Kangaroo Care Babywearing Shirt

Kangaroo care is extremely beneficial for newborns especially for preemies. “Kangaroo Care consists of placing a diaper clad premature baby in an upright position on a parent’s bare chest – tummy to tummy, in between the breasts. The baby’s head is turned so that the ear is above the parent’s heart.” ¹ Skin-to-skin contact feels wonderful as well for you and your baby.

I was delighted to discover while reading at The Hippie Housewife that there are actually shirts that are designed specifically to facilitate kangaroo care and allow you to be skin-to-skin with your baby in those early weeks. I contacted the company that sells these shirts, Reserve Privee, to learn more about them. They sent me one so I could test it out for myself!

I was SO excited to get this shirt. I only wish it would have come sooner so I could have worn Jude in it longer. The shirt that I was sent is the short sleeved t-shirt version. They also have long sleeved, sleeveless mei tai wrap, long sleeved cardigan, lightweight mei tai, halter strap, basic kangaroo tube and men’s t-shirt styles.

My expectations were pretty high, but I was still amazed once I tried this on and put my baby Jude in it. Wow! I don’t think I will be able to adequately convey how truly special this shirt is, but I’ll try. 🙂 The one I tried mimics a stretchy wrap like a Moby. And it works just like one pretty much, too. I’ve made a video showing how it works but if you aren’t able to view it, I’ve also included some pictures of the components of the shirt. It functions just like a wrap and is made of stretchy material. Because it is a thinner material, it is only supportive up to about 15 lbs but that is about the time period  of your baby’s life when skin-to-skin is the most beneficial. (NOTE ABOUT THE VIDEO: It is incorrect to pull the top panel down. You  should feel inside the shirt  to make sure your baby is correctly positioned in the crosses. Click on the graphic in this post for full instructions.)

Jude was nearing 15 lbs when we received the shirt but I was still able to wear him in it some before he was too big for it. It felt incredible to have my little one skin-to-skin, but I was still covered as if I was just wearing a shirt…because I was. 🙂 He took a nap in it while I had guests over even and I was in no way exposed. Of course, this is practical on so many levels. You can go out and still be giving your baby the massive benefits of skin-to-skin. I would love to be able to try the mei tai wrap version of the shirt and would definitely buy it if we had another baby.

Even though you can’t wear you baby IN the shirt long term, you can still wear it long term yourself. I certainly have! I have gotten compliments on it even from people who had no idea what its primary function was. It is also a nursing shirt and works very well for this purpose. I wore it during the summer and fall months and once it warms up again, I’ll be wearing again in the spring. Most nursing shirts cost at least as much as this one but you can’t wear your baby in them.

If you can’t tell, I’m in love with this shirt. The only drawback I would say is maybe that your babies legs will be inside the shirt and if they like to have their legs out, they may not be crazy about that part. But, as you can tell from the pictures/video, they are not completely froggied either. For a small baby, this is really almost a non issue though because they are not completely froggied.

If you are pregnant or have a newborn baby, this would be a lovely gift for you and your baby. I promise you will love wearing your baby in this shirt! 🙂 The shirt is made in Canada but they just recently started also selling in the US! You can find out where to buy on the Vija Design site, the maker of the shirt I tried. If you are looking for US shops that sell it, it is towards the middle of the Where to Buy page.

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this post but did receive a complimentary Kangaroo Care shirt for the purpose of this review. I was not required to give a positive review and all opinions are 100% my own. I only review products that I either have purchased myself and love or products I have been given a chance to review by the company that I believe are products my readers would benefit from.

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