Baby carrier drama

I didn't realize this before I had children, but I have since come to the conclusion that there are basically two types of mamas--those who carry and those who stroller. I always assumed I'd be a stroller mom--my mother was, and it hardly occurred to me to use a carrier. I knew about Baby Bjorns (who doesn't?), but little else about the vast world of baby wearing. I don't know exactly how I stumbled across ERGObaby carriers, but I know that I bought one when my older son was teeny tiny and I loved it. I quickly realized that being bus- and subway-dependent precluded being a real stroller mom. We did buy a stroller that we used infrequently, and somehow ended up with a total of three strollers, all for different purposes, but we used the ERGO daily. I can wear the ERGO for hours and not notice the weight of the baby at all.

Piglet n the ERGO at Rockefeller Center, October 2008 (10 months old)

So I became a baby wearing mama for purely practical reasons. As it happened, my older son really liked being worn, and it seemed to fill his need for being held--he wasn't a particularly cuddly baby. I only stopped using the ERGO when I got pregnant with Boo and couldn't tolerate the hip strap around my middle any more. Once Boo was born, I used a long wrap-style carrier for the first week, since it is good when they are that size, but quickly graduated to the ERGO for carrying. Things seemed okay in the carrier department for a while, but it became clear to me in the last month or so that Boo hates the ERGO. He wants to be able to see out, and, being a generally cuddly baby, doesn't have an extra need to be up close and personal with my chest. It seems to be too stimulating for his ever-ready-to-nurse appetite. I discovered, quite by accident, that if he is facing outward, he can be content for hours! Unfortunately, the ERGO is a facing-inward only carrier and Boo isn't big enough yet to wear on my back. So I ventured into the world of Bjorns and front-facers with trepidation, having heard all the nightmarish stories about aching backs, twisted necks and the like. We borrowed a Baby Bjorn active carrier (with lumbar support) from someone in our neighborhood, and while Boo loved it, we did not. In fact, I can say pretty unequivocally after three weeks of regular Bjorn use, I'm going to need a good chiropractor. Or neck surgery. Or both.

So I started inquiring about different forward-facing carrier options on the various mommy listservs that I'm on. The Beco Gemini caught my eye, but the price was a little daunting, and I inquired about finding a used one amongst the mommies. Two people highly recommended the Belle Baby carrier, which I'd never heard of, but looked promising on their website. One mama offered me a loaner of her Belle for the weekend to try it out. Another friend offered her Mei Favorite Baby Carrier from Babies Beyond Borders (full buckle style) to try out and if I liked it, to buy it used from her. Being desperate for some relief, I agreed to try both this past weekend. I immediately liked the Belle Baby--it wasn't as ergonomically great as the ERGO, but it was significantly better than the Bjorn, and the website had two models on sale, so that was a bonus. The Mei Favorite carrier at first blush seemed like a dream come true--all the features of an ERGO with the forward-facing option. I quickly realized, however, that the forward-facing option works only with older babies, and the way the straps crossed in my back made me hurt all over. So that one wouldn't work. So that left the Gemini and the Belle. Since no one appeared to have a Gemini for sale or loan, and the price difference between it and the Belle was substantial, I decided to take the plunge and order the Belle. So we'll see. I ordered this one:

What do you think? I think I could even double wear with the Belle--put Boo on the front and Piglet in the back in the ERGO. As we are still planning a relatively large family, I'm sure to have another child who wants to face outward, so I'm quite certain we'll get a lot of mileage out of both our carriers. And hopefully save our backs in the meantime.


So on to the eye candy for today. I made two of these cards to say thank you to the moms who loaned me their carriers this weekend. Quick and simple. I used an old PPA sketch (#57) and some of the Kisses die cuts that I had left over from the spring. They were on the clearance rack at Stampin' Up! until recently, but there are lots of great things on the clearance rack right now--you can purchase them by clicking HERE. I like the Silhouette Sentiments hostess set (level one) more than I thought I would--the small size was initially challenging to work with, but I'm finding it works well on clean and simple cards.

Supplies:
Old Olive, Baja Breeze, Bashful blue cs, retired dp, kisses whisper white die cut
Baja Breeze, Bashful Blue, Old Olive markers/ink pads
Bashful blue satin ribbon
Silhouette Sentiments (hostess level one stamp set)
dimensionals
bashful blue designer button