It’s early 2025 and that means Baby Primer Peak has been home for several months now. My family has done a fair bit of traveling, both in and out of state. Baby and I have been able to spend a fair bit of time together without mom out in public and at home, which has really helped to inform some of the opinions I’ll mention here. While some of this may change as your child grows, the basics should help you in your journey as a parent who conceal carries. Let’s take a look at how I stay armed, both safely and effectively, while carrying my baby.
If you’re someone who just straps baby into a stroller or a car seat, then there won’t be much that changes in terms of how you carry a gun. My wife and I spend a fair bit of time with the baby physically attached to us, so we’ve had to make some modifications to our normal setups. Typically speaking we’re wearing some sort of structured carrier, or a wrap to hold the baby hands-free.
If these terms seem like Greek to you, don’t fret. I’m not going to go into detail about the different types of wraps and carriers, their pros and cons, or that sort of thing here. I highly recommend you open Ally Corless’s article >>HERE<< as you go through this piece. In her companion article she details all of that stuff I said I wasn’t going to cover. She uses a much wider variety of baby wearing methods than I do, so you may find some good options for you there. This is focused more on the gun, whereas hers is more on the wraps and carriers themselves. With that out of the way, let’s talk about how I prefer to carry baby, and how I integrate a gun into that solution.
Before getting into the details of carry methods, we’ll first look at why we may want to wear our child in the first place. It turns out that a lot of people online have zero frame of reference for this subject. Recently I shared a preview from this article online, and was met with a surprising, yet frequent reaction. Apparently a large number of men cannot fathom why I, as the father, may want to carry my child in public. Some went as far as to accuse me as using my child as armor, making comparisons to Hamas and other terrorist organizations. I assure you that their commentary is ill informed.
Wearing your baby is the easiest way to maintain physical control over them. No strollers or car seats to manage or potentially have someone try to snatch away. I can run, climb, hide, and maintain essentially my full range of motion without cumbersome gear to consider. In less dramatic scenarios, I can more quickly and easily comfort and care for baby. Wearing our child helps us to bond with them, and reduces their stress, which is better for both of us.
We may not always have a companion to help us transport our child, nor is simply putting them down always an option. While you may never choose to leave home with your child, or to never hold them in public, some of us will. This article is for moms, dads, and anyone else who may find themselves caring for a small child. We are not putting a child on our chest to protect ourselves. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to seriously reevaluate their mindset,
The most important thing to look for when choosing a method of baby wearing is to select something that is safe for your baby. They need to be able to freely breathe, and you need to avoid causing any long term injuries with your carrier. Ally’s article gets into the details on what to look for here.
Once that’s taken care of, we need to be comfortable as well. Additionally, I want something that is fairly easy to don and doff, simple to get the baby in and out of, and is conducive to conceal carry. With this in mind, I virtually never use wraps or ring slings. In short, I find them too cumbersome to use, especially outside the home. I don’t want to be fiddling around tying myself and baby up while in public, losing awareness of what’s happening around me. That isn’t to say that wraps and ring slings don’t have advantages, they certainly do and Ally uses them to great success. I’m just not willing to put in the effort with these, as I think my needs are more easily met elsewhere.
Structured carriers are my preference when it comes to baby wearing. There are two main carriers that I have worked with over the past few months, and they are fairly representative of two very different styles. Both examples here can be worn on the front and back as baby grows, so keep that in mind for how you set up your carry piece.
The first structured carrier I became familiar with was the Ergobaby Aerloom FormaKnit. This carrier retails for about $250 though Ergobaby often has sales dropping some colors down as low as $119. Luckily for us, we got ours for free through a friend. The Aerloom is pretty much what I think of when I think of a baby carrier. It has big padded shoulder straps that connect in the back, a thick padded waist strap, and plenty of room for baby to grow. According to Ergobaby, this carrier is appropriate for children up to three years of age.
I liked this carrier quite a bit at first. It is less bulky, and much more breathable than some of the others we tried, and I found it to be pretty easy to don and doff by myself. This was the first carrier that I really felt comfortable baby wearing with, and it saw quite a bit of use in the fall of 2024. However, this carrier isn’t perfect.
The Ergobaby Aerloom features a waist strap to help support you and the baby. This strap interferes with conceal carry along your beltline. Some people will suggest continuing to carry here, and even clipping your holster to the strap itself. I think these suggestions are suboptimal. The strap gets in the way of a clean drawstroke, and can significantly complicate holstering your gun. It also provides virtually zero rigidity for mounting any holster to. You’ll also print dramatically from the tightness of the strap pressing against your clothing and gun. When wearing a carrier like this, I limit myself to alternative carry methods, which I’ll detail later in this article.
