If you're like me, you probably have about a million and one ways to transport your baby, and a million and one different contraptions for doing so (much to my husband's dismay!).
We also had a Baby Bjorn carrier, which was great when she was tiny. But around the time she reached the 7 month mark, she was just too heavy for me to carry on the front anymore.
And our main form of transportation was her Teutonia stroller. (I spent hours and hours pushing that stroller every single day as it was the only place she'd nap!) The stroller is one of those seriously heavy-duty German ones, which was perfect for the cobbled streets where we were living at that time. It cost a small fortune, but we used it so much it was well worth every penny.
Then we once took the Teutonia stroller on an airplace - big mistake! First, the airline lost it for 3 days! Very stressful, and by the time they'd found it there had been a huge snowstorm so we couldn't take it out anyway! Then on the return flight, some nitwit had packed a jar of pickles or something in their suitcase, that broke and our stroller REEKED of vinegar. After that trip we learned our lesson and bought a little Chicco fold-up travel stroller for future trips.
And, of course, there was also the hiking backpack for bigger hikes. (Though she met with an unfortunate accident in this one, resulting in her first trip to the emergency room.)
Then Sweet Pea came along. By this time we had a car, and we still had the MaxiCosi carseat. We also still have the Bjorn carrier, but Sweet Pea is a lot bigger and heavier than Princess Pea was, so she quickly got too heavy for that. I'd heard that slings were somehow better, so I decided to buy a sling too, but Sweet Pea never liked it. I think she found it too restrictive on her body.
We also still had the Teutonia stoller, and we got a step board attachment for the back so that Princess Pea could ride on it too. But we found the Teutonia is not ideal for where we live now, as we live up a steep hill and the stroller is a bit heavy to push up, especially with a three year old riding on it too (ok, so I really just need to get a bit fitter, but in the meantime, it's a pain in the bazooka pushing that thing up the hill!).
We also went on a trip when she was 4 months and needed a travel stroller for her. By this time the Chicco stroller had broken, and we had a temporary borrowed umbrella stroller from a friend, but of course those strollers are only for babies 6 months and up, so we ended up buying a Quinny Zapp that has adapters to fit her carseat on the top. We love our Zapp, it's really light and folds up super small - it even has a carry bag so we can fold it up and sling it over our shoulders as carry-on luggage when we fly! It's great for shopping centres and easy to toss (yes, toss) in the back of the car. But it's got small wheels so is not good for 'off-roading', which around here is also 'on-roading' as the roads and sidewalks are very broken.
Still determined to 'babywear', I took one of those wrap carrier classes and learned how to tie it so that Sweet Pea could ride on my back. So I went out to buy a wrap carrier. The first one I got was in a packet and when I got home I realised that the fabric was really rough, which I didn't like. Since returning things is not really very acceptable here, and since I had travelled half-way across town to get it, I never did end up returning it. Then I found a much nicer, softer one (which also cost a rather ridiculous amount). But by this time I'd pretty much forgotten how to tie it, and Sweet Pea had reached an age where she was very wriggly and I just couldn't get her to stay still long enough to put it on. So it's also unused (this is a rather sore point with my husband!).
In the meantime, a friend lent me her Ergo carrier, which can be worn on the front or back. I used it on the front quite a lot at first, as it was more comfortable than the Bjorn, but just for quick trips - from the car to Princess Pea's classroom and back again, for example. It is very comfortable on the back and when someone is around to help I use it that way for hikes. I've used it a couple of times if we walk to pick up Princess Pea from school, but I still have a bit of a hard time getting her on my back by myself and she's not all that cooperative about it, probably because by the time we get all our winter gear on we're already sweating to death in the house, and then it takes me another 10 minutes to get her on, by which time we're both dripping in sweat and she is screaming!
Anyway, baby moving is a constant struggle for me, I still don't feel like I have the perfect solution at my fingertips, even with all this paraphernalia! For example, when we drive Princess Pea to preschool and Sweet Pea falls asleep in the car, how best should I take her in? She's too heavy now for me to carry her in the carseat, so if she's awake I just carry her on my hip and then let her crawl around on the floor when we get inside. But if she's asleep....well, I'm still trying to figure that out. Any suggestions welcome!
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