Lenny Lamb Babywearing Coat/Jacket NOT softshell

It's been awhile, and I have so many reviews from this past whirl-wind of a year to share with you all!


First up... my truly adored Lenny Lamb babywearing coat!


After having tried the KinderCoat and not finding it to be exactly what I was looking for, I did some more research on other coats for winter babywearing and stumbled upon the Lenny Lamb winter jacket. I ordered it in a size small from Lenny Lamb and it arrived in about two weeks to my door.

The interior is a soft fleece that isn't overly thick, and the outer material is a sturdy feeling water resistant layer.

The interior (grey) and hood

There were two different panels included, one for front carries and one for back. There is a hood for baby, which is one of my favourite things about the coat. For the first year I owned this coat, I mostly wore it on my own without the panels. I received compliments about the colour many times, even in my place of work. When I became pregnant with our third child, I wore the back carry panel as an option for my growing belly. With a wool sweater or a fleece under the coat, I found it warm enough on even the coldest of Ottawa days. There are great toggles all over the place to pull things tight and keep the wind out.



Demoing my coat sans baby

When Little Miss was born in October, it was still too warm to use the coat. I mostly used my Lenny Lamb fleece or Kokoala panel during this time. However, when the snow and wind came, this coat was invaluable. The wind-proof outer lining was so wonderful for the very cold days of school pick up and drop off for big brother. I would use the baby hood and was happy that the Velcro from the baby hood could hook to the Velcro of the adult hood, which made a tiny wind-proof wall for baby's head, and kept both of our hoods up well.



A very cold and windy day in Ottawa, but we were warm!

When the temperatures dropped to -20 Celsius or more I found we needed an extra fleece layer each to keep warm underneath the coat, but we were toasty as long as we did so. I have now worn this coat for two winters as my main winter coat, both with and without baby. I have worn this coat nearly every day for walks and in tough weather. There have been no issues with the quality of this coat, and it is still looking as good as new. I look forward to using it for back carrying this winter, as I did not use it much for this way of wearing in previous years.

The verdict:

Pros: Affordable, available, well made, comfortable, attractive

Cons: None I can think of.... maybe not cold enough for -20 degrees without an extra layer?

Recommendation: Great coat for wearing in even the coldest Canadian winter days, with an extra layer.

Lenny Lamb Babywearing Fleece

I really enjoy trying various babywearing accessories, and managed to score a great deal on a Lenny Lamb babywearing fleece coat after making a purchase of one of the soft structured carriers (they offer a discount towards future purchases!) As usual, the package arrived quickly, and was not hit with duties (so far I'm four for four with LL purchases!). 

I ordered the size small, as I am usually about a size 6, in a blue colour. I didn't realise it at the time, but it also came with a little dickie for baby to wear to keep their head toasty warm while wearing.

My first impressions were the fleece was very soft, and nice and thick. It doesn't feel cheaply made at all, I was quite impressed with the quality for the price I paid.

My three year old tried to help me out by modelling the dickie. It didn't fit him so well (my children have giant heads). :)

Big guy helping model the front carry.

He also helped me model a front carry for this coat. As you can see, my 98% three year old was a bit long for this jacket, but we squeezed in there anyway.

For back carrying, you just turn the coat around. I took this coat out for snuggly walks with my toddler on several occasions, in early Winter and late Autumn weather in Ottawa. We both wore toques, mitts, and boots and we super warm. I would highly recommend this fleece coat to anyone as a cheap option for a mildly cold weather (0 degrees Celsius-ish) babywearing coat!

The verdict:

Pros: Affordable, available, well made, comfortable.

Cons: None I can think of

Recommendation: Great fleece for wearing in Autumn, Springtime and early Canadian winters.

Kindercoat - Three coats in one!

Last winter I decided to purchase a Suse's Kindercoat to keep my littest warm throughout our cold, Canadian winter. I am usually a size 6-8, so ordered a size medium. The medium was HUGE on me. It looked like I was wearing my father's jacket. I sold it to a local mama and purchased a size small instead.

The small fit a bit better, but on our first outing with our new coat the elastic on the waist snapped when I cinched it. Suse's offered to pay for the repair at a local seamstress for me, so I had it repaired.

Worn alone, this coat fit a bit large, but with the panel and baby in it was a good fit for us.

The coat has two separate layers, a fleece layer, and a water resistant/wind breaker layer. Together they are very toasty and warm, even on the coldest days. My only complaint about warmth is due to the slight draft I would get down the back opening when front-wearing my little guy.

The coat was not the most flattering, as it was a bit boxy. It certainly got the job done of keeping us warm though. I appreciated the separate fleece in the Spring especially when we still needed the extra layer to keep us warm, but it wasn't freezing temperatures.

The panels had a separate hood for baby, which was adorable. However, it was a bit difficult to make it stay on, so it was a bit impractical in the long run. I didn't use the hoods very often, but I did appreciate the little bit of protection when we were caught in a downpour.

I found it a bit difficult to get the whole coat on for back wearing, as with the two pieces put together it is quite a heavy coat. It took some trial and error, but eventually we figured it out.

The neck cover piece that came up on the front to cover the exposed skin between myself and baby was a good idea, but I found it a bit awkward when he tried to go to sleep and had this piece of material touching his face. As the outer material of the windbreaker layer is not the softest, I had to wonder if it was very comfortable for him.

Snuggling in our fleece layer

The Verdict:
Pros: Warm, separate fleece and waterproof layer, baby hood, neck cover
Cons: Boxy, fits large, sleeves run a bit short for tall people, quality is not the highest
Recommendation: If you are looking for something that will get you through all seasons in comfort, without breaking the bank, then this is your coat. If you are looking for something stylish or flattering, perhaps this coat is not for you.