While I may not be able to pronounce its name, I’ve really come to appreciate the Happy Baby Onbuhimo. My wife picked one of these up on loan from a baby gear lending library she uses, which is a great way to try things before dropping a huge chunk of change on something you may not like.
What really sets the Onbuhimo apart from other structured carriers I’ve used so far is its lack of a waist strap. We still have the should straps that connect across the back, and the baby’s legs are secured with snaps on the sides, but gone is the huge piece of nylon bisecting my midsection. This opens the door for traditional waistband carry, meaning my normal AIWB rig is back in business for me and baby.
This carrier is also a bit more minimalist when compared to the Ergobaby carriers. The helps reduce feelings of bulk, along with keeping baby and I cooler throughout the day. That said, the absence of a waist strap can create some discomfort over time or with heavier babies, as all of the weight is focused on your shoulders. The shoulder straps are also less padded here, though we have opted to add aftermarket pads to ours to help improve comfort. Despite this, the Happy Baby Onbuhimo is my preference for a carrier as of this writing.
Now that we’ve talked about how we’re carrying the baby, let’s talk about how we’re carrying our gun. As mentioned previously, not every carry method will work with every carrier or wrap. If you want to stay strapped, you may have to move to an alternative carry method.
Whether it’s traditional IWB/OWB, or AIWB, the advice here should apply across the board. My experience is primarily focused on AIWB, however I will provide specifics if necessary.
If you’re using a wrap or a carrier that goes along your waist, you will almost certainly not want to carry along your waistband. Straps and wraps can foul your draw, make holstering dangerous, and create significant issues with printing that can cause trouble for you and your family. I pretty much only carry a gun along my waistband when using a wrap or carrier that does not go along my waist.
It may come as a bit of a shock, but with the Happy Baby Onbuhimo I am able to perform my normal AIWB drawstroke while wearing baby. Since the baby is worn high on the chest, and my waist is free of obstructions, I’m able to clear concealment with both my strong and weak hands, and obtain a full firing grip.
For a two-handed grip, I do have to mate my hands at a slightly different place than normal because of the baby on my chest, but I have no issues making a Modified Isosceles or Weaver stance from here. Strong side carry is the same, though you may have to swing the gun a little wide to avoid baby’s legs as your arms come forward.
While I typically prefer AIWB, I do have a fair bit of time carrying strong side, both inside and outside the waistband. Much like with AIWB, you’ll want to stick with a carrier that lacks any sort of waist strap when carrying strong side. We want to avoid any interference from straps, buckles, and other pieces or parts. Next, we’ll want to ensure that our child’s body is nowhere near the area of our drawstroke; be aware of how baby grows, as something that may work at one point, may be dangerous shortly thereafter.
If wearing a closed-front garment, you’ll likely be limited to a one-handed draw, clearing concealment and accessing the pistol with the same hand. While baby isn’t huge, the extra bulk in front of us will likely prevent your support hand from reaching across your body to help clear concealment. This can be problematic when holstering the gun. Those with open-front garments will have an easier time drawing and holstering, but again, be aware of your child’s body to avoid muzzling baby.
Strong side concealment will likely be greatly impacted by your baby carrier. Straps will tighten your clothes to your body, increasing the likelihood of printing throughout the day. As you and baby shift, there’s a serious concern of your pistol becoming exposed without your knowledge. An open-front shirt may help reduce these issues, but wearing your cover garment over the carrier will appear a bit unusual, possibly garnering unwanted scrutiny from those around you.
You need to practice holstering without looking, as you likely won’t be able to see the holster with baby on your chest. I know many of us say there is never a reason to not look your gun into the holster, but this is a reason. Additionally, you may need to reevaluate certain shooting positions to keep baby safe. Those who have trained with the Shivworks Collective are likely familiar with the Thumb Pectoral Index position of retention shooting. That is a no-go, as it puts the muzzle in line with baby, and allows for the child’s limbs to get ahead of the muzzle. Get a dummy gun so you can safely practice drawing, holstering, and various positions at home.
Be cognizant of how your carrier interacts with your clothing. It’s quite possible that you may encounter some printing or bunching up of your shirt which could expose your gun when donning or doffing a wrap or carrier in public. As you work with your dummy gun at home, regularly check yourself from various angle in the mirror to make sure your concealed pistol stays concealed. Luckily it’s not too unusual to adjust yourself and baby in public, but any unnecessary fiddling should be avoided.
