best infant carrier?

Elizabeth<

which ones did you use and have good experience with?
oops lol should of been specific. like baby bjorn carriers and things like that not a car seat.

Answer
Did you mean infant car seat or infant carrier like a sling/backpack type carrier?

I use the Ergo carrier. It was recommended to me by my best friend who had a 10.5 lb baby and had back issues before said baby. She very much like attachment parenting (where the parent wears the child for extended periods of time) for her babies as they responded very well to the contact. She had tried several types and found the Ergo to be the only one that didn't leave her crippled.

I like it because it is very versatile. When my daughter was a newborn, I used the infant insert and wore her in a sling-type position. Now that she is older, I wear her on my front facing me (The one drawback to the Ergo is that you can't face the baby outwards). My husband, however, prefers to wear her on his back. She has always been comfortable in the Ergo and tends to fall asleep in it. Yeah! I have not had any back problems and my baby is BIG (9.5 lbs at birth). HTH

Does anyone have an interesting article/opinion about the overuse of infant car-seats?

love

Answer
New mothers; are you having trouble sleeping? Your babyâs car seat could be to blame.

I never thought infant carseat carriers were particularly detrimental. I didnât use them with all of of my kids, only the youngest. I never considered their effects much until I read a recent Mothering magazine article entitled âCar seats are for carsâ The article focused on flat head syndrome (apparently a very serious issue) and also on the fact that infant carseat carriers prevent the baby from being stimulated by the outside world, a key to infant brain development.

In a restaurant recently, I once saw a couple enjoy about an hourâs worth of appetizer, dinner and dessert while the baby in the carseat stared at the gum under the table. Additionally, infant car seat carriers must be held away from the womanâs body which puts abnormal strain on the back, neck, shoulders and arms of the person carrying it. Every warehouse worker can tell you that heavy loads are supposed to be carried close to the body. Some of the infant car seat carriers can weigh up to 12 pounds. Imagine that- in addition to the weight of the baby inside. Chiropractors arenât too happy about this, I am sure!

As a busy mother, though- I know why I have used mine. Sometimes itâs about the babyâs safety. I donât want the hot buckles to burn their skin, so I just bring the whole car seat inside. Also, in the winter, I want the baby to stay warm and not freeze to death waiting for the car to warm (or worse- scream the whole ride) so I put the baby in her seat while weâre cozy in the living room and keep her covered on the way to the car. Hereâs the kicker, though. Sometimes, and I know I am not the only one, I open up the back door of the car to bring my precious little one into the grocery store and canât bear to wake her up because sheâs such an adorable little angel when sheâs sleeping. Is that so bad? Yes, I am thinking, definitely yes.
MayaWrap Baby Sling Carrier

MayaWrap Baby Sling Carrier

Keeping the baby in the carseat while running errands actually trains a baby to sleep the day away. What do you think happens then, at night? The baby has been asleep all day long, dozing around in his carseat with nothing to look at and canât possibly go to sleep now that heâs home and youâre able to talk to him. He wants to play, wants to interact, wants to be awake.

Newborns (for the first month or so) will sleep all day no matter what theyâre doing, but as babies get older and they start to âwake upâ to the sounds and sights around them they should be exposed to as many things as their world has to offer. Exposing babies to the natural hubbub of activity that distinguishes daytime from nighttime will invariably teach them how to sleep at night.

Holding a baby in a baby sling carrier, or a wrap, or a front pack or even a backpack as they get older can improve their IQâs simply by exposing them to a different perspective. It also encourages you to âtalkâ to the baby and listening to language (even if itâs someone elseâs conversation) teaches babies how to communicate and helps them learn language. Over use of infant carseat carriers can also delay a babyâs physical development because they arenât able to even attempt to roll over, crawl or climb around in a carseat.
Moby Wrap Baby carrier

Moby Wrap Baby carrier

I am still using my infant seat. I was never really âhookedâ on it, but I am definitely more conscious now about my babyâs perspective. When I go to the grocery store, I still sometimes remove the seat so the buckles donât burn the baby, but now Iâm sure to also remove the baby. I use the carrier to hold my purse. When the carrier is in the shopping cart without the baby I can stack more groceries in the cart (and with 5 kids you wouldnât believe how much groceries we go through).

