Strawberry pickin' with a 4 mo old & 2.5 yo?

[ellairiesmom]

Curious about feedback here...
Last week while with my friends, we talked about going strawberry pickin' today with the kids. Over the weekend, I thought more about it & was like "what am i thinking? how can i do this with the little one?" I normally wear her but something like this scenario, there would be no shade so wearing her would not only be very hot for both of us (mental note-maybe solerveil is a good idea for a summer carrier?) but she would be exposed to the sun directly. I wouldn't put sunscreen on a 4 mo old yet (right? i use Cali Baby-would you put that on a 4 mo) & she won't keep her little hat on.

I do have a couple of strollers with excellent sunshades but wasn't sure if a stroller would be allowed or would work in the patch???

I can't believe I have never been strawberry picking-I grew up on a horse farm.

How would you handle the logistics of something like this or would you skip it like I ended up doing? I feel so bad for DD1-she didn't know about it but I know she would have loved it.

[lucy_v]

Here's my experience: I have a 3-month-old, and can only go w/DH bc it's just not doable with my two hands! We brought the stroller when picking a large amount (multiple qts). We have a stroller that's good on rough terrain, but even still we couldn't push her in it---way too bumpy in the fields. So the stroller was a big strawberry cart on the way in and out, and DD slept or one of us held her while we picked. Strawberries are very low on the ground, so there's no way i could carry or wear her while picking. So even for a small amount, I couldn't do it alone.

Definitely go early if it's a hot day!

[BetsyS]

Last year, I had a 2.5 year old, and a 9 month old. I wore the 9 month old (and boy, was my back tired from all that stooping with someone attached!), and the 2.5 year old sort of wandered. He's a wanderer by nature, so a little more stressful than normal.

Luckily, I had my mom there. She picked her gallon, plus half of mine. I don't think I would have gotten the entire gallon picked without her.

This year, they were 21 months and 3.5. MUCH easier!! Next year, I'll have an 11 month old, a 3 year old, and an almost 5 year old. Hopefully the little one will be walking. But, it's still something we do for the experience, not the quick berry picking or anything.