2016 at 10:04 amI would love to be able to baby wear my little one at the beach this summer !
Crystal says
May 12, 2016 at 10:34 amI would take my little one to the beach and the splash pad at our aquarium.
Natacha D says
May 12, 2016 at 11:05 amI’d wear our newborn at the pool and beach. It’ll make it much easier to chase our toddler around!
Laarni Vasallo says
May 12, 2016 at 12:11 pmPlanning a trip to Florida this summer, this would be perfect!
Carina Vause says
May 12, 2016 at 1:00 pmWe have a few friends with babies that would love to use this while visiting us and using our pool
Allie cotterill says
May 12, 2016 at 4:10 pmIn the shower 🙂
Mckenna Mitchell says
May 12, 2016 at 6:45 pmAt our cottage, all summer long!
Diana C says
May 17, 2016 at 7:11 amI need to try something like this, so I can take my toddler and my new babe to the pool!