WRAP!

Like previous Fridays (I swear, this was not a theme when I started out. Do I do this because it's Friday and I figure that whatever ire I stir up will be gone by the time I'm back on Monday? Because I'm freeing myself for a weekend of bougie buying by declaring my non-bougie lifestyle choices?), this one is another HOT TOPIC!

BABY CARRYING!

As you've read, I usually carry the Kiddokabiddo in a carrier (recently, a Beco) when we are out and about.



My current reasoning is fivefold:

• She is THRILLED to be in there (usually grinning her head off)


• She easily takes naps in one (as she did for a skeptical crowd at a baby shower in the Vee Homeland)


• Hands-free for Mom


• Snuggle-time (far preferable to impersonal facing-away-from-Mom strollers)


• THEY'RE FREAKING ADORABLE

When Kiddokabiddo was littler, we used to carry her mainly in a Sleepy Wrap.

These are amazing when you have a snugglebug who needs to be close to Mom (OR DAD! The best thing about wraps are their HUMAN VERSATILITY--one size fits all and since you're wrapping it on yourself, there need be no 'weird accommodations' for differences in size). Purportedly you can nurse in them; this was a little hard for me. But since we were using the Sleepy Wrap in the summer, it was so hot I wanted to strip off all encumbrances.

Now, it's BECO CITY and there is nothing better than strapping the little bambina on my back, or on my front, and heading out into the world. EASY, PLEASY, and no wrangling a stroller.

As I did yesterday at the zoo.

Oh my gosh, what a stupid hassle. Not only was the stroller TOO SHORT FOR ME (dudes, I'm only 5'8". SORRY IF I'M NOT A SHORT MWOM!), but the stroller height was too small for the Kiddokabiddo to be able to see any animals, so I kept finding myself stopping the stroller, leaning it against the railing (SINCE IT WOULD TIP OVER THE MINUTE I TOOK KIDDO OUT), unstrapping her, and holding her on my hip to show her the little buddies.

Completely negating the "ease" of the stroller.

Moms, it's not a "new" thing, but until your little one is running around regularly, seriously invest in a carrier. And use it. And leave that stroller at home. If you tried it and your baby "didn't like it" or "fussed the whole time," try another kind. Wraps, structured soft carriers (like the Beco), ring slings--there's a whole world waiting for you. Trust me, your baby wants to be close to you while you two explore, not stuck in a stroller.