Especially the baby carriers... oh my gosh there are sooo many to choose from! There are wraps, soft shell carriers, framed backpacks, Mei Tai's, blah blah blah's, etc. I had no idea where to begin. Brad and I already have a Moby Wrap, which came in handy when Olivia was uber-baby, and the Baby Bjorn, which we don't like so much and that she is now too big for. After a bunch of research and a recommendation from a coworker we decided our first purchase would be a Kelty FC 1.0 framed carrier.
 |
| Walk around the neighborhood |
 |
| Trip to Ye Olde Mill for a picnic and ice cream with Grandma and Grandpa Blumensheid! |
This backpack truly measured up to our expectations. There were no issues getting Olivia in and out of it, since the frame allowed it to stand up on its own. No issues when picking it up and putting it down with the baby inside either; there are two handles to grab onto when sliding the backpack off onto the ground. Although larger than we expected, it was actually quite nice and spacious for Olivia.
Our first use of it was a walk around the neighborhood. In that short time, I instantly fell in love with it; but really only because Olivia was in love with it. She was so happy! This walk was nothing like our walks with the stroller, where she only lasts about 5 min, then we have to carry her anyway. The walk with the backpack was interactive! She pointed at things saying "dat? dat?" and I could respond to her. That experience alone got me thinking of all the situations in which we could carry her in the Kelty instead of put her in something like the stroller or cart, disconnected from us. But, the Kelty is pretty big, and really only good for longer, outside walks/hikes. I couldn't see walking around the mall or grocery store with the Kelty on my back. I'm likely to knock stuff off the shelves!
So, only two weeks into owning the Kelty, I was back in the hunt for a second carrier. However, this would not be a replacement for the Kelty, it would serve its own purpose. This time I wanted a soft shelled carrier; something smaller, lightweight, breathable, and age versatile. But again, there are dozens of options to choose from. Initially I narrowed down my search to either a BabyHawk, Beco, or a Ergo carrier, since those were the most popular and highly rated. AGAIN, after a ton of research, I decided to go with the Boba 3G. Yeah, it isn't one of the three, but several things attracted me to it that the others didn't have including: color, support, versatility (without inserts), weight limits, and pockets (which a couple of the others don't have). I just got it in the mail yesterday. I can't wait to try it! I'll be sure to update the post as soon as we try it out.
 |
| Placeholder, but this is the one I got...but in grey, because that's me. |
Now if only I could think of a way to wear it on my bike! Kidding...
Side note: Kelty's customer service is pretty freaking amazing. I emailed them with questions/concerns about a part that was digging into my hip. Because they didn't have a replacement part for that area of the carrier; and because they value the safety of my child, they offered to replace the carrier with a 2012 of my color choice, free! I ended up finding a fix to the bag I currently own, so ultimately I opted out of the offer. But still....I didn't even buy the bag from them! They responded promptly, were friendly, and didn't beat around the bush with the information they needed to get me the right answers. I'll definitely consider them in all future related product purchases!
