Babywearing, again, after all these years

My second daughter was early (by my standards) to quit babywearing. She was just three.

I know many people think their babywearing careers are over at 6-9 months when the baby starts crawling and walking, but not so! Once they get over the driving need to be on the floor and master these skills, babies are right back up on your hip, and your babywearing career is back on target for years to come.

With my first daughter, it was me who ended the relationship. She was 4. I was hugely pregnant. She was huge. I just could not manage to pick up a 45 pound child any more. It was awful and if I could have, I would have. But I couldn't. I didn't know about back carries in those days. If I had it to do over again, she'd have been on my back right the way through because it's clearly what she needed. Now I know better.

My second daughter has always been an independent soul. I wasn't ready for her to stop because it's just easier to keep a child out of trouble if they are attached! She certainly challenged me as I chased her through stores if I couldn't get her to stay in the stroller.

She moved into her big sister's room recently. And with this move to further independence came some regressions. Specifically, she needs a lot more contact to make up for being away from me at night. When she wakes up in the morning, she wants to go into a "carrier". I only have a few left in my stash. I have a Beco Butterfly, a super old denim Ergo, and a Scootababy.

She prefers the Scootababy and Beco because they're pink. I still love the Ergo the most. I don't always get to say. It's almost worth getting myself the new pink Ergo. Almost, but not quite justifiable for just about 15 minutes babywearing in the morning.

She's going to be 5 soon, by the way.

If you know me on FaceBook, I've been posting horrible photos (horrible because my hair is a mess).

Shallow Beco Babywearing Love

Okay, this is totally ridiculous. Every single time I get a new shipment of Becos in, I fret over which one to take for myself and I sell off the previous one. It's a luxury for sure, but it is fun to see something new and fresh.

I have been without a Beco for over a month now. I went to visit my sister-in-law a few months ago. She had a baby recently and was going back to work. I brought her a variety of baby carriers to try and she fell in love with my Beco. I was happy to give it to her! She looked so happy and comfortable. It's so funny because I am 5'11" tall and she's just 5' tall but that didn't make any difference.

So, this was goodbye! This is the last shot of my wearing my beloved Carnival Beco. I have missed it and the bright colors. Usually, I am okay with moving on to a new print. But this time, I really was sorry to let go of the colors and concerned that I'd never be able to get the same print again. I was so relieved that the Carnival print is still available.

Here is my sister-in-law wearing her new Beco and loving it. She left me a message recently telling me how great it's working out for her when she drops her baby off with her mom and goes to work. I am so glad that the transitions are easier.

I wondered when the Becos arrived if I'd choose a different print like I normally do. Was I done with the Carnival? While examining the pictures, I totally fell in love with the Cocoa Butterfly. I have learned that it's not just my opinion that matters. I once made the mistake of not asking my daughter which one she liked. She absolutely refused to get in that Beco. I think it was brown swirls. She had been cool with green swirls but brown swirls were a no go. Weird! Stubborn little thing! (The photo of her in brown swirls Beco is a trick; it's actually the green swirls and I tweaked the color in PhotoShop. You can tell because the hood design changed by the time the brown swirls came out. Okay this is total Beco geekery but someone somewhere is nodding now, saying, "Mmm, hmm, yup, I remember that. ") The concensus in the house was to stick with the Carnival Beco so now I have a brand new one.

Well, almost. I haven't actually taken it out of the packaging. I want to sit with my decision a few days and make absolutely sure it is the one!

Beco hate, Beco love, AKA, a lesson in listening my girls

When my last batch of Beco Baby Carriers came in, a few months ago, I was, as usual, very excited. You'd think opening packages would get old having been in business for as long as I have, but no. As long as it isn't marked "RETURN", I'm jazzed about opening packages and examining new inventory.

But still, the Becos have a special place in my heart.

Last time around, I studied all the photos of the prints and ordered an extra of the one that I wanted for my personal use. But while I was putting them away, both my girls chose a different one over the one I had chosen. I couldn't imagine it mattered all that much so I went ahead with my choice.

Well that was a pretty stupid idea. A few days later, I got home and had a lot of stuff to carry in, and not only would my toddler not get into the Beco, no way, no how, she insisted that I take it off my waist. That's right, I could not even have that thing strapped on. I had to carry her up just with my not at all free hands. I had no backup baby carrier so I was pretty irritated. A few days later, the same thing happened. It got to the point where she simply refused to get into that baby carrier. I was starting to worry that it was uncomfortable.

So when the new shipment came in last week, I gave her the choice of which baby carrier will be hers. She and my other daughter picked out the carnival. It is gorgeous and probably loads more appealing to children than the brown swirls I'd gone for. Oh heck, my husband even picked out the carnival print. Now, when she sees the Beco, she says, "I like that", and she is more than happy to get in.

Lesson learned!

Yamo and Beco and Ergo! Oh my!

Well isn't it just fun to finally have some wonderful choices in the structured baby carrier game? I now own, well, let me see.... A sutemi, a regular and a toddler Patapum, an Ergo, a Beco, and now a Yamo. Do I get some sort of prize?

Each one is slightly different, some are more comfortable than others, but the variety is great as there is now something for everyone.

The Beco has you pull the straps up to tighten it - a great innovation. The Yamo lets you pull up or down! Great for those who can't decide! The Ergo, Beco and Yamo are all convertable to hip carriers. The Patapum doesn't allow that. The Sutemi does but I have never even tried it! The convertability to a hip carrier also gives you another option: to cross the straps. That can mean added comfort on long carries.

What am I missing from my collection? Next month the topic of our NINO Babywearing meeting is structured baby carriers. Is my collection complete?