About a year ago, I noticed that Charlotte had outgrown our Ergo. Oh well, I thought. What’s a girl to do? The kid likes to be carried and the Ergo is what we have. Maybe she should think twice before she goes and commits to all that growing, DID SHE THINK ABOUT THAT?
At the time, my knowledge about babywearing was fairly limited. I used a Moby wrap when Charlotte was little and LOVED it and cried when she outgrew it. Then I used the Ergo. And barring our water sling, which I used several times a week to shower with Charlotte for the first 18 months of her life, that was all I knew about.
I’m not personally a big fan of strollers, so the Ergo it was.
Until, that is, about six months ago when Charlotte started complaining that being carried in the Ergo gave her legs “sprinkles.” Because the seat wasn’t wide enough for her, being worn was cutting off her circulation.
I have never been particularly interested in the intricate details of babywearing, but BOOM! suddenly I was. It seemed to me that there had to be other babywearing mothers whose toddlers and preschoolers wanted to be carried…and needed safe, larger carrying options. And it seemed to me that these same mothers must sometimes tandem-wear their older children with younger children and therefore need access to a variety of carrying options to satisfy their needs.
There HAD to be other options out there, I thought.
And it turned out there were…
So I took my newfound problems and interest straight to the Internet and started to learn everything I possibly could about babywearing children 2+ years old and tandem wearing children of different ages. I won’t lie to you: it was like uncovering a secret underground world. It took me at least a month to learn the acronyms alone.
A little over a week ago, the first carrier we’ve bought in over four years arrived on our doorstep: a used preschool-sized Kinderpack with standard straps.
It. Is. Huge. When I pulled it out of the package it arrived in, I was very concerned because it dwarfs the Ergo. But it turns out that it is the perfect size for Charlotte. I can wear it at DUE ANY DAY pregnant (the photos above were taken yesterday afternoon; I am approximately 39 weeks along) for long stretches of time, Donald can wear it (although he does wish we’d gone for something with plus-size straps), the hood provides much more coverage than the Ergo hood ever did, and Charlotte not only loves to snuggle in it – she never complains about “sprinkles” anymore.
There is also plenty of room in the Kinderpack for her to grow, so we can continue to “baby”wear in comfort for however long Charlotte asks to be carried.
It seems like such a small thing, but crossing this problem – something that has been floating around at the back of my mind for nearly a year – off The Great List Of Parenting Hiccups has been an enormous relief. Now I am free to pour all of my excess energy back into that other project of mine: begging my child to reconsider all that pesky growing she seems addicted to.
*** For anyone in the same boat, I’ve found that the forums at TheBabyWearer.com are enormously helpful with regards to sorting out which carriers might best suit your family. Happy child-wearing!
** Charlotte is three years and three months old. I am 39 weeks pregnant.
(13) -
Have you seen the wraps I make on Facebook? I feel like I need to send you one. Email me :)
-
Karen - Kindercarry makes several sizes of the Kinderpack carrier and you seem to always be able to choose whether you want petite, standard, or plus-size straps…so I assume that they’re available. We bought used, so I just told the various babywearing forums that I was looking for a preschool-size kinderpack with standard straps (which we assumed would work for both of us) in gender-neutral colors and about a week or two later, this one popped up, barely used at about half retail price. We’re actually trying to locate one with plus-size straps now so that Donald can wear it more comfortably. We’ll see how that search goes!
We’re actually planning to try a few different tandem-wearing options. Charlotte prefers soft-structured buckle carriers like the Ergo and the Kinderpack, but I really love using wraps so we’re thinking about trying out a wrap-conversion mei-tai and different size woven wraps in conjunction with soft-structured carriers. We’ll see how it goes! I’m sure we’ll end up buying a few options, trying them out, then selling off the ones we don’t like or use as the year wears on.
I keep meaning to write more about how breastfeeding through pregnancy with a preschooler is going, and I’ll definitely try to remember to write more about how tandem nursing and tandem babywearing (and those two combined) go! I cannot wait until I give birth and have energy (and no insomnia and no heartburn lol) again!
Katelyn - NO! I have not! I’m sending you an e-mail pronto, lady =) -
Thanks for sharing! We are starting our first visits with a 2yr old who will be placed with us soon. I really want to carry him as much as possible but he is large - 35lb! This may be a good option for us.
-
How cute! I should definitely look into a bigger carrier for my 3 year old. I still carry her around half the time, might as well use a carrier to make it easier, lol.
-
Oh, she’s getting so big! And congrats to you!
Steph
-
Facebook has a swap and a whole nother world of babywearing. (same with cloth diapers) its kind of addicting!
-
Thank you! I am an avid baby wearer and will be moving on to this stage soon! I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to find a pack to support my toddler. Super pumped to see that you can carrier your little one while very pregnant. You are so strong! This will be me for sure!
P.S.-What is Charlotte’s weight at the time you took this photo? My Boboa toddler weight limit is 45lbs. Just want to compare.
-
Do you ever get back pain? How often does your wee girl like to be carried? I am wondering if this would be a good purchase for my 2.5 year old son…
-
ray ban cockpit rb3362
-
lunettes oakley soldes
monture de lunette ray ban http://www.stratandops.com/solutions.htm -
occhiali da sole uomo oakley
lenti polarizzate oakley http://www.ffdb.no/index_2.asp
By Karen on October 29, 2012
This is great to know about! I’ve had to stop carrying Eli at all as with placenta previa (marginal, and may change, fingers crossed) I’m limited carrying to 20 pounds right now. He’s been a trooper but it is a hard adjustment because the boy loves his Ergo. Please, please post how you go about carrying both children when the time comes. Once the baby is born and I’m free to carry what ever weight I’m capable of carrying there may be times when I want to carry both kids. I’m curious what other type of carrier you will use in tandem with the kinderpack and how well they work together… if you can still nurse in the front carrier, etc. This would perhaps be worth us buying even if I don’t carry both of mine together as closing in on 40 lbs Eli alone was taxing me, but my husband could still use it. Does it come with plus-sized straps as an option that you just didn’t buy or would that requite a different sort of carrier?