Thursday, October 29, 2009

Thursday's Thing- Baby Carriers


i have used this picture before, but it goes with my thursday thing, and i just love this picture.
this is my mama. she is a domestic goddess. she cooks the most amazing food, and can do so for the largest of crowds. i think one of her personal bests was a party that we had at her house in toronto, and about 100 people came through our door at various points of the day, and all of them came to EAT.
anyhoo, today's post is not about my mom, but about baby carriers. she is sporting a crazy-korean thing which is basically a blanket with two ties and you wrap the crap out of yourself and the child on your back. i could not do this. even with her help. she throws it on by herself, and topher is in heaven. he gets to see all the action (dishes being washed, food being cooked) up close. which is the beauty of carrying your baby in a carrier. Topher, being my second baby, was in a sling A LOT. lily- not so much. slings are a 2nd mama's best friend.
my girlfriends (pretty much all of whom have had a baby in the last three months) are big on pouch slings. ring slings are best since you can adjust how you wear your baby, and who can wear your baby. and because it comes with extra material, you can also do a little private nursing while your baby is in the sling. ring slings are also good cause then dad, as well as mom can take turns carrying baby. i tried the HotSling for a little while, but Topher was not a big fan, which made me not a big fan. he was a squirmy one, and tried to push out of it on occassion, which wasn't that hard to do. but these types of baby carriers come in supercute fabrics and patterns, and can be found at your local target for $30 - $60. their selection of baby slings is amazing, so much more than when Lily was a newborn only two years ago! their brands range from Hotsling to Balboa Baby, which a little while ago you could only get at specialty stores or online. way to go target! i love you.
i have tried the Moby wrap ($40 at Target), and it was NOT for me. i tried it at the store (a specialty baby store that has since closed down a la recession), but it was nice to have the store owner show me exactly how to use it and let me try it on my own a few times. if you get yours from Target, you will really have to watch the video, srudy it, maybe take notes. but this contraption is basically a gigantic piece of fabric that you wrap around yourself in an assortment of different ways, and then you somehow stuff your baby in there. i know there are a lot of moms who love this thing, and those moms are patient, and have patient children. not so for me, so let's move on.
THE BEST ONE IN THE UNIVERSE: The Ergo Baby
check out their website at http://www.ergobabycarriers.com/
these are like the Baby Bjorn carriers, only it has a really thick hip strap that made all the difference for me. and actually, some Baby Bjorns are about the same price, but you can only carry a child up to about 6 months or a year. you can use the Ergo till your kid is 5. and this may sound ridiculous to some of you, but have you ever been to the zoo, or at the mall and seen parents lugging around giant children who are not wanting anything to do with their strollers, or don't even have a stroller at all?
this carrier looks like a backpack, and all the straps are adjustable so Chris and I were both able to use it very comfortably, and you can also use it on your front or back. another great feature on this carrier is a head covering flap so that your baby can be protected from the sun if you are out on a walk, or to keep your baby hidden if your baby is taking a nap. Topher fell asleep in this almost everytime i used it, which also allowed me to get a lot of work done on the computer (when i went to work.)
i started using it when Jeehon moved in with us (cause it was hers!) which made Topher about 2 months old, and i used it very regularly till he was about 10 months old. it made shopping, hanging out with Lily, doing the dishes, etc, a lot easier. and best of all, it provided a lot of snuggle time for me and my little baby in the midst of busyness and trying to keep up with life! Jeehon used it with Sungu, who is a heavy piece of kid, when she would travel. it was especially handy at the airport since you have to completely dismantle your stroller and get it up on the xray machine thing.
these bad boys run for about $105, but i think that they are worth every penny.
anyway, i strongly suggest to any new mama, and especially to moms who are about to have their second! i didn't really use a baby carrier with Lily, except the Baby Bjorn that I got as a hand-me-down. but i didn't love it, so i didn't use it that much. but now you have a world of options out there, so i suggest you dive in, cause having an extra pair of hands (even if they are your own) is the best thing that you get when you invest in a baby carrier.

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