And then there were six....

I slightly obsessively (what! you..no way!!) researched baby gear once we got out of the first trimester and I felt "safe" to think that way.  TH has an annoying habit of going to bed really early (even though we both work in the same field and I get up earlier...somehow his day is more tiring) and mix that with a little pregnancy insomnia and you get lots of baby gear research time! I've already shared with you my love of my stroller (pause for moment of reflection upon its loveliness). But one of the other things I researched the heck out of was carriers.

I knew there were a ton of kinds...and I knew that a lot of them wouldn't fit our lifestyle.  I didn't want to be a full-on baby-wearer (I commend those of you who are, I just knew I wouldn't be) but I wanted a carrier (or two) that I could use to be close to my little one and would have some lasting time.  I also knew I wanted to avoid the kinds that would cause me to kill my own child...ya know, I'm practical like that!

I read B.aby Ba.rgains (aka the bible of baby stuff), I googled, I spent time on the AP board on theB.ump and various other baby-wearing sites (I've got some great links if you're interested--email me!).  Finally, I decided that I wanted a ring sling and a baby k'tan.  The BK I knew would be good for the beginning and the ring sling would be great for the summer when he had good head control and would want to look around.

Thus began the next phase...buying. Oh wait...somehow it didn't happen. I'm not sure what got in the way...TH wasn't thrilled with the idea of spending the money on them, I couldn't commit to a ring sling pattern, I started second guessing k'tan vs moby etc etc...the result was that LM was born and all I had was a hand me down hotsling.

I figured out pretty quick that if I was going to get anything done, I needed to be able to wear LM. He loved sleeping tummy to tummy on me.  This was fine when TH was home on paternity leave...but once he went back, I realized I needed to move on this.  That's when things got out of hand....

I tried the hotsling and tried it and tried it. I watched YTube videos, read directions etc...only to come to the (duh!) realization that these are sized slings and the one given to me was for someone who needed a MUCH bigger size.  So...that was that. Next, TH came home from his sister's house with a B'jorn. I had read lots of things about this and wasn't really thrilled at what I had read. But--hey--I'll give it a try.  LM tolerated it, but only if he was asleep and would leave his head to the side--if awake, he was bound and determined to smother himself on our chests. Plus--it hurt my back. TH liked it though..fine. He can use it when LM is older. I STILL DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING. But--we had two carriers.

At this point, I've got TH convinced that I should order the K'tan...I had a coupon and everything. Then---I was on BabySteals and lo and behold....the daily steal was the Ergo. Well I had to pull the trigger on that one---that was the one I secretly wanted for the future but knew I wouldn't be able to spend the money on. I knew that it wouldn't be totally useful for a couple more months...but I had to have it. I decided to hold off on the K'tan in case I could make the Ergo work with him. It came--I love it and can kinda use it with a rolled up blanket boosting LM up. But, if he's not asleep, he's not happy. But--it'll be fabulous when he's older, I can't wait!!  Anyway, in case you're keeping track--we're at three carriers now folks.

Then, the SIL says she has a sling and another carrier from a friend for us. They arrive. One is a weak knock off of the B'jorn, which I didn't like anyway. The sling is some giant padded number that gets great reviews but I couldn't get LM to fit in it yet without feeling like I could get him in the safe sling position. It may or may not be good when he's bigger...we'll see. Of course, when he's bigger, I'll use the Ergo.  Anyway...numbers four and five.

At this point (hey, thanks for still reading!!!), I'm frustrated as all get out. I have five carriers--none of which will let me wear my little guy around RIGHT NOW.  TH of course thinks it's 100% ridiculous to buy another carrier at this point....and I do see the logic. We're running out of storage space folks. But--then on the magical e.b.ay site, I found a K'tan that I was able to get for half of retail price---YAY!!!! TH thinks I'm crazy but I just wanted to wear my LM...even if he gets too heavy for it soon (hey, I've got plenty of other options when he gets bigger!).

It came in the mail yesterday...and then there were six :-)