Baby Wearing on Rides

[mickeyluv'r]

Number 1 is a risk of having a baby in your arms or a carrier anywhere. If you fall, you fall with the baby. I'm sure you're not advising to never pick up a baby. It could also happen to all the annoying dads who put their kids up on their shoulders.

I don't want to get into a debate, so I'll simply explain what we saw: a woman didn't anticipate the uneven pavement in Epcot. She missed her footing, and had trouble catching her fall. There was blood. Both had to visit the hospital, or so it appeared as EMT's carried them away. The baby would not have fallen on the pavement if she had been in a stroller. It was horrific enough that I'd never use a baby carrier in a similar type of location.

During our many extended family vacations, everyone WANTED to be able to take a turn watching the baby: moms, dads, aunts, grandparents. Having a stroller worked better for all of us, for a variety of reasons.

 

[Koz]

A couple of our old reliable favorites at the parks.

 

[Mikie]

My kids hated the structured carriers with buckles and clips, so when I wore my 4 month old it was in a wrap-style carrier. It's been a while, so I don't remember any ride being specifically better or worse than any other. I guess that means they were all pretty good because I'd definitely remember if had been an inconvenience

I really like the wrap because they adjust so easily and are so compact if you decide to take it off. Can even serve as a light blanket when you put baby down in a stroller! I did travel in the fall when the heat wasn't so oppressive that the additional fabric would have been too hot for me.

@Koz - that holster is AWESOME! Every dad should have one!

 

[linzbear]

I don't want to get into a debate, so I'll simply explain what we saw: a woman didn't anticipate the uneven pavement in Epcot. She missed her footing, and had trouble catching her fall. There was blood. Both had to visit the hospital, or so it appeared as EMT's carried them away. The baby would not have fallen on the pavement if she had been in a stroller. It was horrific enough that I'd never use a baby carrier in a similar type of location.

During our many extended family vacations, everyone WANTED to be able to take a turn watching the baby: moms, dads, aunts, grandparents. Having a stroller worked better for all of us, for a variety of reasons.

But you can't use a stroller in lines. Or in the Land at all, or in Nemo...... If you're wearing the baby when you accidentally fall, you have 2 hands free to break your fall. If you're carrying the baby where strollers aren't allowed, you have 0 hands free.

Accidents are accidents, you can't prevent all of them. Strollers can hit divots and fall over, too.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Hi all. My group will be tr
avelling with a four month old next June. I would like to give my SIL some recommendations for good baby-wearing devices so that her or any member of our group can wear the baby on rides.
Here is what I'm looking for, so any tips/advice you can give would be appreciated!

Looking for:

1. Brand/model name of a good baby-wearing device (looking for something that can easily be taken on/off)

2. Do you have any pics of you wearing babies on rides?

3. Out of all the eligible rides without height restrictions, what are the best/worst to wear babies on?

4. Are there any rides you would NOT wear a baby on again?

Thanks everybody!

I highly recommend the Beco Gemini. It's a great soft-structured carrier! You can wear the baby multiple ways - on your front with them facing in (best for infants), on your front facing out (when they're older), on your hip, and on your back. We used it with DD up until she was 3 or so (for varying reasons as she got older, and obviously for less time as she got older).

I don't have any pics, but we wore DD on Kilimanjaro Safaris, and I *highly* recommend keeping a 4 month old in the carrier for that ride. It's SO bumpy...DD was 8 months old at the time, and even then I couldn't have held her securely enough without the carrier with all those bumps.

We weren't allowed to keep her in the carrier facing in for TSMM (because of the lap bar). She had to sit on her lap. It is *very* jerky. I wouldn't take a 4 month old on it if I couldn't keep them in the carrier (unless you plan on basically not playing the game and just holding on to the baby).

ETA:Also, additional tip - Frogg Toggs are great for keeping a baby cool in a carrier (when it's hot outside) without getting them wet.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I second the rec for checking with Babywearing International. Ours has a lending library, and I checked one out to use at Disney so I would have more options. I took several carriers so that I could change every day - but my babies were older and heavier when we were there. Moving the weight around even slightly each day helped.
For my first trip with a baby, I took a Moby, a Mei Tei, a Becco Butterfly (rented from BWI), and a ring sling. Each had their advantages, and I was glad to have them all. Note that I only took one each day into the park, not all four.

