Baby wearing at WDW

[justhat]

I kept my daughter totally shaded in the Bjorn, with a lightweight sunhat on (visor and neckflap) and then draping a very lightweight receiving blanket over the back of the Bjorn to cover her arms and legs from the sun. She actually stayed cooler in the Bjorn this way than she did in her stroller with the canopy blocking the sun (based on how sweaty she was). I think it was because the canopy also just back on the wind she got whereas in the Bjorn she got more of a breeze.

 

[KJMAX1]

We are going in the dreaded August heat with our four little mites all 7 and under. Our youngest will only be barely 5 mos old. I worry about him in the Bjorn as well from it being dark navy colored, and him over heating. Already started buying him lightweight clothing. We are bringing our double MacLaren as well, for the 2yr old and the newborn, but it doesnt offer a lot of shade. What should I do?

 

[PaulaSue]

I wore my youngest (was 2.5 at the time) all over the parks. I have a NOJO and I took her out to ride each ride once we were in the last row of each que. I honestly don't think could have worn her on the rides for safety reasons.

 

[Hnymoon@Dixie]

Great thread! I am a new mom & my DD will be 8 months old when we go! Now I have to go to babies r us . com to see what a Baby Bjorn is!!

 

[pezheadval]

This is a great thread. I was wondering the same things.

I am expecting a baby boy in August and we have a disney trip planned for November. I am getting a sling and depending how how it works for us, I was thinking of bringing on the trip.

I love hearing your stories and tips!

 

[justhat]

We are going in the dreaded August heat with our four little mites all 7 and under. Our youngest will only be barely 5 mos old. I worry about him in the Bjorn as well from it being dark navy colored, and him over heating. Already started buying him lightweight clothing. We are bringing our double MacLaren as well, for the 2yr old and the newborn, but it doesnt offer a lot of shade. What should I do?

Read my post immediately above yours. Our Bjorn is black, but by draping the lightweight, white receiving blanket over the back of the Bjorn it made it "white" instead, which kept it much cooler. My daughter was still facing me at the time so I was able to use the blanket to cover her arms and legs too, but that might be a bit harder with an older, forward facing baby. We didn't have a Mac at the time, but when she got older we used our Mac single in WDW many times and we just bought a sunshade that ties onto the handlebars of the stroller that basically extends the small canopy of the Mac. Overall though, she was much cooler when she was in the Bjorn than in the stroller.

 

[KJMAX1]

So my next question is where do you get the shade extender? Our two year old will be riding about 80% of the time so I will need it regardless of what the baby rides in....Besides, my back may not hack and all day event! Thanks for the tips!

 

[solgent]

We spent numerous days in 1999 when we were FL residents and youngest DD was an infant. Wore her in the sling (with rings, padded rails) and I frequently congratulated myself for doing so. Other people were constantly parking strollers, searching for strollers, folding strollers to get on a transport vehicle and we just sauntered along.

 

[justhat]

So my next question is where do you get the shade extender? Our two year old will be riding about 80% of the time so I will need it regardless of what the baby rides in....Besides, my back may not hack and all day event! Thanks for the tips!

http://www.buybuybaby.com/shopping/...00&MainCatID=2&catID=37&sl=0&productID=144833

This is the one we have (well, we have the single) and where we got it, but Buy Buy Baby is a fairly local chain in the northeast so you might have to look around. We also have one by kiddopotamus, but we've never used it cause it covers the sides totally and has a mesh screen in the front and we figured our daughter would spend all her time in the stroller kicking at that mesh screen.

 

[momofbuzzfan]

I wore my DD at 5 mo and then again at 20mo at WDW. When she was 5mo all she wanted was to be carried so my sling was a MUST. At the time I had a maya wrap ring sling which I liked, but I have recently discovered the pouch. I did HOURS (yes hours...I don't make quick decisions ) of research on pouches and finally ordered a new one from cortez and co. for our vacation. They are wonderful and so is the customer service!!!! They size them to fit you so no adjustments need to be made (you just put it on and put baby in) and when you aren't using it to wear your baby you can easily fold it up really compactly and fit it in your pocket, purse or diaper bag...or I used it to drape over the stroller when my son was sleeping. We just got back from vacation and I carried my 7mo 22lb DS and I can't recommend this pouch enough!!! She has EXCELLENT customer service and I received my pouch in days after placing the order!! I recommend a pouch to ANYONE who has or is going to have a baby!! She sells on ebay and also has a website... www.cortezandco.com. Hope this helps!

