When did you stop "wearing" LO?

AnyaBella

That's pretty much my question. When and maybe why did you stop?

If you still do wear LO what carrier do you use and what position are they in? Front (facing in or out), side, back?

Oh and how much does LO weigh if you still use carriers?

AnyaBella

I still occasionally wear G in the Beco Gemini but yesterday I took him out for an extended period of time and today my back and shoulders are killing me. I had him in the front carry facing out. I know someone mentioned a while back that after a certain age they should stop facing out but for the life of me can't find that post. From what I've seen on line I'm not sure why they should stop being carried this way. I have yet to try him in the side and back carry positions. Maybe this would lessen the pain? Or maybe he's just too heavy (almost 18lbs)? I don't know.

danandkelly

I still wear Addi, she's 12 months and about 21 lbs, I occasionally still wear Natalie (she's about 25 lbs at 3 years) but mostly on my back or the side carry in the Ergo.

fjaril

My 3 yo still loves being carried. He'll bring my the babyhawk and ask for up!

He's 36 pounds (and 38.5 inches) and I mostly wear him on my back now, but front is fine too. he loves to snuggle my boobs

 I wore a becco for a long time, but he got too long for it to sit well on my frame.

I was never found of front facing. I tried it a few times, but I either almost knocked him into stuff or he grabbed everything in sight.

 

My.ABC.Life

I only recently stopped using the Beco (ETA, its not the Butterfly... its the version before that).  DS is 30 pds and 24+ months.  He's too heavy and prefers to walk.  I could probably still wear him on my back, but the front carry was always more fun for me (the main reason I wore him is to interact with him). 

I would venture to say that if you're wearing him and your sholders hurt... you probably need to tighten the waist strap tighter - so that the majority of his weight is on your hips. 

ETA:  I always wore DS facing inward... I don't think facing out was an option for my Beco.

AnyaBella

My.ABC.Life:

I only recently stopped using the Beco Butterfly.  DS is 30 pds and 24+ months.  He's too heavy and prefers to walk.  I could probably still wear him on my back, but the front carry was always more fun for me (the main reason I wore him is to interact with him). 

I would venture to say that if you're wearing him and your sholders hurt... you probably need to tighten the waist strap tighter - so that the majority of his weight is on your hips. 

Good tip! I was just looking at pic I took of us and it looks like we need some adjusting. I was thinking the shoulder straps were too long? Plus he always kind of tilts to one side, he's never sitting evenly in it. I must be wearing it wrong.

MommySteph2009

I stopped wearing DS when he got too heavy.  I wore him in the Baby bjorn for about 4 months then got a Moby and wore him till about 9-10 months.  I've got a big boy - so his weight just got to be too much.

tiki_t

I also stopped baby wearing when my back just couldn't take it any more. I'm sure the age/weight is different for everyone. Wear 'em until you hurt. Hahaha!

ashleyhuney

The last time I wore DS was when he was 2.5 and 30 lbs.  He now prefers to walk and he is really good about staying close and/or holding my hand so it works.  Now that I'm this PG I don't think I'll be strapping my 31 pound almost 3 year old on again

We used the stretchy wrap (moby) for the first 9 months, then Mei Tais until 1.5 - 2 and then a woven wrap which was so comfortable I'll be using that mostly from birth with #2.  We never had him facing out, bad for baby, bad for mommy.  I did back carries when I needed to get things done but I preferred front carry even until then end because I love snuggling with him. 

Here's a favorite pic wearing DS at the end of summer, he was over 2

 

 

 

 

AnyaBella

ashleyhuney:

The last time I wore DS was when he was 2.5 and 30 lbs.  He now prefers to walk and he is really good about staying close and/or holding my hand so it works.  Now that I'm this PG I don't think I'll be strapping my 31 pound almost 3 year old on again

We used the stretchy wrap (moby) for the first 9 months, then Mei Tais until 1.5 - 2 and then a woven wrap which was so comfortable I'll be using that mostly from birth with #2.  We never had him facing out, bad for baby, bad for mommy.  I did back carries when I needed to get things done but I preferred front carry even until then end because I love snuggling with him. 

Here's a favorite pic wearing DS at the end of summer, he was over 2

 

 

 

 

Could you elaborate? Is the facing out position what makes my back hurt? How is it bad for the baby? G really seems to prefer to face out but if it's bad for him I definitely don't want to continue doing it.

alibee09

My.ABC.Life:

I would venture to say that if you're wearing him and your sholders hurt... you probably need to tighten the waist strap tighter - so that the majority of his weight is on your hips.

