Big baby logistics

[Katie8681]

I weighed my DS this evening and he is a whopping twenty-two pound six-month-old! He feels like it, too. Naturally I'm carrying him around quite a bit and it is murder on my back. Any suggestions for carriers/baby wearing? My upper body strength is trying to keep pace with his growth, but it's a struggle.

[mamazee]

I had really big babies too and I know it can be a challenge. I suggest a good baby carrier. They can distribute the weight better so it isnt' all on the shoulder you're using to carry him with. We have a forum on that with some very knowledgable women in it here: http://www.mothering.com/community/f/245/babywearing

Good luck!!

[akind1]

definitely a good baby carrier - what kind really is up to you. a soft structured one (like an Ergo, Boba, Kinderpack, etc) I think would work great for a big baby. but a woven wrap or Mei Tai would work too.

[Megan73]

I have a biggish baby - 26 pounds at 11 months - and I find a back carry in the Ergo works well for long walks and such. You might also try a hip carry with a ring sling if you just want support while carrying him around.

[illiterati]

I second the ergo back carry. We kept upgrading carriers until we found the ergo works best for us toting around our 25 pounder (11 month old). I would think any carrier that redistributed weight from shoulder to hips would work. 

[alegna]

Yep.  Mine get big fast - a two shoulder carry is best.  I like Mei Tais best at that age and then ssc (ergo, beco etc) for toddlers.

[amautik]

DD is also six months old and 21+ lbs, so I know how it feels!  I have a variety of carriers--ring sling, Moby-style wrap, mei tai--and I find that now, I have to pay very close attention to how I put her in.  The carrier has to be worn perfectly, or I get sore.  I don't have the greatest back anyway (plus with heavy nursing breasts to exaggerate any discomfort) so I can't carry her all that much for long distances as it is.  I think I would like to try to learn how to carry her on my back.  That seems like it would be more comfortable. 

Sadly, even though my username is a traditional baby carrier coat, I don't have one!  (It's all I wanted for Christmas, but that didn't work out.)

[CarolineM]

Moby was too small at 4 months for us (lil guy is 19.5 at 6 months), and we went to a local boutique for a BW clinic, and got to try out a bunch of carriers, wraps, slings, etc. They are for different body types and babies, I recommend trying them out first (we are in the Chicago burbs), if you need the name of the store, it's New Mother New Baby. I am huge fan of the Boba line, we have the original, and now upgraded to a 3G (I liked the old one more)

[Baby_Cakes]

DS is 21 lbs at 5 months, so I hear you.  I have a Boba (the original, I hear the 3G is even better) and am still using it to comfortably do a front carry.  He's still too floppy for a back carry just yet.  The support in that carrier is excellent, and you can use it as a back carrier for toddlers.

[Just1More]

Ds was big fast, too. He was 20lb at 3.5mo.  At 4mo he started being able to sit up alone, and he always preferred to have space around him (didn't like being cuddled in a carrier).  We had the best success with a framed backpack, of all things, at that point.  It was built to hike comfortably with a heavy toddler, and gave him the space he wanted.  I know it's a unusual recommendation, but thought I'd throw it out there.

[Katie8681]

Wow, 20lb at 3.5 months! What was your babe's birthweight? Your biceps must be mighty! :)

[Hymanroth]

My son is 5 months and 20 lbs. I think he's big :) I love our ergo and I also love our bob a 3g ... the boba is just harder for me to adjust for some reason. The ergo is so quick and easy .. and soft! (the organic one)

[Hymanroth]

oh and I ordered hana anderson socks and LOVE them! Lol. I couldn't find socks that fit his chubby ankles, weren't too big on his actual foot and would stay on. These are perfect.(just in case you wondered like me! :))

[amautik]

Hymanroth, good to know about the socks.  I have Baby Undersocks for DD (it's cold here anyway, so it's nice to have another layer, but once summer comes, I'll have to find another solution) because socks that fit around her fat little legs/ankles are hard to find!  These are perfect.

[Just1More]

He was 8lb10oz.  My milk came in less than 24 hours after he was born, and he never lost anything.  12lb by a month, 15 by 2, 19 at 3.  It was crazy.  We'd get to the end of the driveway after a walk and I would start to put him down to walk to the door, then remember he was an infant!  He was just so solid and big feeling in my arms.  A friend had her baby (due within a week of mine) a month early and she was just over 5lbs.  The contrast was ridiculous.  He did stop at 6 months, though, at just about 21-22lbs, and didn't really gain until 18mo-2ish.  He got really mobile at that point (6mo), but moreso, we finally got the wheat thing under control.  He was really sensitive to it, and I had a crazy oversupply, and yada yada yada.  I don't think it was normal at all for him to gain so much, but it was what it was.  I'm just glad we're through that stressful time!  (He's now a healthy 4yo...44" and 40lb).
 

