When I decided I wanted to try the Bétta Carry me! baby carrier, I had been looking into baby equipment marketed in Asia. Many of the baby carriers marketed in the US were just were not comfortable for me. Problems included carriers being too long, too heavy, excessive leftover tail length after tightening, straps lying in uncomfortable places, waist-based types set too high if secure and just better positioning my infant to scream in my ear, etc. Being a shorter torso-ed Asian woman, I hoped that a baby carrier from Asia would suit my Asian body better. (A similar concept had served me well when buying shoes! Shoes sold in Asia are a little wider, which works better for my Asian feet.)
The Japanese Bétta Carry me! baby carrier is lightweight, folds down nicely (because of lack of padding, buckles, etc.), and can be used for roughly the first two years of a child’s life. I managed to find the Bétta Carry me! for JP¥8358 (~US$57 in 2023) in the children’s store Nishimatsuya on the artificial Odaiba Island in Tokyo, Japan. Since it would be US$99 before tax on the few sites I could even find it online already imported to the United States, I took the trouble of purchasing this in Japan and bringing it back with me.
The Carry me! is designed for newborns to 24 months old, children up to 11.3 kg (24.86 lb), and women with an under bust measurement of 65 to 100 cm (26 in to 40 in). I do fit into the adult criteria and I plan to use it for a newborn who will probably come out at a typical newborn size and want to walk too much to be carried by the time she or he is 25 pounds.
Straight out of the box, the 60 cm/2 ft length is definitely too long for my torso. However, is there are two sturdy YKK zippers that you can zip up to shorten the carrier length. This allows for possible 4 different strap lengths: the longest 60 cm, 54 cm, 48 cm, and 42 cm. I am myself only almost 5’2”, and the 48 cm length seemed to work. (I will have to see if it really works after my infant is here.)
I am not terribly fond of Velcro after getting it painfully under my nail a few times, so I do like that this baby carrier uses zippers.
Fortunately, for those of us who are not fluent in reading Japanese, there are English instructions included.