Okay, so question about this... when I use my Ergo and tighten the bottom, it rides up and literally is WAY higher than my hips, up on my waist (which makes my shirt look "awesome" -- as in not awesome -- and gives me a major muffintop thing going on), instead of sitting on my hip bones. What am I doing wrong? Or is that normal?

m&m818

Hmmm. About 18 months? She was just too heavy (close to 30 lbs) for me. I could do it for short periods of time, but we were using it for places we didn't want to bring a stroller, but weren't comfortable with her walking, so DD would end up on me for a long time. It would be fine until the next day when I would realize my shoulders were killing me. (I also have some shoulder problems on top of that, so that was probably a big factor)

About a year she didn't like the front carry too much anymore, but up until we stopped she still really enjoyed the back carry.

I used the Beco Butterfly 2. I think it goes to 45 lbs.  

My.ABC.Life

alibee09:

My.ABC.Life:

I would venture to say that if you're wearing him and your sholders hurt... you probably need to tighten the waist strap tighter - so that the majority of his weight is on your hips.

Okay, so question about this... when I use my Ergo and tighten the bottom, it rides up and literally is WAY higher than my hips, up on my waist (which makes my shirt look "awesome" -- as in not awesome -- and gives me a major muffintop thing going on), instead of sitting on my hip bones. What am I doing wrong? Or is that normal?

Maybe its my great hips!    Or maybe I have a little extra "cushion" for the strap to hold on to... but I just place the waist straps exactly where I want them to sit, and tighten from there - they don't slip... they "dig" in.  Also, once I put DS in it... the straps settle in better.

green*eyes

I wore E in the Ergo (front carry facing in) till he was about 19 months.  He was probably around 30 pounds by then and it was really the weight that made it too hard.  We never did master the back carry - if we had, we'd probably have continued longer (who knows, might still be using it today!)

ashleyhuney

AnyaBella:

ashleyhuney:

The last time I wore DS was when he was 2.5 and 30 lbs.  He now prefers to walk and he is really good about staying close and/or holding my hand so it works.  Now that I'm this PG I don't think I'll be strapping my 31 pound almost 3 year old on again

We used the stretchy wrap (moby) for the first 9 months, then Mei Tais until 1.5 - 2 and then a woven wrap which was so comfortable I'll be using that mostly from birth with #2.  We never had him facing out, bad for baby, bad for mommy.  I did back carries when I needed to get things done but I preferred front carry even until then end because I love snuggling with him. 

Here's a favorite pic wearing DS at the end of summer, he was over 2

 

 

 

 

Could you elaborate? Is the facing out position what makes my back hurt? How is it bad for the baby? G really seems to prefer to face out but if it's bad for him I definitely don't want to continue doing it.

The "crotch dangling" is not good for babies.  It puts their bodies in an unnatural position and causes stress on their hips.  They say it is fine for a few minutes a day, but not for extended use.  Here's a good blog article on it, the article is more about bjorns but the position is the same in all facing out carries.

As far as for mama it places the babies weight in an unnatural position that is hard to balance and your body needs to overcompensate.  I don't think it does any harm other than a hurting back though

AnyaBella

ashleyhuney:

AnyaBella:

ashleyhuney:

The last time I wore DS was when he was 2.5 and 30 lbs.  He now prefers to walk and he is really good about staying close and/or holding my hand so it works.  Now that I'm this PG I don't think I'll be strapping my 31 pound almost 3 year old on again

We used the stretchy wrap (moby) for the first 9 months, then Mei Tais until 1.5 - 2 and then a woven wrap which was so comfortable I'll be using that mostly from birth with #2.  We never had him facing out, bad for baby, bad for mommy.  I did back carries when I needed to get things done but I preferred front carry even until then end because I love snuggling with him. 

Here's a favorite pic wearing DS at the end of summer, he was over 2

 

 

 

 

Could you elaborate? Is the facing out position what makes my back hurt? How is it bad for the baby? G really seems to prefer to face out but if it's bad for him I definitely don't want to continue doing it.

The "crotch dangling" is not good for babies.  It puts their bodies in an unnatural position and causes stress on their hips.  They say it is fine for a few minutes a day, but not for extended use.  Here's a good blog article on it, the article is more about bjorns but the position is the same in all facing out carries.

