Carrying/Moving/Transporting - After our daughter was born it was hard to imagine going places without her. We'd been given the gift of a healthy baby to train up and part of that is spending time together and modeling what to do in various situations. Now, that said - going places with a baby is a lot harder to do! But, some of these products make things a bit easier on you:
- Infant Car seat
- Combination seat (rear facing or forward facing, when child is big enough)
- Small stuffed animal/soft toy for baby to play with in the car
- Slings are perfect for newborns and small babies. I have this kind: http://www.mammasmilk.com/slings_catalog.php
- When baby is able to sit up, you’ll want to graduate to a soft-structured carrier. DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON A CHEAP ONE! We have an Ergo, and really like it, bought it here: http://www.barefoot-eco.com/ Though, I can’t help but wonder what life would be like if we had tried the Pikkolo by CatBird baby, I like the look of it a lot. Try Ebay or craigslist, you can sometimes find good, used carriers there at a discount.
- Diaper Bag – The Ameribag Healthy Back Baby Bag is what we have now, and it’s great. You can wear it on your shoulder, you can wear it across your back, or you can turn it around and wear it across your chest if you have baby in a back carry in the carrier. So versatile, so organized. And using this bag plus a baby carrier allows you to be HANDS FREE! That is key to making things easier when going out and about. http://www.ebags.com/ameribag/healthy_back_baby_bag_in_distressed_nylon/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=92849
- Stroller. We have a hand-me-down that rolls pretty nicely on the gravel around the farm, and since it was a used stroller we don’t feel too bad about pushing it through mud or otherwise getting it dirty. It has a basket so I can haul a couple of flakes of hay, or gardening tools, or for whatever it is we’re doing outside. We also have an umbrella stroller we keep in the car, although I pretty much hate it and would much rather use the Ergo now that we have it. The problem w/ the umbrella is that it has too narrow of a base, the wheels are so small every crack in the sidewalk or stray piece of gravel derails OFTEN, plus there is no place to put your diaper bag if you are out and about (but that’s why the Ameribag Baby Bag is so great!). There’s lots of different strollers out there, lots of price ranges. Take your pick, you’ll get use out of it somehow, I’m sure!
- Play yard, aka Pack ‘n Play. For picnics, for naps, for sleeping in hotels.
