The Blue Hibou Reverse Onbuhimo

If you're a wrapper, you'll love the Reverse Onbuhimo for its long straps for wrap passes. It provides the support and feel of a multi-pass wrap carry without the fuss of getting a squirming toddler wrapped. If you're a Soft Sided Carrier user, you'll love it for its ease of use. Both wrappers and carrier fans will love the 'no waistband' feature. The Reverse Onbuhimo is ideal for the parent that wishes they could wrap faster/better/more secure. For the toddler that just isn’t patient enough for wrapping with long wraps anymore, this carrier is the solution.

Development of the Reverse Onbuhimo:

In Spring of 2014, Jo from Blue Hibou was contacted by a Canadian friend and fellow babywearing mama from Kenora, Ontario. In her search for the perfect toddler/preschool carrier, she had come across a carrier with rings at the shoulder and long wrap straps coming from the waistband area: a reverse of the traditional onbuhimo. Her inspiration led Jo to design one for herself first, then one for her. This Blue Hibou Reverse Onbuhimo officially became available as a custom offering in August 2014.

Fast forward to 2015 two friends: both wrap conversion artist, Lisa from 2Lambie and Jo the mama behind Blue Hibou, begin to talk about the possibility of collaborating on a design for a Reverse Onbuhimo. As hurdles were conquered and the final design ironed out, Lisa and Jo achieved the first collaborative effort of two separate wrap conversion businesses joining together to create a stunning carrier. The Reverse Onbuhimo passed ASTM testing in December 2016 and officially became a conversion offering in January of 2017.

Features of the Reverse Onbuhimo

Many mamas who have tried the Reverse Onbuhimo have stated its as close to the wrapping ‘feel’ that can be achieved with a structured carrier. It has a perfectly contoured onbu body panel, combined with the ring/shoulder assembly a unique feature of the Blue Hibou design. The hammock 'seat' created by this panel is perfect, no need for seat darts. It puts your baby in the proper 'M' position, establishing the recommended 'bottom-lower-than-knees' automatically.

As with all onbuhimos, the Reverse Onbuhimo has no waistband, thus no bulky strap across the wearer's middle (read: no muffin top!), had less fabric, is cooler for the wearer, has flexible and forgiving straps that allow for all body types to find the perfect fit. It's ideal for babywearing while pregnant!

The shoulder straps have thick, cushy padding, contoured to fit the curve of the wearer's shoulders. The rings are placed at the end of the cushioned padding, but are not without padding of their own. The padded flap under the rings is quilted with just the right amount of padding, thus the wearer never feels the metal rings pressing into their body. Reverse Perfect Fit Adjusters are available as an add-on option: no webbing, the strap is made with a piece of your wrap. This creates a more beautiful carrier. The shoulder rings are pre-threaded before putting your child on your back, making for a super quick secure seat while you wrap the straps.

The wrap straps are wrapped similar to a Mei Tai, with the advantage of the rings for threading instead of tying knots. Your child is virtually weightless in this carrier when the shoulder straps are secured under the bum. You can carry your heavier toddler and pre-schooler for extended periods without feeling any digging into your neck, shoulders or waist.

Available Options:

Panel Size: Available in three size panels, and two 'Good to Grow' Adjustable Panel sizes.

Baby - For infants sitting self-supported (about 8 months) through to 2 years, 15-45 lbs,. 14" to 16" seat.
Toddler - For babies 18 months/2 T to 4+ years, 25-45 lbs, starting at 32" tall, 16" to 18.5" seat.
Preschool - 3 to 5 years, 35-55 lbs, starting at 38" tall, 19.5" to 22" seat.
Baby to Toddler Good to Grow Panel (see below for details on the GTG panel)
Toddler to Preschool Good to Grow Panel (see below for details on the GTG panel)

Length of Wrap Straps: The wrap straps are available in 3 lengths. These options allow for the most flexibility of parents using the Lambou.

60″ Shorty - If its mostly petite people using the carrier the Shorty is ideal. The Shorty straps are long enough for a tie off under the bum for most, and for some petite people, a wrap under bum and tie in front. Nothing fancy here, just a basic tie.
70″ Reg - For average sized users this is the optimum choice. Petite people will find this to be ample length for fancy tie-offs.
80″ Long - For wrap pass lovers. This length allows the most flexibility in wrapping the ties, and the fanciest of tie offs.

The beauty of the Reverse Onbuhimo is even the brawniest of men can still use the Shorty size, it just limits the tie off options. Petite people can also use the Long with an extra pass around the back to tie off.

The ‘Good to Grow’ Adjustable Body Panel: The ‘Good to Grow’ adjustable body panel was specifically developed for this carrier. Although it is also available for other long wrap strap carriers (Bei Dai/Meh Dai and Half Buckle), this was the driving force behind its development.

The GTG panel makes it possible to adjust the panel as much as 10 cm in height. This is accomplished by a draw tie along the edge of each side of the panel. The size options below indicate the smallest to largest adjustments, possible in ever increasing adjustment while your baby grows! The width of the panel remains the same, however your baby will rest in a narrower area of the panel at the smallest setting and the widest area of the panel at the longest setting. The wrap straps themselves also add to supportiveness from knee to knee as your baby's base width gets wider.

D-Ring Reverse Perfect Fit Adjusters: Sometimes to get that perfect fit, you require a little bit of tweaking. These D-Ring adjusters are 4 cm wide, made from your wrap on the front side and coordinating linen on the back for a seamless look to your carrier. They allow fine tuning adjustment of up to 5 cm.