As far as for mama it places the babies weight in an unnatural position that is hard to balance and your body needs to overcompensate.  I don't think it does any harm other than a hurting back though

Thanks for the info! I had kind of just assumed it was a safe carry since the new Beco came with the option. Although I don't quite see how he's not having the "crotch dangling" effect when facing in. More leg support I guess? Interesting.

alibee09

AnyaBella:

Thanks for the info! I had kind of just assumed it was a safe carry since the new Beco came with the option. Although I don't quite see how he's not having the "crotch dangling" effect when facing in. More leg support I guess? Interesting.

Usually when they face in, since they have space in back of them, they sit in the carrier like a "seat", with their bodies at a near 90 degree angle at their pelvis. When they face out, your stomach is behind their back so they can't get the same sort of play in the carrier.

ashleyhuney

alibee09:

AnyaBella:

Thanks for the info! I had kind of just assumed it was a safe carry since the new Beco came with the option. Although I don't quite see how he's not having the "crotch dangling" effect when facing in. More leg support I guess? Interesting.

Usually when they face in, since they have space in back of them, they sit in the carrier like a "seat", with their bodies at a near 90 degree angle at their pelvis. When they face out, your stomach is behind their back so they can't get the same sort of play in the carrier.

Exactly.  Also, this is something that you need to make sure is happening.  Check out the PIP I posted earlier, see how his legs are completely perpendicular to the floor if not even more angled up?  You want his bum seated in firmly and his legs "froggyed" around you as much as possible.  That is the most ergonomic position for a baby/toddler to be carried.  A good carrier has a large space to best pocket the bum. 

Mrs.BoomBoom

I stopped front carrying in the moby when he was about 6 months and I went back to work.   I now wear him on my shoulders from time to time but would really like to back carry (but don't have a carrier that works and fits)

futrkingsley

I still occassionally wear DS in an Ergo.  He's two months shy of 3 years old, 35 lbs and 40 inches tall.  l'd wear him more often if he'd let me.

ETA: When I wear him, I usually do so on my back. I can't remember who taught me how to do it, but we can safely get him back there together and then get him down.  I love wearing him on my front to snuggle but it gets really warm.  And he's so tall that we are face to face and it's sort not comfy.  As it is, most of his torso sticks out the top of the Ergo and his arms are free to point stuff out for me, or take bites of fruit I hand him at the Farmer's Market.

 

KellyMRocks

If he likes to face outward I would try a back carry. Though in the Beco baby still sits pretty low on the back. If you can find a didymos wrap (like a moby but not as stretchy)  you can try to learn a high back carry, like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5MSDf8UkJc

KellyMRocks

To answer the how long question, We wore G until he was 2.5. After 18 months it was  mostly only when hiking. 

AnyaBella

ashleyhuney:

alibee09:

AnyaBella:

Thanks for the info! I had kind of just assumed it was a safe carry since the new Beco came with the option. Although I don't quite see how he's not having the "crotch dangling" effect when facing in. More leg support I guess? Interesting.

Usually when they face in, since they have space in back of them, they sit in the carrier like a "seat", with their bodies at a near 90 degree angle at their pelvis. When they face out, your stomach is behind their back so they can't get the same sort of play in the carrier.

Exactly.  Also, this is something that you need to make sure is happening.  Check out the PIP I posted earlier, see how his legs are completely perpendicular to the floor if not even more angled up?  You want his bum seated in firmly and his legs "froggyed" around you as much as possible.  That is the most ergonomic position for a baby/toddler to be carried.  A good carrier has a large space to best pocket the bum. 

This all makes total sense, thank you both! Now I'm just sad I've been carrying him incorrectly all this time. oops!

AnyaBella

KellyMRocks:

If he likes to face outward I would try a back carry. Though in the Beco baby still sits pretty low on the back. If you can find a didymos wrap (like a moby but not as stretchy)  you can try to learn a high back carry, like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5MSDf8UkJc

thanks for this, definitely something I'll look in to:)

pkw

Once EJ was around 4-5 months the wearing slowed down because he was getting too heavy for me with my bad hip.  I think I finally stopped wearing him around 6 months when he was 20-some-odd pounds.

I did front carry with the moby when he was little and front carry with the ergo when he was bigger.

We clearly do not now as he is hovering around 35 pounds, but we did until he was around 22 pounds. 

Celyn

I very occasionally still wear Ryan, like if he's tired on a hike or if we're at the airport. I use a back carry.  He's 5, not sure what he weighs...