new to baby wearing - how to avoid the bucket

[gruver]

10 years ago, with DS, i knew NOTHING about babywearing. i carried him a lot but used the baby bucket carseat a lot. i hated it because it was so heavy and awkward and i just wanted him with me/on me.

this time around i'm so incredibly psyched to wear this baby! we have an ergo that my sister never used, and a ring sling. last week a good friend returned home from a trip to guatemala and brought me a rebozo which i am beyond excited to wear. DP is also super excited to be a hot daddy wearing his baby.

i'm wondering if there is any other kind of carrier i should get. i'm thinking a moby wrap would be a good one to get.

also, my SIL has a new baby and while she wears him a lot she also uses the baby bucket carseat when at restaurants, etc. surely there is a way to not have to do that? can you knowledgeable baby wearers give me strategies for avoiding hauling that thing around?

[MittensKittens]

Podaegi

I've never carried around car seats or anything, but I might take a stroller if I go to try on clothes at the mall, or so I can put DS down (when he is asleep) in a restaurant. Mind you, I have eaten in restaurants while babywearing lots of times, and it is indeed possible! (Obviously not with a back carry )

[FernG]

The cradle carry or frogy tummy-to-tummy positions both worked great in restaurants until DD was old enough for high chairs. You can also sit in a booth and let your LO sit/stand with you while you hold onto him/her so s/he doesn't dive off - at least that's the way it goes with my super-squirmy girl.

My main piece of advice is to not give up the babywearing if it's uncomfortable or if your LO doesn't like it. Instead, get some help, try a different hold in your carriers, and consider borrowing carriers from friends until you find one that works well for both you and your LO. I have loved all 3 of my carriers, but some people have trouble finding the one that works perfectly for them.

[gruver]

yeah, i'm more specifically thinking about before he can sit up in a high chair so having him sit/stand is not an option. just those first few months.

i'll have to look into those positions you mentioned.

[poiyt]

You already have some great carriers for a NB or little baby so I would forego the moby for a woven wrap - it will last you a lot longer and you will have a lot more options. You cant wear a moby on your back (or your REALLY not supposed to as its not safe..). Im jealous of your rebozo though! Ive always wanted an "authentic" one...lol

[flower01]

No tips really, just encouragement. With 3 different types of carriers, you can definitely do it. All I had for my baby was a fitted pouch and I NEVER carried the bucket around. If she fell asleep in the car (honestly, this rarely happened - my baby mostly screamed in the car) I'd take her out of the seat and pop her right in the sling. I used the stroller a couple of times and inevitably ended up carrying her so that lesson was learned pretty quickly. At dinner, if she wasn't sleeping in the sling, then me and DH would take turns holding her. Same for church and any other situation we were in.

[lifeguard]

Well, we don't even have a bucket - so it's never been an option to carry it. We go out to eat usually once a week. Until recently he would nurse & sleep through most trips & I just wore him in cradle carry in my ring sling. I only found it awkward 'cause it meant I couldn't sit as close as I'd like to the table.

A few times I used the wrap as a blanket & laid him right on the table beside us.

Now I use the wrap to help give him extra support in the highchair (he's still a little wobbly when he sits).

[isabchi]

We used 3 times out the car, but not fun (twice in a restaurant and once to shop groceries). In all that occasions DS was out the bucket after 10 mins. It was not fun to carrier the bucket, even in the middle of winter time. I always put DS in the carrier while i seating in the back seat behind the passenger seat, then i open the car's door after I put my coat.

[gruver]

thank you all so much for the replies! i am really really intent on not lugging that thing around. i have a pretty bad back and i remember with DS it was a MESS after i had him and i'm sure that carrying that thing around didn't help at all. plus, they are so bulky and.....i'm preaching to the choir i know

[Slabobbin]

My biggest suggestion is to not get too hung up on "supposed to" things and just wait til the baby gets here and go with whatever works best for you. There is nothing *wrong* with using a bucket seat responsibily - IF that is what works for your family. There is also nothing wrong with never using one. But I wouldn't make up my mind without seeing what worked best for my family. Everytime I have done that I have ended up making myself crazy.

[gruver]

oh, i won't get stuck in it. but i remember how much i hated that thing last time so i'm trying to get info on avoiding it if at all possible.

