A mei tai (meh dai) is one of ergonomic baby carriers which reminds of the woven wrap but has a ready to use form, so often is considered more easy to use by parents.
A mei tai provides excellent baby spine support and correct spread-squat leg position due to the full adjustability of the mei tai back panel and straps.
The construction is a backpanel with straps in each of 4 angles: 2 short below (a belt) and 2 longer on top (shoulder straps, about 2 m long each).
Mei tais can have extra elements for comfortable babywearing: backpanel width and height adjustments, a hood/headrest etc.
Diva Milano offers 4 types of mei tais, with 3 main constructions: original, simple and toddler:
1. Original (Bamboo and All Cotton)
If a mei tai has a backpanel that adjusts in the width, it can be used from birth. This is very important because the backpanel base should be exactly the width between one baby knee to another, but not wider, otherwise there can be a risk of excessive baby legs spread and potentially hip dislocation. The height of the mei tai backpanel can be easily adjusted by rolling the belt (up to 2 times for a newborn).
Diva Original mei tais differ by fabric: Bamboo is silky soft so especially recommended for newborns, and all cotton are universal and can be used for all ages.
Additional mei tai benefit for a newborn is a hood that can be used as a headrest to support a newborn head.
2. Simple
Mei tais without width adjustment can be used from 3-4 months when baby's legs are already spread by a bigger angle and can form M-position.
A Simple Diva mei tai construction does not have a hood and backpanel adjustment, but has a small headrest. Its backpanel is also higher vs. original construction.
3. Toddler Mei Tai
From 6 months and further you can use any of the above mei tais, as they are designed to be used until 2 years or even more. But if talking about extra comfort, a Toddler Mei Tai is better as designed specially for toddlers.
Comparing to the original construction this mei tai has a bigger backpanel, padded shoulder straps, padded belt and padded baby leg opennings.
It is important to note that mei tais with wide shoulder straps made from woven wrap fabric are much more comfortable even without padding, comparing to mei tais with narrow shoulder straps (10-12cm) even if these straps are padded. Wide straps distribute the baby weight across a parent's body much better vs. narrow straps.
The most comfortable shoulder straps for a toddler are wide straps made from woven wrap fabric, padded only on parents' shoulders.