baby (toddler) wearing

[babyruth]

I see so much about strollers but not much mention of babywearing. It seems to me like this would be the easier option than dealing with strollers. My daughter will be 3 when we go but she is tiny and my Ergo carrier goes up to 40something pounds. She's a scant 30 now and doesn't mind being in the carrier at all. Plus my husband will wear her on his back and it shares the load so to speak. Is there a drawback to using a carrier? Security issues or anything else we should know about?

 

[Fosteringaprincess]

Hi! I baby wear at Disney for sure....however it is very important to still have a stroller. Bring both! Baby wearing is great for lines if she likes to be held a lot. But it gets too hot to only baby/ toddler wear. Not to mention the amount of walking you do it would wear you out no matter how light she is! I have a 2 year old and will only allow me to baby wear for a short time...she's very active and will want to walk alot too. Stroller will even be a fight with this one. You know your child best, but there is no way I would go without a stroller for a 3 year old. Have fun!

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

How easy is it to get her and the carrier off and on? You are going to have to take it off for every ride.

 

[babyruth]

it's a soft carrier. 2 clips off and on. super easy. I can't imagine letting her walk much through the crowds. Even if she wants to LOL. We would never get where we are going. Save the walking around for resort/playground/pool/Disney Springs time. I could let her stand in a line with us.

 

[kayemgi]

We baby wear at WDW too, but I agree, I would never leave our stroller at home. We use the carrier for if our daughter (2yo now) wants to be held and on the buses. We let her walk when she wants to walk. Otherwise it's the stroller. It's too hot, even in winter, to carry a toddler every time they want to be off their feet. Plus then we can store all of her stuff in the stroller and not have to carry it AND her. We bring a lightweight travel stroller, so it's really not a burden. It was especially good to have at the airport, if you fly.

 

[Fosteringaprincess]

Lol.... Of course you wouldn't let her walk the parks...not really what I was going for there. We take time in safe less crowed areas of the parks to allow her time to run around to get energy out. We have 4 children and 3 of them have been to Disney as babies and young toddlers and on up. This has worked well for all of them. So during crowds we mostly use strollers to get from point A to point B. But during lines we either use the toddler soft carrier ( I had ergo but now in tula toddler) or let her walk in line with her siblings. But there is no way I would try to use the carrier all day. But your daughter may be very different than mine! Mine wouldn't want to be held all day. Have a great trip!

 

[babyruth]

I would probably still bring a stroller to the airport, but I'm even questioning that. We did Busch Gardens on a very not crowded day this past April and had the stroller. I just found it to be a PIA. Parking it, getting to it after, all the maneuvering it through people...Even at Thomas Land (super small park) I was totally irritated by the stroller. My daughter is one that does not like the stroller. We can usually get her in it when we first get out of the car. As soon as she wants to get out the first time that's it she ain't going back in. so we end up pushing an empty stroller. I'm not bringing anything into the parks except her EpiPen jr case and our tickets/ID. I believe because of that small case we will still have to go through the bag check though. Even if we didn't bring that and I strapped the epis onto myself instead, would the carrier have to go through bag check?

 

[TWK]

I wouldn't because it is usually hot (but we have only gone in the summer & fall) and it is a lot of walking, and I can't imagine wearing a baby all day like that. And I feel like it wouldn't be comfortable for a 3 year old to be carried in essentially the same position for several days. I have seen people doing it though. We wouldn't do it over a stroller. I don't think a good stroller is a hassle at all.

 

[babyruth]

LOL ok that's fine to each their own. I don't have a lot of little kids it's just her and all the older ones. Maybe because I have plenty of "helpers" someone is always willing and able to pick her up if needed. But IDK. I hated the stroller with the son too. He also never wanted to stay in it.

 

[smiths02]

I toured Knott's and Disneyland in CA with only an Ergo. Of course, my son was a super small 12 month old.
We go to Disneyworld when it is really hot. When we took my son at 3, we had an umbrella stroller but parked it most of the time someone just carried him or did piggy back ride (not in a carrier).
I was not a stroller person until I had twins and it was unavoidable (even then, I carried one in an Ergo and put one in the stroller in a lot of situations).

 

[TWK]

Ha! I just realized my reply sounded... I don't know how to describe it... not nice? I was typing as I was working it out in my head! If your kid doesn't like a stroller, it totally isn't a great idea to plan on that! You can always bring your carrier, and if it doesn't work out, rent a stroller. Our kids love the stroller... and our backs hate carrying!