[ChampagneBlossom]

Originally Posted by MittensKittens

Mind you, I have eaten in restaurants while babywearing lots of times, and it is indeed possible! (Obviously not with a back carry )

Sure you can. At casual places I often turn the seat backwards or sideways. DD loves the back carry now that she is too big for the front carry. (And really, I never carried her on the front much, she always liked the back for some reason!)

Hint hint, I like the MT.

[prancie]

I would get a mei tai. Simple, intuative, versatile and stylish. It was the first carrier that made sense to me. These days I know all about ring slings, wraps, and podoagis but a mei tai was a life-saver when I was a newbie.

[MittensKittens]

Originally Posted by ChampagneBlossom

Sure you can. At casual places I often turn the seat backwards or sideways. DD loves the back carry now that she is too big for the front carry. (And really, I never carried her on the front much, she always liked the back for some reason!)

Hint hint, I like the MT.

Well, I tried that while sewing, with an office chair, not a stool, and I will never repeat that because I messed up what I was doing big time, as I was uncomfortable due to the backrest being at my side!

[ChetMC]

Sling

I find a ring sling the easiest thing to replace the baby bucket. I really hate baby buckets and find them very awkward and heavy to carry. I don't understand the attraction people have to them at all.

I have a Beco Butterfly and a Mei Tai, and the advantage of a sling is that it's really easy and fast to transfer baby between the carrier and the carseat... one motion to scoop the baby and set them in the sling, then tighten. It takes ten seconds, and a newborn doesn't have time to do anything other than stir in their sleep.

[limabean]

A Moby would be great for the first few months -- that was by far my favorite carrier when DD was tiny.

As for restaurants, some parents are perfectly happy to eat with a baby on their lap, and some babies are perfectly happy to snuggle in the sling while you eat. I am not one of those parents, and DD was not one of those babies. So restaurants are the one place we happily used the bucket before she was big enough to sit in a high chair on her own.

[MegBoz]

I love the Moby, but it's too hot for summer. It also only lasts until abuot 18-20#, so you might not want to make that purchase.

Also, I bought an RS hoping it would be super quick & easy in & out. It's not quite that easy - as I have to readjust the fabric in the ring (so it's not bunched) before putting on (gets bunched from loosening to get DS out.) Just an FYI.
Happy babywearing!

[quantumleap]

I used (and still use!) my CuddlyWrap (moby equivalent) all the time. If it weren't for this ridiculous, neverending winter, I think I would use it exclusively. DD is almost 3 months, and 12.5lbs now, and I actually find that the ring sling is painful. I can wear it over my coat, so we use it when we're walking around town, but my back is suffering. We also have a pouch, which I love for the slimness of it, but we've never gotten the hang of it. I think it might be a bit too small or something. I guess it just depends on the person. We have a mei tai on its way to us, and I am ridiculously excited about it. I think it will be the perfect combo of what I like in my current carriers (good weight distribution from the wrap, lack of bulk from the pouch and ease of use from the ring sling).
We don't own a bucket, and have managed to survive (and we live where it's -40C from about late Sept to early May!). At restaurants, I always take DD out of the sling because it drives me nuts to sit so far away from the table. She just sits on our right knee (dp and I are both lefties) with her back resting against our bellies and our right arm holding her steady. If she's sleeping, I just use the sling as a blanket, like a pp, and tuck her into the booth or on the table. You'll figure out something that works well.
Will you use the rebozo right away? If so, you don't really need another wrap. I might be tempted, if I were you though, to go to the fabric store and get a 3m length of t-shirt fabric. You just slice it in half lengthwise and sew it together end to end = stretchy wrap. I think, when they're so little and need to be in and out of a carrier constantly, it might be nice to have to have the stretchy wrap so you don't have to tie and untie the rebozo all the time. If you want another carrier, I'd vote for a mei tai (speaking from my hypothetical experience ).
Happy wearing!

[frontierpsych]

I like my maya wrap for restaurants (you can carry them on your side and eat with your free hand), and Sleepy (Moby) wrap for long walks (it's SO easy on your back!). We have a Mei Tai, but he doesn't care for it as much as the others.

[amj'smommy]

I have a moby for the first few months.... I got a GREAT deal on it at a yardsale I also have a hotsling and a zolo wear ring sling.