(no subject)

[lollardfish]

Are there any parents on my lj who have used a toddler carrier? Backpack or hip carrier? Shannon and I will need to buy one sooner or later (before Italy this fall), probably after my April paycheck mid-month. It'd be good for the zoo too.

Comments

[born-to-me.livejournal.com]

Gabriel was too huge for anything like that (for me with my pain issues) from day one. rose1thorn, however, used the Maya sling I gave her for several years, she might still use it (miridearie is very petite). I've had lots of friends who loved backpacks as well - I think it depends on what you need to do at the time, as well as how large/active your child is.

The Maya slings are incredible, and designed to be used as long as a child is carryable. Is carryable a word? ;-)

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

I'm dubious about strolling through Venice with one of those slings. I need to see one and try it, maybe.

[madtruk.livejournal.com]

Our friends Norm and Karen use one (for both kids in order of appearance) and they swear by it. It is funny how the child looks sort of forgotten. I think Nico would hate it because they are more confining than the back carrier.

Still looking...

[born-to-me.livejournal.com]

I wish I could find some photos of Daniel and I trying it. I'll keep looking. They're rugged, they're incredibly secure (The Maya sling is supposed to be the best) and you can use them in a ton of different configurations. They come with a DVD showing how to move it for different size kids.

Honestly not trying to talk you into it, after all I couldn't use it myself - but did want you to see it as an option.

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[guppiecat]

I have seen amazing things done with the slings. It's like baby origami, it is!

More seriously, I have also seen them be utterly useless on kids that view it as "confining" rather than "comfortably enclosing". The determining factor seems to be whether the kid is generally calm or generally active. Those who are described as "active" and "engaged with their surroundings" seem to hate it.

For what it's worth, my sample size is 4... two loved it, two hated it... none were mine, so consider this observation data only. :)

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I have a line on a used roller backpack. I'll try it with Nico on Wed., and buy if it's good.

[madtruk.livejournal.com]

We might have ours still. They're very convenient. It is tough to get through tight crowds (like the Mpls farmer's market) but otherwise cool. Want us to look?

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

Oh, please do.

[creidylad.livejournal.com]

Gwen was in the maya wrap until she was nearly three and a half and I was just Too Pregnant.

[creidylad.livejournal.com]

PS -- If Glory will oblige while you are visiting, I'll let you try her in the maya wrap.

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

That'd be lovely.

[jdonat.livejournal.com]

We had both. Michelle used a sling when she wanted to carry the kids, and I had one of the most interesting backpacks I've ever seen. It looked like a standard kid backpack, but with one difference -it turned into a small stroller in about 2 minutes. We took it down to Disney World the first year we had it -if I had a van full, I could have sold all of them in FL. There are a number of them online -if you google for them, you'll find a bunch. Ours cost us about 90.00 and we used it for years. Ours looked like the instep one. The one we had was an early model -it turned into a 2 wheel stroller, so you pulled it like a 2 wheel hand cart. The new ones are 4 wheel.

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

Interesting ... Thanks!

[bellebonnesage.livejournal.com]

We got a Kelty Kids backpack as a baby present, and my husband loved it! He's had lots of backpacking experience, and says it was well-balanced and comfortable. The children loved riding in it as well. The model we had had a stand, so when you took the pack off, it could stand up on the ground, which was perfect for unloading a sleeping toddler.

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they look awesome, but perhaps 100$ more expensive than other options.