My favorite for that age is the Moby, but it is certainly not fast to put on. I also love my Mei Tei, but you probably want a buckle carrier, which is the fastest. Or a ring sling - I love mine. I haven't used an Ergo, but people rave about it. Just please don't use a Bjorn or the like - it's terrible for their hips. Hope you have a great trip!

I agree with the bolded. I went to a few meetings and borrowed a couple of different carriers before our trip to DD (DD was 8 months old and we hadn't worn her at all yet). I tried ring slings (didn't work for my back b/c of the uneven weight distribution on my shoulders), mei tais (didn't like all the tying), and then the soft structured carrier. I tried both the Beco Gemini and the Kinderpack..loved them both, and the Beco was easier to get so we went ahead with that one. But all the borrowing and trying it around the house really prepared us for using it in the parks.

We did a combination stroller/carrier. We'd park the stroller in the land, then put DD in a carrier while we went from ride to ride within that land. When we were ready to move on, she went back in the stroller for a while until we were ready to get in line again. The carrier was a *lifesaver* in lines.

 

[UCFGrad01]

I recently wore my 1 year old nephew on a trip to DW, which was an interesting first experience at babywearing/babybeingworn for both of us! lol

It wasn't bad at all, other than being a little warm. He seemed just fine with it and slept in there quite a bit. I didn't have any issues with pain or fatigue, and I don't have "mom muscles" from carrying him around all the time either. I have no idea what kind of thing it was, other than it had a waist strap and my sister kept talking about how it was one that positions their legs and hips correctly so as not to strain them. (I'm really good at this baby thing, can you tell?)

We went on a lot of rides together - POTC, Small World (shudder), Dumbo, the train, Peter Pan, Ariel, Pooh, Buzz, HM, etc. No problems, I just turned kind of sideways on most of them so he could see things when he was awake and so that he didn't get whacked by the bars or front of the cars.

 

[Boski]

I don't want to get into a debate, so I'll simply explain what we saw: a woman didn't anticipate the uneven pavement in Epcot. She missed her footing, and had trouble catching her fall. There was blood. Both had to visit the hospital, or so it appeared as EMT's carried them away. The baby would not have fallen on the pavement if she had been in a stroller. It was horrific enough that I'd never use a baby carrier in a similar type of location.

During our many extended family vacations, everyone WANTED to be able to take a turn watching the baby: moms, dads, aunts, grandparents. Having a stroller worked better for all of us, for a variety of reasons.

Yea but to be fair don't you think that would be a risk anywhere someone carries a baby?

 

[KrazeeK120]

There's a lot of factors in deciding the best way to babywear - most importantly, the mother's preferences and the baby's size. I have an 8 month old, and I really prefer to use the stroller unless it's impossible or impractical. I have a Moby and I hate it. I never could figure the dang thing out (maybe I'm dumb, I dunno). I finally ended up getting an Ergo 360 a few months ago and I love it. We're not planning on going to Disney until LO is 18 months old and I'm hoping to just use the stroller, and he can walk the short distances between places the stroller can't go.

A few things to think about.

-Depending on when your trip is, babywearing can get really hot, really fast, for both you and baby. Make sure to take a lot of breaks in the shade or air conditioning.

-I really would consider using a stroller for the bulk of your trip (particularly those of you going with older babies). I'm 5'3 and 110 lbs. My 8 month old is 22-23 lbs. Carrying around 20% of my body weight gets very tiring, very quickly, even in the carrier (and I run 3 days a week - I'm in pretty good physical shape). It gets tiring even faster when it's hot (see my point above).

 

[Tink584]

I've been baby wearing for a few years although I didn't do too much at Disney (just too hot for me lol). But I have a suggestion for a carrier. The boba air! It's nylon and so light. It would be perfect. I used it at a large zoo when my son was close to a year and it was perfect. There are also a few other "vented" carriers. I believe Tula & Lillebaby make one but having to use an insert would negate some of the benefits.

 

[Dismama2boys]

There's a lot of factors in deciding the best way to babywear - most importantly, the mother's preferences and the baby's size. I have an 8 month old, and I really prefer to use the stroller unless it's impossible or impractical. I have a Moby and I hate it. I never could figure the dang thing out (maybe I'm dumb, I dunno). I finally ended up getting an Ergo 360 a few months ago and I love it. We're not planning on going to Disney until LO is 18 months old and I'm hoping to just use the stroller, and he can walk the short distances between places the stroller can't go.

