Here’s some celebrity babywearing inspiration for your Halloween costume: Alyson Hannigan and her baby dressed as a Mama and Baby Kangaroo.  I’m guessing she has an ERGO or some other structured carrier under there.

Coming up:  more mama and baby Halloween babywearing costumes!  If you have a great idea for a parent/baby halloween costume featuring babywearing, I’d love to hear it in the comments!  And if you have pics from years past, send them in!

Recently spotted: Natalie Portman, her fiance Benjamin Millepied and their 4 month old son, Aleph, out for a stroll, using a very comfy looking buckle carrier.  While there’s a possibility this may be a Yamo carrier (available outside the US only, I believe), it sure looks a lot like an Organic Navy ERGO baby carrier to me!

Benjamin is wearing this carrier very nicely – snug and right against his body (although he might want to center it a bit more, for his own comfort).  While the ERGO is meant to be worn with both of baby’s legs outside the carrier, many parents do exactly what Natalie and Benjamin are doing here: letting their baby froggy one leg while leaving the other leg outside the carrier.  This is an excellent short-term solution if the wide base of the ERGO makes it a little difficult for your baby to fully straddle the fabric.

We hope to see many more pictures of baby Aleph cuddling up to his gorgeous parents!

Someone please call Alicia Silverstone and Christopher Jarecki and clue them in!  The couple looked relaxed and happy while out and about in NYC with their 4 month old Bear Blu, but Christopher’s pouch needs a serious adjustment!   It is being worn much too loosely, and little Bear Blu is all curled up in a ball at the bottom.   The safe and proper way to wear a sling is to the baby positioned high on your chest , the same way that you would carry him in your arms.  Ideally, his bum would be at or around your belly button.  This pouch (hard to tell the brand – New Native?  Hotslings?) looks to be  3-4 inches too low.  If Christopher were to pull that pouch down over his shoulder, it would be both more comfortable for him and safer for his little guy.  If that doesn’t work, he needs a different size.

For 6 tips on how to wear a pouch properly, check out this post from earlier this week.

It’s popular in the babywearing world to slam Baby Bjorn carriers: they are not ergonomically correct for baby, they are uncomfortable for many parents, they aren’t a great value (for more on this valid criticisms, read this).   Me: I love the the Bjorn.  I love them because they open up the world of babywearing to many parents and caregivers who wouldn’t otherwise make babywearing a priority.  Bjorns are a great gateway carrier and many of my customers are people who found babywearing love through their Bjorns and are now looking at other options.  So I’m a Bjorn lover, not a hater!  That being said, the Bjorn, in my view, has its place as an infant carrier.  Older babies definitely need the support of a carrier like the ERGO, the Beco and Pikkolo, which properly position their legs and are just much more comfortable for both the babies and the babywearers!

Here are some celebs we’d love to see upgrading their Baby Bjorn carriers:

Sarah Jessica Parker.  Looks like mama and baby are enjoying each other’s company, but yikes, this baby looks HUGE for the carrier!  My advice: it’s time to put this not-so-little one on your back in an ERGO baby carrier.  I can totally see Sarah Jessica loving the new Evening in Innsbruck printed ERGO carrier.

Tiffani Thiessen.  Ouch!  This is a great example of a “crotch dangler.”   Definitely time to move on to a carrier that is more comfy, Tiffani!  If she still wants to carry baby facing forward, I recommend a new Pikkolo.  Perhaps the sophisticated Metro Black?  Pikkolo carriers offer more support for baby’s back, hips and legs, even in the forward-facing position.

Have you seen any great celebrity babywearing Dos or  Donts?  I’d love to see them!

Why it’s the ERGO Baby Carrier in Sienna.  Mr. Dane is looking quite gorgeous, as usual, and so is the ERGO!  Check out a clip here (it’s a sneak preview actually, of tonight’s show).

The Sling Lady’s review: One of my favorite things about the ERGO baby carrier is how simple it is to use and how difficult it is to use improperly.  That being said, the one really improper way to use it is to carry a newborn in the carrier without the infant insert!  While the ERGO is much more streamlined looking without the infant insert, the insert is absolutely essential to keeping your little one properly positioned in the carrier until she is big enough to hold herself and her head up! So while the designer at Grey’s Anatomy are focusing on style alone, all y’all out there with newborns will want to be safe for your baby as well!

Alanis Morrissette seems absolutely thrilled to be a mommy, and generally ever so much happier these days.   I’m sure she makes a really excellent mother (you’d didn’t think I’d make it through this post without some play on her lyrics, did you?)  And of course, the Sling Lady loves to see any celebrity using a baby carrier.  Here, Alanis is sporting an olive ring sling, very similar to this Maya Wrap sling.

If I met her out standing in line at Target, I’d be looking for an opening to suggest that she give that tail a good pull and tighten the sling up!  Lots of babies love to face forward and a ring sling is a great way to do this comfortably and securely.   However, you should never have to have your two hands on the baby while doing so, as Alanis does here, and the carrier is a little too loose and too low for safety or comfort.

Notice how the top rail in this picture is relatively taut, and baby is snuggled high on daddy’s chest.  I’d suggest Alanis pull snug her ring sling up a few inches and tighten the top rail to provide a really snug, safe carry for little Ever.  Then she can really be hands free and as ironic as she wants to be!

Are Neil Patrick Harris and his man a fabulous pair of daddies, or what?   Apparently the loving dads, like a lot of other new parents, just can’t live without their Moby Wrap!

As quoted in People Magazines Celebrity Baby blog, the new family (two dads and two babies) have been given plenty of gear, but Harris says there is one stand-out they couldn’t live without “The Moby Wrap. It’s this gigantic piece of fabric that you wrap around and around and around yourself until you look like you should be doing karate and then you sort of put them in and wrap them around and then you can carry on with your day,” he explains. “They just stay put and go to sleep.”

Yep, that about sums up the beauty of it!   I can’t see what color Moby Neil is sporting but his partner, David Burtka, is wearing the Moby in Pacific.  Were these dads to ask me for advice, I would suggest that David would be a bit more comfortable, if he spread the wrap more across his shoulders.  That would take the weight of his baby off his neck and  shoulders spread it out across his back, causing less strain on the body (esp as that baby gets bigger!).  And I generally recommend not covering baby’s face with anything including your jacket.   That being said, both men are wearing their baby’s high and tight, which is comfy and secure for baby.  Way to go!

Orlando Bloom is clearly in love with his baby.  And I’m in love with Orlando!  There is nothing sexier than a dad who wears his baby.

Yep, he’s babywearing hotness personified, all right!

That being said, I do have a few tips for Orlando, now that he’s found the babywearing love.  While his Navy Organic ERGO Baby Carrier is super comfortable and easy to use (reasons so many dads love them), it really isn’t meant for babies this young (5 weeks) without the ERGO infant insert.  The sleeping hood he’s using to support the baby’s head can’t really provide enough head support for his little guy’s head and neck.

SlingLady Rx: Keep up the babywearing, Orlando!  But add an infant insert next time!  Or try a Beco Baby Carrier or a Pikkolo Carrier – both provide great head, spine and back support for a little one, without the need for an insert.

P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day!

I wish I looked this adorable while babywearing! This picture of reality star Bethenny Frankel makes me want to get a baby and go on the town.   Baby Bryn was 4 months in the picture.

I’m not sure what carrier Bethenny is wearing, but the Pikkolo baby carrier in Metro Black comes pretty darn close.

What a beautiful family!  Sean Patrick Thomas (babywearing son Luc Laurent, 2 months) and his wife Aonika Laurent Thomas with their daughter Lola Jolie earlier this year.