Last March I wrote a little about traveling with baby,
meaning plane travel, mostly. (You can read that
newsletter by clicking on "Last March's Newsletter in
the right-hand column.) But this year my mind is on
hiking,
which we do with our 2 year old every evening in the
foothills of the San Gabriels near our house.
When she was an infant, we used to hike with our
daughter in a Rebozo Mexican Baby Sling (see picture
at left). It is
lightweight, breathable, completely adjustable between
my husband and I, and comfortable for our daughter to
snuggle down and sleep in (which is how she spent the
majority of our hikes in those days). The best thing
about it was that we could tuck it out of the way when
not needed, either in a pocket or around the waist.
Now that she's walking at least half the time, the
challenge is to find a carrier that is easy on and off,
can be worn without her in it, but is still comfortable
enough to carry 27 lbs on my 100 lb frame. And don't
forget that it needs to fit my 6' husband, too! For this
we usually grab the Ergo Baby Carrier. With practice, it
becomes quite easy to slip a toddler in and out of this
carrier. And we much prefer it to the big frame
backpacks that are designed for hiking, because our
daughter is held close to our center of gravity, and the
entire pack weighs less than 2 lbs.
One thing to remember, though, is that I am talking
about hikes longer than 30 minutes. For walks around
the neighborhood, we have found that any baby sling
or carrier on our website will give your arms needed
rest and freedom of movement. Just get out there and
enjoy the day!
More Info on the Rebozo and Ergo (bottom of page) »