A few things to think about.

-Depending on when your trip is, babywearing can get really hot, really fast, for both you and baby. Make sure to take a lot of breaks in the shade or air conditioning.

-I really would consider using a stroller for the bulk of your trip (particularly those of you going with older babies). I'm 5'3 and 110 lbs. My 8 month old is 22-23 lbs. Carrying around 20% of my body weight gets very tiring, very quickly, even in the carrier (and I run 3 days a week - I'm in pretty good physical shape). It gets tiring even faster when it's hot (see my point above).

I think most people do a combination of carrier and stroller - I know I did. Options are good for mama AND baby.

Also, strollers can get very hot too - that fabric on their backs does not breathe. It's important to keep the baby hydrated regardless of how s/he is traveling.

 

[SillySallySews]

The first time we took our youngest daughter to Disney I wore her everywhere. On our next trip I wore my son almost everywhere. I was able to wear both of them on every ride we did without a height restriction. I was never asked to take mine off. Pick a carrier that is most comfortable for you, one you are familiar with using at home. The only rides I found somewhat tricky were the ones with lap bars because sometimes the CMs would want to push them down further than I was personally comfortable with (HM is the one that really sticks out in my mind), but I've had that happen to me on lap bar rides when I wasn't wearing a baby too. I just turned to the side a bit or slide baby onto my hip so the bar wasn't up against them.

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Frogg togs are great in strollers too, we put ours under ds in the car seat with a fan on too and closed both the car seat and stroller canopies to keep him out of the sun. He was only 7 weeks old, so too young for sunscreen.

He spent quite a bit of time like this:

 

[twoolle]

I highly recommend the Boba 4g carrier. It has the included infant insert which allows the babe to sit like a frog, keeping their feet inside. We went last early September with our 11 week old (and 2, 4 and 5 year olds). I wore him on every ride without a height restriction and felt perfectly comfortable getting on and off. He loved it and spent 95% of his time in it, even during meals. His siblings used most of the space in the stroller.

Toy story mania was the most uncomfortable but never did I think I wouldn't do it again if that makes sense.

I left a review on Targets website for the boba 4g...it might still be on there! Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

Also I dressed him in thin onesies and he didn't have problems with the heat. The boba comes with a shade to cover baby's head too.

 

[RachaelA]

I wore on everything. I was asked 2 trips ago to take the baby out on the carousel and put her on a horse for 'safety'. I was by myself with a 2 year and and an 11 month old. I'm not sure how dealing with two kids on horses was safer.

I use a mix of a ring sling and various Tulas.

 

[pd1138]

i have worn my babies on mutiple Disney trips. I have a pikkolo, an ergo sport, and a baby k'tan (which is very similar to a moby wrap, kind of a cheat sheet for it as its already "wrapped", but that one comes in sizes so it is not readily usable for adults of different sizes.). My one recommendation is the wearer should have practice baby wearing before a trip to Disney just as you wouldn't wear a brand new pair of shoes on a Disney trip. Try to find a baby wearing group in the area to try on different styles as different styles work for different people.

I personally thought the safari was the best ride to baby wear since it can be so unpredictable with the speed and movement of the truck. TSMM was the hardest, but still doable. The only time I had an issue was ONCE on Peter Pan. I say that because I've been on the ride multiple times on mutiple trips baby wearing and was only told once by one CM that I had to take the baby out. It really is dependent on the CM.

 

[gatormom2tots]

I was NOT allowed to baby wear on the carousel in 2014. They told me I had to sit in the "carriage." I had a 3 year old as well at the time and she was NOT happy that she couldn't ride on the horse (I needed to be beside her and daddy was with the older 2 on another ride). Of course, Disney made it right by giving me a free fast pass after she threw a slight tantrum!

TSM- I didn't try to baby wear in this ride, but this is one that I didn't take my little ones on until they were about 2 because it is very jerky. In a carrier they might be okay, but even my 2 year old was whipped into my lap pretty hard this last trip- she hot her head pretty hard on my shoulder bone going from one shooting scene to the next.

 

[Megara5115]

I wore my DD on every ride when she was 3 months old in our Tula. Love our Tula. Should add she looks low in this pic because I loosened the waist band to be more comfortable while sitting. She slept through the whole ride

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I love my Tula too! Currently use it for my four and a half month old!