Out and about with baby

Ever since I snapped out of my pessimism and depression over staying at home alone with a baby, I have found myself hitting the streets with baby strapped onto me every single day.

Before I was a mom, I already knew that babywearing was the way to go, having seen how mobile and independent my girlfriends were. Is it any wonder, then, that somehow I ended up with three different baby carriers? Oops. Somebody call the babywearing police!

My first carrier is a Pupsik pouch sling, thoughtfully gifted to me by Yuling. She herself had loved the pouch when R was a little girl and thought that I would like it too. Unfortunately, Mr A had other thoughts. He wasn’t particularly happy at being stuffed into the pouch, loudly articulating his objections, three out of five times. But now that he is older and has stronger neck muscles (and is super duper kaypoh to boot), I have been carrying him in the front carry mode. He loves swiveling his head to check out the environment, the cheeky little bugger.

BUT. Because the weight is distributed over one shoulder, it isn’t great for times when I am running around town by myself for a long period of time. I mean, my little man’s chubby cheeks alone probably weigh a full kilogram.

The next carrier we have is a Beco Butterfly 2, a soft structured carrier. Again a recommendation by babywearing advocate Yuling, this has become husband’s go-to carrier. It’s easy to adjust, distributes the weight equally on our backs and shoulders and has pretty patterns to boot. Obviously, aesthetics has EVERYTHING to do with our choice. I picked the Ginger design and the man was all, JUST GIMME THE THING, I DON’T CARE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

Love the man.

I hardly use the Beco these days because I find it a little bulky for Mr A at this moment. He still needs the infant insert and looks dwarfed by it.

Enter the Boba Baby Wrap.

This is, hands down, my favorite carrier. It’s simply a long piece of stretchy fabric that you wrap around yourself, slipping baby in between the folds. It’s easy to wear, lightweight, distributes the weight evenly and best of all, Aidan ALWAYS sleeps in the carrier. This was a recommendation by our friends, whose little girl is just as wakeful as Aidan is.

These days, I pull on the wrap, tuck Aidan in and dash out of the house with our diaper bag and onto buses, trains. No heavy strollers to pack and unpack into car boots, just me and my little man on public transport. When he is fussy, I simply pull him out and sit him on my lap while having a conversation with my companions. And when he needs to nurse, I unravel the wrap and put it back on again when it’s time to go (I haven’t figured out how to breastfeed with him in the wrap but it can be done). That can be a little troublesome as it’s a very, very, VERY long piece of fabric but it’s not a deal breaker. After a tumble in the washer, the wrap is as good as new.

In due time though, when Aidan is bigger, I would probably switch to the Beco. But right now, the wrap is awesome and perfect for me and him.