Ankle carry is something I don’t see too many younger folks messing with these days. Often it’s relegated to cops and former cops, carrying a backup gun, or those who find themselves seated for long periods of time. I don’t ankle carry regularly, but I’ve been known to carry a lightweight gun down there fairly often. For those using carriers or wraps that interact with your waistline, ankle carry may be for you.
To be clear, this isn’t going to be a fast draw. You’re not stopping your mugger with a gun carried on your ankle. This is for when you have time and distance to access the gun. We’ll need to modify our drawstroke here to avoid spilling baby out of their wrap or carrier.
To start, take a big lunge with the leg wearing the gun going out in front of you. You can either take a knee with the non-gun wearing leg, or stay standing in your exaggerated lunge. Use both hands to grab your pant leg, and rip it upwards to expose your holster, giving yourself plenty of room to draw. Next, support baby with your non-firing hand to keep them secure on your person, grabbing them by the back and shoulder and pressing their body into yours. I recommend leaning a little to the side as you reach for the gun, rotating your shoulders to drive your firing hand toward the gun. This will help you avoid bending over too much, further securing baby in place.
From here, go about your business. Holstering is much the same, though you may choose to remove your holster before inserting your pistol if desired. Go through the motions slowly with a dummy gun to get used to this. Ankle carry is slow, and this technique is even slower in order to keep the baby secure. You won’t win any races with this, but you and baby may get to come home at the end of the day.
I’ve been regularly pocket carrying around the house for years now. While I don’t go in public with this carry method often, that has changed since the baby came home. This was especially the case early on when using the Ergobaby Aerloom and other carriers featuring waist straps. Unable to wear a gun AIWB, I needed something that wouldn’t be impacted by different wraps or carriers. Pocket carry fits that bill very well.
From jeans, to sweats, to my Magnum PI inspired booty shorts, a pocket gun works in most any outfit. The same can be said for the various methods of wraps, carrying baby front or back, and more. You will need to move to a smaller gun for this, such as a snub nose revolver and micro pistol like the Ruger LCP Lite Rack. We’re losing firepower for sure, but gaining a carry method where one may not have existed previously.
I highly recommend using a pocket holster of some sort when carrying in the pocket. This will help keep your gun oriented the proper way, reduce printing, while also protecting your gun and your pocket from each other. I’ve spoken previously on how I draw from the pocket to avoid snags, which you can read >>HERE<<. As an added benefit, you can stage your draw ahead of time with your hand in the pocket if things start looking bad. Be aware however, guns in your pockets are nearly inaccessible while seated, so keep your wits about you.
Late 2024 saw a resurgence of holster-less options for conceal carry within certain circles. We won’t go into depth on the practicality of these options in general here, but they’re worth mentioning. For those unfamiliar, there are ways to attach a gun to your body without the use of a holster, lanyard, or pocket.
One of the most well known methods is the ClipDraw. This is a steel clip that attaches to your gun via screws, allowing your to clip the gun to your waistband or pocket. These are available for both revolvers and autoloaders such as the Ruger LCP. A different take on the design is the Hamre Forge Grip Hook. These are aftermarket revolver stocks which feature a built-in hook on the right grip panel, which also allow you to hook the gun into your waistband, pocket, and similar places. There are other products on the market which act similarly to these, but we’ll stick with two examples for now. For reference, I own some Hamre Forge grips, though my experience is fairly limited.
I’m sure you’re thinking “Why on earth would I use something like this rather than a traditional holster or normal alternative carry method?”. Don’t worry, I felt the same way for a long time too. Things changed once I started taking the baby in public. I started finding myself needing to move the baby around to different carry positions throughout the day, but my conceal carry method wasn’t conducive to this practice.
As we know, many carriers and wraps are not friendly to waistband carry. We could stick the gun in our pocket, but now it’s nearly impossible to access while seated. Driving, eating at a restaurant, and plenty of other situations make this a problem. Using something like the ClipDraw or Hamre Forge Grip Hooks allow us to quickly and easily move the gun between our waistband, pocket, or other locations without bringing along a bunch of extra gear. No holsters to manage simplifies things quite a bit.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some concerns with this concept. No holsters means that our trigger is not protected. I would not recommend this carry method for anything other than a double-action revolver or similarly configured auto loader for safety purposes. On top of this, all added gun handling does increase your risk of having a negligent discharge, be exposed as a concealed carrier, or other negative outcome. You need to be safe, and aware of what’s happening with your gun at all times. This may not be for you, and that’s okay.