I got an adorable custom-made machine washable shopping cart cover from Tori, a Yakima mother who sews them up lickety split in fabric you choose from her inventory (or provide your own for a discount). We also make heavy use of our Moby wrap and our Maya Wrap. The Moby Wrap is seriously comfortable and can be worn several different ways. Itâs a bit complicated to learn and, for me at least, I had to use it a few times before I got the hang of it. The Maya Wrap is a sling-type carrier that adjusts easily and is very portable. It comes with an instructional DVD that I recommend you watch because I see people wearing them wrong all the time and it is so much more comfortable to wear it right. I didnât care for the Snugli or Baby Bjorn very much because it was hard to nurse a newborn in those carriers, and because they can only be worn in one position. If you use these carriers from the beginning your strength will grow as the baby grows and you shouldnât feel much muscle strain or soreness. If you are starting to use these carriers with an older baby you just want to ease into it, increasing the duration steadily to a

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Baby wearing mamas, do they make a carrier for babies over 25 lbs?

best infant backpack carrier image

Q. My son has a snuggli infant carrier and the weight limit is 25 lbs. I really like wearing him and I would like to keep doing it, but he just hit 23 lbs.

So, do you have any recommendations?

Answer
My Moby Wrap goes to 35lbs, but now that he is about 25lbs he is really starting to get too heavy for it when I do anything other then carry him around the house.

We use an Ergo when we are out and about, though its not the most attractive looking carrier, it gets the job done. It works a lot like a hiking backpack, to distribute the weight.

I had to give up the front carrier when he was around 10lbs because it killed my shoulders.

Is it hard to take Babies/Toddlers to Disneyworld? Any tips on waiting in lines and how to make it?

Holly

Were taking our 6 month old,almost 2 year old and 3 older girls to DisneyWorld. Im nervous we wont have any fun and it will be Im trying to decide on how to wait in lines with them,should I bring a backpack carrier they sit in and a stroller or one of the other? Can you wait in line with a carrier on? Tips please or should I postpone it. Thanks

Answer
Every ride (just about) you can't have a stroller, they have stroller parking close to each ride. Every ride has a height restriction, some may allow infants while others may not. One of the best thing I learned is the "baby pass". What it is, you ask a Disney cast member standing at the front of the line for a Baby Pass, the first part of your family goes into the 'normal' line of the ride - while the other person waits with the baby. When they get done riding the ride, you can use the baby pass which is good for 3 people and helps you skip the normal line! There are "family" restrooms everywhere and we take our whole family in there if you need to change the babies diaper, a feeding etc. They also have at the front of every park (if you're close to that) a nursing station, with high chairs, cribs, tv's for the kids, snacks for purchase, gliders for breast feeding or bottle feeding your baby, as well as a microwave. It's always very quiet and a great place to get 'away' if you need a little break for a bit.

As for the backpack carrier, you can use it while standing in any line - but for the ride, they will usually ask you to hold the infant in your lap for safety.

Just remember, Florida is hot and lines can be long and both kids and adults can get very cranky! Just try to have a great time and don't worry if the kids get a little fussy here and there! B/c Disney is A LOT of fun and your kids are going to have the time of their lives! :)

Good luck!!

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Would it be better to when riding a bike to carry my baby in a backpack (ergo) or attached to a seat?

best infant backpack carrier image

ashanabu

I was thinking about this, at least if he is in the backpack and I jump off the bike, he doesn't go down with the bike. How safe are those baby carriers attached to the bike? I know he should be wearing a helmet too.

Answer
Neither. Both of those things just seem to be begging for disaster. How about using a Burley (one of the pull behinds) & placing his infant seat in there? Thats what I would do.

What is the best baby carrier to get?

CLICK 2 $A

I'm thinking of the Bjorn or the Ergo. I've used the Bjorn before and liked it. It seems like the Ergo can be used longer since it can switch to the back. Is this true? Which one did you prefer? Also, my back gets sore fairly easily so I'm looking for one that won't make my back ache. Thank you!

Answer
I did a lot of research for my family and a lot of reading on sites by mothers using them and came down to Moby Wrap or Ergo. My husband was afraid the Moby Wrap would unwrap on him (he's bad at knots...) so he wanted something with actual snaps and such (Ergo) and was willing to shell out the hundred or so dollars difference for that, so we got the Ergo. Before then we used an Infantismo with my daughter and my husband hated it, it hurt his back and was very uncomfortable.

The Ergo, we've used it with my 23lb toddler on his back and he found it very comfortable, and she liked it as well. We were going up and down hills too, so it's not like it was an easy walk we were doing! His back did not hurt afterwards, and he didn't feel like his center of gravity was compromised with her on his back (unlike a frame backpack he tried with her.) The other day we put our week old son in the Ergo using the newborn infant insert and he fell asleep, absolutely loving it, and my husband felt like he wasn't wearing anything it was so comfortable and held so close. A true measure of the comfort? Our son pooped. He doesn't poop unless he's completely comfortable. :)

So we went with the Ergo and love it. But I read a lot of good reports on the Moby as well and would have been willing to try that.

