Baby carrier

Claim 1

A baby carrier for carrying a baby against the front of the wearer's body, comprising a pouch panel, shoulder straps and a waist strap: said pouch panel formed of flexible material and having a generally flat rectangular upper portion and an inwardly tapering lower portion, the inward taper of the lower portion continuing from its juncture with the upper portion to its intersection with said waist strap adjacent the end of said lower portion, the respective ends of the pouch panel being coterminous with the ends of the upper and lower portions, the generally rectangular flat upper portion terminating at a height which, in use, is generally midway between the wearer's waist and neck, said generally flat rectangular portion being short enough in width to form an opening between itself and the wearer's body for passage of a baby's arms out of the sides of the upper portion, between the side edges of the upper portion and the front of the wearer, the continuously inwardly tapering lower portion being short enough in width to allow a baby's legs to extend out and over the side edges thereof, whether the baby is facing inward toward the wearer or outward away from the wearer, shoulder straps connected to the upper end of the upper portion and of sufficient length to extend up and over the shoulders of the wearer, criss-cross on the wearer's back and reach first connecting means associated with the respective opposite sides of the pouch panel, said first connecting means located on the side edges of the pouch panel substantially at the juncture of the upper portion and the lower portion for connecting each shoulder strap which has criss-crossed over the wearer's back to the opposite side of the pouch panel, each said first connecting means being located at a height above said end of said lower portion which is high enough to allow the baby's legs to pass out over the respective side edges of the pouch panel below said first connecting means, and also low enough to assure that a substantial portion of the baby's weight is spread across the upper back of the wearer, the lower end of the pouch panel connected to the waist strap, such that said waist strap extends outwardly from the respective side edges of said lower portion, said waist strap including second connecting means for connecting opposite ends of the waist strap to each other with the straps fitting snugly entirely around the wearer's body independently of the shoulder straps and the first connecting means, such that the continuously tapering lower portion of the pouch panel extends outwardly from the wearer's body to form a lower support for the baby.