Quick suggestions appreciated

[batsister]

Hello. I am halfway through a trip alone with my 3.5 month old... he is heavy (weighed 16 lbs a month ago)... I have a mei tai and a stretchy ring sling... back is hurting... do I buy an Ergo? Is it really more supportive? MIL is making me an SSC so I hesitate to... do I buy a cheap umbrella stroller and have to deal with that? Do I figure out a back carry in the MT? Any tips on safely and quickly learning this? Other suggestions in general? Thanks!

[lifeguard]

I LOVE my ergo but I had to contemplate buying it for weeks!

I think I would try a back carry with the mei tai to start with since you already have it & then go from there if it doesn't work for you.

[GoGoGirl]

I think I'd work on the back carry with the mei tai too.

When I started back carries in the mei tai, I would tie it on my waist like I was going to do a front carry. Then I'd put DD in, pull the MT up around her, hold the shoulder straps over my head, and hip scoot the whole thing to my back. It felt like a really safe way to learn to put her on my back, kind of like wearing training wheels. You can take him off the same way, by hip scooting the whole thing back to your front, and taking him off from there.

This is the video I used to learn.

[batsister]

Originally Posted by GoGoGirl

I think I'd work on the back carry with the mei tai too.

When I started back carries in the mei tai, I would tie it on my waist like I was going to do a front carry. Then I'd put DD in, pull the MT up around her, hold the shoulder straps over my head, and hip scoot the whole thing to my back. It felt like a really safe way to learn to put her on my back, kind of like wearing training wheels. You can take him off the same way, by hip scooting the whole thing back to your front, and taking him off from there.

This is the video I used to learn.

Thanks for your replies. Regarding the above, this sounds interesting; I had not heard of this method before. The kid in the video is a lot older than mine, though; how old was your daughter when you started doing this? My son has good head control for 3.5 mos, but he can't sit alone yet. (I know some people carry newborns on their backs in MTs, but I'm not that advance ;o). Also, do you tie above the breasts for a back carry (as in the video)? Does this work better?

Thank you.

[GoGoGirl]

I started wearing DD on my back in the mei tai when she was around your son's age. Definitely before she could sit up! I started out doing it a lot slower than the mama in the video--she kind of swoops her son to her back, I slowly guided DD to my back. If you have your son sitting in the MT, with his back supported by the body of the mei tai, it should support him well. I don't see why he would need to be able to sit up yet.

I tie both sets up straps under my bust (like this) but I think where you tie them just depends on what feels comfortable for you. I tried tying them over my boobs, but it felt weird and made my boobs look squashed.

Wait, actually, when I was doing the hip scoot method I was tying both sets of straps around my waist. I realized quickly though that DD likes being higher up on my back, where she can see over my shoulder. So now I do high back carries in the mei tai (high because the waist straps are under my bust instead of at my waist). I couldn't figure out how to do that hip scoot method with a high back carry though, so I started superman tossing DD onto my back. So I guess if you're trying to do the hip scoot method, and you want the waist straps under your bust, start with the MT tied on your front under the bust, instead of at your waist like I had said before. (That sounded pretty confusing, I should go to bed! )

[batsister]

Thanks to everyone for your replies... we are home now (hooray!). I didn't buy anything or learn a back carry yet; I just switched back and forth between the MT and sling, and that helped a lot (putting pressure on different places I guess). I do plan to try to scoot-to-back method with my son in the MT soon, though, so thanks for the tips!