Off body carry is another method that has grown in popularity over the past few years. For men, this typically means a fannypack, backpack, or cross-body bag. For women, this can be any of those, and more often than not is a purse of some sort. Most of the time we’re pressing normal accessories into the gun carrying role, which can be problematic. There are some dedicated conceal carry options here, but many of them are less than stellar as well. That said, off body carry can be very viable.
As someone with a child, you stand out much less carrying extra bags and packs than those without children. Kids come with needs, and as the adult, you’re likely the one carrying everything. That means we have an excuse to be carrying a pistol with plausible deniability. However you should not be mixing baby’s things with your guns and gear due to cross contamination concerns. If you’re training with your bags and packs, get a matching one that stays clean for carry. We don’t want our children exposed to lead and other dangerous substances.
Your gun needs to have its own pocket or pouch in your bag. This is to avoid unwanted interactions with the trigger, along with potential exposure of the gun to onlookers. Using a holster will help improve safety here, and also provide you with the flexibility to put the gun on your person if necessary. Check to see how your bag’s straps and zippers interact with your carrier to see if modifications need to be made for safety or ease of access. A dummy gun will allow you to safely practice drawing and holstering with your bag and carrier/wrap combination.
Indiana Jones uses a satchel, and lots of people want a cross-body bag like him. This can be difficult when baby wearing, as the strap is most likely going to cross baby’s body, leading to discomfort on their part. Bags like this aren’t often made to be worn on one shoulder, and men will likely stand out when doing this due to cultural norms in the US. You may need to forgo this in favor of packs along your waistband. Backpacks are fine when front-carrying baby, but aren’t great options for a gun.
Women’s purses run into the same issues when worn cross-body with a baby, though wearing them over a single shoulder is a normal sight to see. That said, the purse will be less secure like this, so you’ll want to maintain positive control at all times.
For the drawstroke with shoulder bags, you’ll want to bring the bag towards your firing-hand side to reduce the distance from your hand to the gun. Once you establish a firing grip, pull the bag away from the gun, ensuring it gets clear of your arms and the pistol. If front-carrying baby, you will have to float your arms out a bit, which can reduce the likelihood of success of getting a clean drawstroke.
Every year we hear stories on the news of children gaining access to guns in bags. You must maintain custody and control over your bag at all times. Do NOT allow your child to fiddle with your bag when a gun is inside, even if it has its own secure pocket. The gun must have its own pocket free of pens, change, or other debris, and the pocket must have rigid sides to prevent things elsewhere in the bag from interacting with the trigger.
Purse snatching isn’t something that happens much in my area, but it’s something to be aware of. A bag on one shoulder is much easier to have taken away from you. Also consider how you’ll manage your bag out in public, such as at a restaurant, in order to secure it without making a scene.
Any bag you wear is going to have some extra straps to attach themselves to you, and will likely feature some zippers, pull-tabs, and other dangly bits. These, combined with your method of baby wearing, clothing and more, can quickly lead to a lot of material hanging off your body. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with how each piece of gear interacts with each other. Does anything interfere with your draw or your ability to safely holster? Do things rub on you or the baby to cause discomfort? You may need to make some modifications, try new configurations, or change to new bags or carriers to get everything working safely.
Caring for a child and carrying a gun are both incredibly serious responsibilities. It is imperative that you are safe, aware of yourself and your surroundings, and are confident and competent with your choices. You’re responsible for yourself, your child(ren), and those around you. Don’t forget that your body, your baby, and your equipment are different from mine. What works for me, may or may not work for you. Get some practice in to see how differences in shape and size impact your options.
Use these tips to help up your carry game as a parent, and to build up good training habits at home. Stay tuned for more information on conceal carry, safe range practices, and more in the future.
Don’t forget to check out my other articles on conceal carry for new fathers and parents below!
Conceal Carrying for New and Expectant Fathers
Check out Ally’s series on a mother’s perspective throughout and after pregnancy!
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Writing isn’t my full-time profession, and nearly everything I do comes out of my own pocket. Between ammunition, tuition, range fees and more, expenses add up fast. If you like what I have to offer, consider making a donation to my Patreon.
Every bit helps bring more work like this to you, and contributes to shortened timelines or more in-depth work on my part. You’ll also have more direct access to me, offering suggestions for future projects, looking behind the scenes, and getting early access to some content. You can find my Patreon >>HERE<<
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