Rucksack Carry w/ Wrap - how long before you were comfortable doing it?

[sunwillshine]

Hi all!

So, I feel pretty confident with the variations of carries I do with DD on my front and on my hip.  She is 6 months old, and I finally attempted a rucksack carry with her yesterday!  Once I got her on my back and tied on securely, I realized it was opening a whole new world of babywearing to me!  Problem is, it took forever, and getting her on my back felt scary (for lack of a better word!). 

How long before you all felt confident and comfortable tying your baby onto your back?  Any tips?  (I've seen so many of the YouTube vids).  I guess, like, anything, it's just going to take a whole bunch of practice (next to my soft bed).  :-)
 

[aphel]

We started trying to do the rucksack a few months ago, and now that DD is 8 months, I'm finally getting more comfortable with it. I think it helps that she is a bit bigger and it's easier to spread her legs across my back. We practiced lots with DH spotting, and watched lots of youtube videos. Everyone's got a different method, so it's helpful to see various techniques.

The best advice I've gotten is to keep your back flat while wrapping. The seat is also very important. I can't tell for sure from your pic, but it looks like you might be able to scoot the knees up higher and further apart to get your LO's bottom a bit lower, which will make her feel lots more secure.

And yep, practice practice practice. As a wise mama on TBW told me, there just is no substitute.

[kcsc117]

I have also been working on this carry.  My son is currently 6 months old too and I feel like it's hard to get the fabric underneath his legs so his knees aren't digging into my back.  He doesn't mind being on my back but he's only content for a short time (maybe 30 min to an hour)  I think it's a carry that will take lots of practice to become totally comfortable with, without using a mirror and a bed.  I think it will help once his legs get longer and are able to spread more against my back. 

I really liked the video from Youtube posted by Wrapyourbaby.  She talks about tying the ends "Tibetan style" which I find to be way more comfortable than around my midsection. 

Good luck with the practice!!!

[scottishmommy]

I just wanted to say that you will eventually be sooo confident with the rucksack. When my dd was still wearable people on the street would stop and watch in amazement as I tossed her on my back and tied her up! It was so funny!

[Mom2M]

I was really, really nervous with back carries at first, especially with a wrap because it took me so long to get it right in the beginning. Practice makes it much more comfortable, I did it next to a couch for a while and it is easier if you get your back flat as possible, but you have to remember to really tighten because I found that it would loosen a bit after I stood up.
I love this method for getting it comfortable. The chest "flip", I guess I would call it, is easy and less bulky than a chest belt for me. There is a photo tutorial in this thread http://www.thebabywearer.com/forum/showthread.php?393816-Am-I-doomed-to-hate-ruckstraps&p=4995081#post4995081

[megannt]

Love this thread! I have been wanting to do back carries but they seem so intimidating. I am going to try it now, thanks for the inspiration and great links. Lyndzies, I hear you about the soft bed!

[aphel]

A quick pop back in -

Yesterday we tried the chunei, or double hammock. Best. Back. Carry. Ever. I'm in love. It needs a slightly longer wrap than a ruck, I think. We used a 5. It was very secure, comfortable, and IMO was easier to tighten and get baby nice and snug than a ruck. After just 1-2 attempts, I'd say I'm comfortable enough to do it on my own. Worth a try!

[sunwillshine]

Thanks to everyone who's provided feedback, support, and resources so far!  I'm going to keep at it; I know it will get easier.  I didn't try again this weekend, but I'm going to attempt to give it a go more often.  I'm not getting any better at it by NOT doing it.  Lol! 

:-)

[SubliminalDarkness]

I used to teach babywearing(and will be back to it soon, thankfully!). I would never suggest a rucksack carry as a first back carry. It's just too hard to get right and there's not much room for error. There's fewer steps than a lot of other back carries, which makes it seem appealing, but the lack of steps also makes it harder to get 'right.' 

I always suggest starting with a Back Wrap Cross Carry with a chest knot. That way, you have three layers covering baby to secure them on your back. If you get a step wrong, it won't hurt anything. 

[sunwillshine]

SubliminalDarkness - Oops, you know what?  As a sort of newbie to babywearing (which sounds weird, because I wear my baby everywhere... still, I'm a first time mom, and I"m learning new things every day!) I think I probably got the terminology wrong on what type of carry I was doing in my pic in the OP.  There are def three layers of fabric, and the top two cross across her back... so I guess I"m doing a version of what you're describing??

[SilverFish]

i didn't start rucking outside the house consistently until dd was about 12 months. she was standing well at that point, and able to "help" a little (in that she would grab on and not try to flip off. it is way way easier to ruck quickly when you can just drape the wrap over a standing baby's shoulders and toss them behind you. i felt like i learned rucking really easily though. i do the superman toss so she's nice and high, then actually curve my back down a little (rather than making a bridge or a table) while making her seat. it helps me get the seat nice and secure, and keeps gravity from messing with the seat so i can really concentrate on pulling the shoulder straps tight and even. i think rucking is the carry that makes people stick with babywearing into the toddler years. no way i would have stuck with fiddling with a miles long wrap with multiple layers in these last few months when she only wants to go up for 15 minutes, or standing all sweaty and flustered in the middle of the grocery store with a screaming kid. a ruck wrap i can toss in my bag or even wear as a scarf. anyway, haha... no, that first carry isn't a ruck. it looks like you could get a deeper seat (which gets easier with older babies, and is also easier without footie pjs!)it helps to think of yourself as a horse, and the baby as a jockey... you want them straddling you with a deep bend in the knees, rather than like a pack, just strapped to your back. rucking is really worth learning though. it's so much faster and done with a shorter wrap, both of make it an ideal candidate to do outside the house.

[TiffanyToo]

Leaning over will cause problems when tightening your wrap and getting it to properly support your baby. This will happen because the tension changes when you stand up.

Practice only when baby is clean, happy and your not rushed. It is a good idea to wrap infront of a mirror and to talk yourself through the wrapping process.

[SubliminalDarkness]

Originally Posted by Lyndzies 

SubliminalDarkness - Oops, you know what?  As a sort of newbie to babywearing (which sounds weird, because I wear my baby everywhere... still, I'm a first time mom, and I"m learning new things every day!) I think I probably got the terminology wrong on what type of carry I was doing in my pic in the OP.  There are def three layers of fabric, and the top two cross across her back... so I guess I"m doing a version of what you're describing??

To be honest, in the picture you posted, I can't really tell. It could be a variation of a rucksack, and there's a lot of those. But the picture posted after yours is definitely a rucksack carry. 

[Carlin]

Ruck is my go to back carry and has been since DD was about 4 months old. Having said that, I learned it while kneeling in front of a mirror on my bed because I was so afraid of dropping her at first! I actually find ruck to be the easiest back carry to master because you really only have 1 pass to worry about, but everyone's different!

I read somewhere that it takes 7 tries to master a new carry and I find this to be fairly accurate. Keep working at it, check your results in a mirror and in no time at all you'll have it mastered! I can't imagine how people survive without being able to get their babies on their backs! :lol:

Other than practice, practice, practice, my only tips are to take your time, make sure you have a good knee to knee seat and concentrate on making sure the top 1/3 of your wrap is good and snug, no matter what carry you're using. Other than that, just stick with it. Your results look great in your picture and you'll be quicker and more confident before you know it!