Hiking and carrier question

seasalt123

STMs I'm hoping for some perspective here. 

One of my NICU friends would like to go hiking on Thursday. It's not an over strenuous hike but is uphill about 30 min. My LO will be 3 weeks adjusted. 

My friend has a Bjorn One carrier. I am looking at the K'tan active for when he's small and either keeping my Ergo original for when he's bigger or investing in another structured carrier which doesn't require an insert (such as the Lillebaby or the Beco Gemini). 

I have two questions:

1) Is three weeks old (adjusted as he's a preemie) way too young to be considering any sort of hike?

2) If so, does anyone have experience with the K'tan and whether a wrap carrier in general would be fine for longer wearing/strenuous activity? I have a bias in thinking a structured carrier would be required. 

Thank you! 

and_peggy

I'm not a STM so I can't advise whether baby is too young or whatnot but I do baby wear. I have an ergo but I wanted something less bulky to wear around when she is still little too. I bought a ktan last week and I love it. More importantly, she loves it. I've worn for several hours at a time and she seems to be just fine. Only thing is she gets a little sweaty.

seasalt123

Thanks @aehogan90. I'm leaning toward not going on the hike yet. It's going to be a bit rainy this week which makes me even more apprehensive. Glad to see another positive review for the K'tan. It seems so much easier to use than the other wraps! 

lionstigersbears

No extreme hiking experience but I have baby worn in slings wraps and soft structured carriers. My experience is that as long as I'm comfortable, it's all good. I think more structured carriers are definitely necessary as babies get bigger and you do more and more activity, but I took some very long walks with a wrap and because baby was so light it was no issue!

Age wise consult doc if really worried but if it were me I'd just make sure baby's head is supported, warm enough (one more layer than you, and a wrap style carrier like k'tan is considered a layer) and beware of over heating since baby will get warmth from your exertion too!

mcb2016

My son is three weeks, and I haven't been hiking yet. Was only approved for walking at my 2 week follow up appointment. (I had a c-section). We've been wearing him in the Ergo with the insert. I had to watch a video to get him in there correctly but once we did it's worked very great for us. I wear him at least some time every day in it. I believe your little one should be 7 pounds to use it. He does get very warm in the Ergo. Last time I wore him outside I kept him in just a onesie! 

Karenpreggo

@mcb2016 - can you link the video you used? I can't for life of me figure out the Ergo with the insert!

camillaandcarson

Also be mindful if wearing a sleeper. My baby wearing club suggests you let baby wear a bigger sleeper than normal to account for the leg being in a different position when being carried - at least for ssc's. 
Check to see if you have a local baby wearing club. They can be a huge help and awesome resource. I was surprised when I discovered the city next to us has a rather large one and they have a huge collection to let you borrow carriers and wraps of all kinds to try. 
 

slfezz

You can find the videos on the Ergo website here: https://store.ergobaby.com/bundle-of-joy?jumpTo=videos 

There are videos for each type of carry and how to use the insert for newborn and infant. 

dmendo01

Lurking from D15 -- I went on hikes with DD as early as 10 days old. C-section here too. It might not have been recommended but it completely saved my sanity. I just took it really easy and DH wore the baby in our baby bjorn and she did fine, slept the whole time every time, and we just kept at it. I would wear a backpack with the essentials for her in case we needed them. After the first few hikes we invested in a Kinderpack and I HIGHLY recommend that for this age! Especially with a momma who will be walking or hiking much. Now we put her in our Osprey baby hiking carrier, but she's just now able to ride in it at 5 months.