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Is it hard to take Babies/Toddlers to Disneyworld? Any tips on waiting in lines and how to make it?

best infant backpack carrier image

Holly

Were taking our 6 month old,almost 2 year old and 3 older girls to DisneyWorld. Im nervous we wont have any fun and it will be Im trying to decide on how to wait in lines with them,should I bring a backpack carrier they sit in and a stroller or one of the other? Can you wait in line with a carrier on? Tips please or should I postpone it. Thanks

Answer
Every ride (just about) you can't have a stroller, they have stroller parking close to each ride. Every ride has a height restriction, some may allow infants while others may not. One of the best thing I learned is the "baby pass". What it is, you ask a Disney cast member standing at the front of the line for a Baby Pass, the first part of your family goes into the 'normal' line of the ride - while the other person waits with the baby. When they get done riding the ride, you can use the baby pass which is good for 3 people and helps you skip the normal line! There are "family" restrooms everywhere and we take our whole family in there if you need to change the babies diaper, a feeding etc. They also have at the front of every park (if you're close to that) a nursing station, with high chairs, cribs, tv's for the kids, snacks for purchase, gliders for breast feeding or bottle feeding your baby, as well as a microwave. It's always very quiet and a great place to get 'away' if you need a little break for a bit.

As for the backpack carrier, you can use it while standing in any line - but for the ride, they will usually ask you to hold the infant in your lap for safety.

Just remember, Florida is hot and lines can be long and both kids and adults can get very cranky! Just try to have a great time and don't worry if the kids get a little fussy here and there! B/c Disney is A LOT of fun and your kids are going to have the time of their lives! :)

Good luck!!

Good family activities to do with my three year old daughter?

Travis

She seems to be getting a bit tired of the park, aquarium, zoo, and ponds. Generally this something my wife and I do every other weekend or so, just to get out of the house and spend some time together.

Also, we have twin five months old, and we'd rather not go hiking / camping with the infants, as you can imagine.

My daughter generally enjoys anything with animals, and crafts. She doesn't particularly enjoy anything 'girly' from what we've gathered. Likes to figure out puzzles, and always finding ways to make things 'work'. (She'll find a broken toy and will attempt to make it work again.) Extremely shy, if anyone comes at her too quickly, she's retreat behind my wife's leg.

Open to any serious suggestions, :) Thank you in advance.
My daughter hates the water, refuses to go to the pools / lakes with us. She will only go to the frog ponds with us to try and catch frogs in the puddles. Thanks for the suggestion though! :)

Answer
Some more ideas outside of the house...

-- Museums -- art, science, children's, etc. Most places have things for young children.
-- Library story hour
-- Children's theater production (maybe just for the 3-year-old and one parent, no babies)
-- Pet store. You don't have to buy anything -- just look at the animals.
-- Indoor playgrounds -- mall, McDonald's, other parks
-- Check out parks with short hiking trails (and you can wear the babies in backpack carriers), or find a new playground in your area.
-- Find a way to make old adventures more interesting. For example, our zoo has specific animal feeding times, so when we want something new, we choose a couple animals that we want to watch get fed that day. Or we splurge and buy the crackers to feed the giraffes ourselves or the food for the lorikeets. Or we watch for special events or shows on certain days.
-- Also, keep trying the pools/lakes. She may grow to like them over time.

Things to do at home...
-- Draw with chalk. You can do pictures, hopscotch, draw a maze or a path to follow, etc.
-- Ride bikes/scooters up and down the sidewalk.
-- Use blue painter's tape on hardwood or linoleum floors to make hopscotch or paths inside (for rainy/cold days).
-- Puzzles. (Maybe you could pick up a couple new ones.)
-- Board games like Candy Land.
-- Paint with water. You can do this on the driveway, the side of the house, or anywhere. Just get a cup of water and a paintbrush, and it disappears as it dries. Aquadoodle mats are fun for indoors.
-- Take a walk while you push babies in the stroller and she pushes a doll in her own stroller.
-- Build with blocks.
-- Take a magnifying glass or binoculars, and go on an animal hunt in your neighborhood. Look for birds, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, and all kinds of bugs.
-- Get an easel and some dry-erase markers, and let her draw and erase as much as she wants.
-- Since she likes puzzles and building, let her help with minor repairs around the house. If you're doing some hammering to hang a picture on the wall, let her help hammer a nail or two into a spare piece of wood. When my kids were 3, their preschool teacher had them hammer big pieces of styrofoam together, and then they got to paint what they had created. I think they even got to use a real saw to help saw the styrofoam before hammering it.
-- Get some sewing cards and let her "sew" them with shoelaces.
-- Start collections of leaves, flowers, or rocks, and let her sort and count them.
-- Blow bubbles.
-- When it rains, let her go out and jump in all the puddles.
-- Turn on all kinds of music, and dance around the house. She can even play along with her own toy or homemade instruments.
-- Read books. Lots and lots of books.

Honestly, there are so many things you can do with a 3-year-old. If you live in or near a major city, there are probably tons of things you haven't even discovered yet, and there's plenty you can do at home as well. Have fun!

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