And the biceps...I wish, lol.  All I remember is that he was so fussy, and gained so fast that I couldn't keep up.  My arms were always so tired, and past the point of healing.  It was a constant workout, with no rest.  He was always squirming, and always pushing, too.  It was exhausting to hold a baby that demanded to be held, but wouldn't be held, and never would cuddle.  Whew.  Back to the backpack rec...he couldn't push me there, and could do all the squirming he wanted, lol.  :)

Originally Posted by Katie8681 

Wow, 20lb at 3.5 months! What was your babe's birthweight? Your biceps must be mighty! :)

[Mommel]

Originally Posted by CarolineM 

Moby was too small at 4 months for us (lil guy is 19.5 at 6 months), and we went to a local boutique for a BW clinic, and got to try out a bunch of carriers, wraps, slings, etc. They are for different body types and babies, I recommend trying them out first (we are in the Chicago burbs), if you need the name of the store, it's New Mother New Baby. I am huge fan of the Boba line, we have the original, and now upgraded to a 3G (I liked the old one more)

I have a big guy too... 20lbs. at 6 mos. The Moby was too small to begin with (I was a bigger mama then), but I really liked the versatility of all the different carries... so I went to my local fabric store, bought 6 yards of cotton rib knit with a smidge of spandex, cut it in half lengthwise (no sewing at all) and voila! TWO Moby style wraps. I love it... as he gets bigger the tails shrink, but being able to change the carry from front to hip to back really helps prevent my body from getting sore in one place for too long. I am almost 40 now, so this is useful. :)

[Blanca78]

I'd suggest the Babyhawk Oh Snap. It's $$ but mine works way better for my big daughter (not as big as your son) than our previous carrier did. The body is very large and it has more adjustments than a lot of the carriers. Plus you can cross the straps in back, which I find more supportive.

Also--I started working out with weights, especially my lats which is where I was really feeling it when I lifted her. It seems to have helped a lot with the chronic pain I was having.

[coldandsleepy]

My older son was a biiiiig baby.  I can't remember when he hit 22 lbs but I think it was around the same time.  He was 15 lbs at 6 weeks and about 30 at a year, so yeah-- huge.  (He's totally normal sized now.  Just a quick starter.)

I had really good luck wearing him in a woven wrap until he was about 9 months old, at which point I switched to carrying him on my back in an Ergo.  In hindsight, I could have switched to the Ergo on my back sooner.  

Woven wraps are better for big babies than stretchy wraps (like the Moby, the Sleepy, etc) because they don't stretch out and you don't end up with the baby at your knees after 20 minutes.

[rainface]

Hey...it's the big baby tribe :) My daughter is 19 lbs at 5 and a half months and I get exhausted carrying her. She doesn't help much with the arm-flailing and the difficulty sitting on my hip. I have a beco gemini that works great except...like another poster mentioned, she doesn't like being cuddled super close. So I loosen the straps up a bit so she can sit away from my chest some, and then it puts more strain on my shoulders. It's nice when she'll finally fall asleep, because I can cinch her in close to me and feel more balanced :) I've tried a back carry but her poor little head bobbles around too much (and her head control is pretty great in general). A hip carry is nice, but she's also long and it can be difficult to fit her sort of under my armpit. She won't tolerate a wrap or a sling that cuddles her too close. She just gets cranky and we both get hot. 

[Katie8681]

Originally Posted by rainface 

Hey...it's the big baby tribe :) 

I love this thread!! Thank you all for contributing. As an update, my DS, shockingly, continues to grow :) I have ended up not using any carrier. It's just too hard on my back. My arm strength kept up with him after a while, so I can carry him in my arms when I need to, and otherwise I just have to use a stroller when I'm out and about. Luckily he LOVES his stroller. He nurses like a fiend so he's not lacking cuddly times. He's about thisclose to taking his first steps and is a very mobile, speedy crawler, so around the house he prefers to be on his own, anyway.

So I have strategies now, and it's fine, but... next time I'd like a peanut, please. ;)