 

[jayhjay]

Definitely bring it! I used a Baby Bjorn with my older daughter when she was 7 months and various ring slings, mei teis, etc with my younger one at about a year. There are so many places you can't take a stroller in (like pavilions at Epcot) that it was a must for me. Plus, DD could fall asleep and I could still move around, eat, have hands free.

Good luck and enjoy! JJ

 

[ilovemickeymost]

Taking DS 3 months, 15lbs soon. I have a sling & a chest to chest carrier (pain to get on & off). They both hurt my back after a short time. any suggestions as to what I might be doing wrong? I was thinking about getting a chest to back carrier. He really likes looking at everything, but would be impossible to nurse in.

 

[nancy drew]

Taking DS 3 months, 15lbs soon. I have a sling & a chest to chest carrier (pain to get on & off). They both hurt my back after a short time. any suggestions as to what I might be doing wrong? I was thinking about getting a chest to back carrier. He really likes looking at everything, but would be impossible to nurse in.

if you arent looking for a new carrier, then make sure you are wearing your baby up high. the chest to chest carrier should have your baby up high enouhg that you can kiss his or her head. the sling (assuming its a ring sling) should have the rings at corsage position, and babys bottom should be no lower than your belly button. no part of the baby (except perhaps dangling feet) should be lower than your hip. i know that even tweaking those factors may not solve the problem, i personally cant use a sling or pouch for extended periods of time without back pain. so there are other options...

you definitely need something with lower back support, like an asian style carrier (mei tai) which ties around your lower back and upper back, holding baby on your front or back, distributing the babys weight evenly so the pressure isnt all on your upper back, or a wrap, which uses an even wider (but often very lightweight and breatheable) fabric to distribute the babys weight across your entire upper body. the wrap has a higher learning curve, but if you can find someone to show you how to use it properly it will feel like you arent even carrying any extra weight at all. with the mei tai you can untie the upper straps and roll it down to your waist when you arent wearing your baby, sort of like a bulky belt. the wrap is designed so you can remove the baby without removing the wrap, but you are still stuck wearing the wrap all over your upper body unless you unwrap the entire thing and then erwrap it every time you put baby in or take baby out.

two other options that i hear good things about are the ergo carrier and the sutemi, both of which can be worn on the front or back. i think the sutemi can even be worn on the hip.

 

[ilovemickeymost]

This is a super old post, but thought the info was so good it needed to be posted again. Hope it helps as much as it did me.

 

[MoeFam]

There are lots of other uses for your sling as well- especially a wrap or ring sling type. They can be pillows, shade in the stroller, something to sit on while watching a parade etc etc!!! We used on with our 21 mos old last time we were there and so many moms said to me - "Man I wish I had my sling"- especially in lines or places we could not take the stroller. And since we rented the Disney stroller- it was a NECESSITY getting back to the car at the end of the evening.

We are going this year in April with ages 6, 3 and a baby who will be about 5mos. I am taking a ring sling ( custom made in Minnie Dot!) and a wrap around carrier from Etsy. May throw the Bjorn in for my hubby!

 

[MeyersDVM]

I was wondering the same thing about BW on rides. I think I may just have to make another custom Mei Tai in a Minnie fabric. Or with Minnie embroidery. Or something Disney Great idea mama!

 

[J3nn78]

We love our Ergo for Disney. I can walk around wiht 23lbs DS in it all day and not get a sore back. I took him out for some rides but was able to keep him in if I wanted too. Was great when he fell asleep. No transferring from stroller to ride. He just slept through it all.

 

[El&Asmom]

I agree with others on looking for a carrier besides the Baby Bjorn. It works ok for a newborn, but the bigger a baby gets the more uncomfortable it becomes. The other major problem with it is it leaves a baby dangling by it's crotch with no support for their hips. ABC or Mei tais solve this problem. The babies knees sit above there bums, in a more ergonomically correct position for growth. If you go to thebabywearer.com, there are several articles discussing this. There is also input from orthopods and chiropractors to support this.
Unfortunately with dd1, the only carrier I had was a bjorn. I used it quiet a bit, but could never go very long. With dd2, I discovered babywearing with mei tais, pouches and ring slings. What a difference it made. Dd2 never even sat in a stroller until she was about 9m old since she was carried all the time.

A great place to start learning about carriers is:
thebabywearer.com
Some brands that I love are Babyhawk, Zolo ring slings, Sleeping Baby Productions, and Hotslings. They now sell hotslings at Target and the Right start along with Peanut Shell pouches.

It's good to see this thread bumped up. It was a joy to carry dd around Disney and not have to hurt my arms carrying her everywhere or dealing with getting her in and out of a stroller for every single ride.