 

[babyruth]

good point about the rent a stroller. I think I would rather have that option than get stuck pushing an empty one with her on my hip anyway! We could possibly deal with a light umbrella stroller in the airport and keep it at the resort in case by the evening we think that's a better option. I guess I need to compare the rental price with getting an uppababy or similar that I won't use besides this trip.

ETA worth mentioning that my daughter has slept in a stroller a total of twice her whole life. haha I see others mentioning their kids fall asleep in them! Wow none of mine did that. IF they did maybe I would feel differently

 

[Kaleea]

We plan on bringing my Ergo but renting a stroller. I cant imagine my 3 yr old or me being comfortable for the entire day in the Ergo in the heat (we are going in July). Mine hates the stroller too and I will let her walk in lines, plus pass her back and forth with the adults, but there will be times she will just have to deal and at least with the stroller when we are carrying her, all our other stuff can ride

 

[Betty Rohrer]

LOL ok that's fine to each their own. I don't have a lot of little kids it's just her and all the older ones. Maybe because I have plenty of "helpers" someone is always willing and able to pick her up if needed. But IDK. I hated the stroller with the son too. He also never wanted to stay in it.

we were there in August, only month we can do long story short but my daughter found it too hot to wear her 4 month old. both for her and the baby. did not use carrier but once. 4 month old did great in the off site rental with her big sister in the double stroller.

 

[jvz82]

I wore my daughter at Disney when she was 8 weeks old and my son when he was 12 months old. Both times I also had a stroller option, but also had older children who used the stroller too. It's nice to have a stroller because you have a place to haul all your crap lol. Also because it does get REALLY hot for both you and baby and sometimes you need to have some personal space.

I think a lot of it depends on you and your child. My babies never cooperated with baby wearing past age 1.5. My toddler now just squirms and fusses and freaks out any time I try to put him in a carrier. I can't even imagine wearing my 3 year old for an entire day! That sounds physically exhausting to me. But if you and your child are used to it and don't mind, it could be ok.

 

[babyruth]

We are going in April and doing earliest ADR or RD all days then midday breaks - so no I definitely wouldn't carry her around all day in the heat! Worth noting that heat doesn't bother ME at all personally I am used to it but my family (darn Yankees) do kinda melt if it's over 80 I know it's hard to imagine because I'm saying she will be 3...but...she will be 3 in November and for the most part still wearing 18-24m clothes. Most 2T is still too big for my skinny Minnie. So don't think of her as 3 in size think like 2 by then. We are renting a car though so I can throw a stroller in the trunk at least we wouldn't be on and off the buses with it. We are traveling with "kids" in siggie who will all be aged up by then (except the 15 yr old just had his bday) and 2 girlfriends of the older boys. is definitely the tiny Princess.

So no one here has gone through security with a child in a carrier instead of a stroller? I expect to have to take her out to go through the gate and scan her finger etc

 

[pixie08]

We are avid baby wearers. My son is almost two and I am about to purchase a toddler Tula (we have a standard Tula). We front and back wear. I usually do a combo of baby wearing and stroller. When we were there in June it was just too hot to wear for too long. We were there last Dec. and that is when we wore the most but he was only 13 months.

We are going in two weeks and plan on the stroller and Tula. He is 25 lbs so there is only so long we can wear him at once as opposed to when he was small and we wore him all day. Plus I prefer him to nap in the stroller if he falls asleep because it is flat and shaded. So I think a combo is best at that age. Plus they really don't want to be confined for too long either so there is that.

 

[pixie08]

I always wear my baby through security. They just swipe me down and have me go through the detector. Dh take all the bags and stroller. It is the easiest way imo.

 

[msmama]

Another one who suggests babywearing, but not without the stroller. There is a different kind of exhaustion I feel after a day at WDW, and I couldn't imagine how much worse it would get with an extra 30 lbs strapped to my body.

Also, obviously you may have different results, but my son actually liked the stroller more at WDW. He rarely rarely would tolerate it at home, but he preferred to be in there for our trips to WDW.

I have to imagine that, too, with all of those people going, stroller storage would be useful. I'd take sunscreen and water at the very least (I take one bottle even with free ice water, because we always want some on the ride home). If it's chilly, you might want jackets/sweatshirts. And remember, you can always park it in one land, do rides and then move to another land, etc. It's not like anyone is going to force you to put her IN the stroller, but I wouldn't count on only babywearing, personally.

 

[Bob Dolewhip]

I wore both my kids when they were toddlers, but also brought a featherweight stroller. the stroller tends to haul stuff more than people. Neither of my kids will sleep in a stroller, but in the sling they would nap for hours.
If the ergo is your daughter's favorite way to travel then you should bring it.