heavy child and a bad back - please help

[Pocahontas1]

Hello...

We are heading to Disney for a week at the beginning of June. DD will be 13 months then, but right now she is not walking. Personally, I think she could walk if she wanted to but she is such a good crawler, she just doesn't seen the point. Not that I would expect her to walk at WDW, it would just be nice if she would occasionally stand by herself.

Anyway, she is very heavy (23 lbs) and my back is not the best. I'm looking for some options for carrying her other than just using my hip. I have a sling, but I think I'm not using it correctly because I don't think she is secure and she doesn't like it very much.

Any other ideas. Not sure if I could do a backpack. She is a great stroller rider when we are moving through the parks. I'm just concerned about when we are waiting in line. Oh, and Tom Sawyer Island - DS (5) can't wait to go there and I can imagine lugging her on the raft, around the island and back again. I think my arm will fall off before we make it back to the stroller.

Thanks for your input.

 

[TJA]

I posted a similar question a while back on these boards. My twins are around the 25# mark and while we use our stroller in the parks, we need something for standing in lines. I researched and asked around and finally decided to buy an Ergo carrier. While I have not experienced it in a park yet, I have tried my baby in it here around the house and it seems to work very well. You could always order one online and then return it for a full refund if it doesn't work for you. I ordered it from this site:

www.earthbaby.com

 

[Colinsmom]

I love, love my mei tai carrier from www.kozycarrier.com - I have lower back problems but carried my 31lb toddler for a couple of hours at Epcot and barely noticed the weight!

 

[Bird-Mom]

Another vote for a mei tai! Mine is a Sachi Mei Tai. She has gorgeous fabrics.

 

[iluvdisnee]

Maya wraps have always been fine on our back, they are wonderful! www.mayawrap.com

 

[dtsaos]

At www.onestepahead.com they have a carrier called the ultra EZ carrier (i think that's the name). It's a side hip carrier and I used it for my son when he was 10mo. old about 20lbs or so and it worked great. Starts to hurt your neck after a while but it did save my back and let's face it-none of the carriers are perfect. Anyway, I think it's worth looking into! Good luck deciding.

 

[i12go2wdw]

I was given this carrier for Christmas and I swear by it. I have 4 children and the youngest is now 2. She does not like the stroller and walks a lot but she loves this hip seat. It puts NO strain on yur back and is so comfortable and natural feeling. Gotta love the name too!! When the child is not in it is looks just like a big fanny pack and only weighs a few ounces. It slants towards you so the baby naturally leans in and once you are comfortable with it you can go hands free too.
http://www.hippychick.com/product_menu.asp?cid=1

 

[*Susan*]

Mei Tei is my vote too. Just got mine a few weeks ago from meiteibaby.com and LOVE it. I am also on the wait list for a kolamo carrier. You can wear this style carrier on your front (baby facing in), hip or back. A word of warning for the popular kozycarrier - there is a looong wait list.

Check out thebabywearer.com for a TON of helpful info on all sorts of carriers. I just spent a long time researching and used that site a lot.