Strollers and slings and carriers... OH MY!

[Lauren-n-Jeff]

Okay... The more DH and I discuss this, the more baby-transporting-paraphernalia we add to the pile! If anyone can help us sort this out, my veteran DIS friends can! (and we'd be MOST appreciative!)

We're going to WDW in May.... Myself, DH, DS 4.5, and DS who will just have turned 6 mos.

We have slings and we have an Ergo carrier which make the little one happy.... he hasn't been in a stroller where he sits facing forward except for one time last week when I tested him out in the Mac. Triumph we have. It doesn't recline enough for baby to be comfortable (so definitely out of the question for him to sleep in it!) and the seat isn't "deep" enough if that makes sense. It's just not ideal for baby...perfect for my older DS, though. Small, comfortable, steers well.

We saw a Graco IPO this weekend and LOVED it b/c it reclines all the way back and it folds up nice and small like the Maclaren...and it has a weight limit of 50 I believe? whatever it was, it'd hold DS 4.5, too.

SO... I'm seeing several options here... Perhaps you all could give your input as to which one might be best?

1) Bring slings/carriers for baby and Maclaren for 4.5 year old

2) Bring slings/carriers for baby AND purchase the Graco IPO for baby and also bring the Maclaren for the 4.5 year old.

3) Bring slings/carriers for baby and buy Graco IPO to use for BOTH boys to use, but obviously just not at the same time.

Could anyone possibly offer some suggestions here? Or maybe a pack mule?

 

[tkme4ard]

I would bring two strollers and the baby sling/wrap what ever you choose as a back up. You could clean one stroller in your room if you don't think you'll need it type thing but if you try it just with the sling and stroller you'll have the 2nd as a back up just in case. If your baby is on the big side it is not so easy to carry comfortably for long periods of time. My 1 yo is on the small side (15 months and still weighs 21lbs with clothes on) and she's easy to carry but my friends son that is 35 lbs at 16 months, not so easy LOL

 

[bumbershoot]

If your baby is on the big side it is not so easy to carry comfortably for long periods of time.

I'm thinkin' you haven't worn baby in an Ergo! As weightless as they can get, I tell ya!

OP, for me, and I'm a person who didn't own a stroller until DS was over 2 and I wanted to take brisk walks without his legs hitting my thighs while wearing him on my back in the Ergo (but has always rented, though perhaps not made use of, a stroller for Disneyland), the Ergo would be THE mode of transportation for the baby, with the stroller as a backup for when the older one was out of it.

So I would just bring the one stroller, perhaps the IPO to accomodate both of them, and the Ergo, and be done with it. Wearing the baby at the end of the day is going to be scads easier than dealing with getting baby out of the stroller fold up stroller, get on transportation-vehicle, etc etc. Much easier to deal with that with the older one, all while wearing the baby in the comfy Ergo.

Just my opinion, based on my trips to disneyLAND, extrapolating to disneyworld.

 

[tkme4ard]

I haven't tried an ergo LOL I WANT one though! does that count? i'll have one before we go to WDW for sure! I also want a pouch. I have 4 ring slings though. Love my sling.

 

[strmtroopr96]

I have an Ergo but also use a stroller with youngest DD. But then again I am obsessed with strollers! LOL We already have 8 here but I am weeding a few out to make room for 1-2 new ones that would be our new WDW vacation stroller. Last 2 trips we used 2 different Peg P3's with youngest DD. Once at 3 months old (didn't have an Ergo then but used Snugli and a pouch sling a few times) and then again at 15 months old (used the Ergo at times then too). This next trip, she will be 26 months old and I plan on using the Ergo along with whatever new stroller I buy...either a Baby Jogger City Mini or a Peg Pliko Lite.

So you might be fine with just one stroller though. If you just take one, I would go with the Mac! Although, I thought I read somewhere here that the Graco IPO might not bas tippy? I have a Mac Quest that we just never use...just sits looking pretty in the baby's room but the tippiness might annoy me after awhile with all the in's and out's at WDW.

By the way, over on the "Come Trade With Us" thread...there is a Pouch Sling for trade! LOL

 

[design_mom]

How long are you going to be at WDW?

When we went to WDW when DD was 18 months, it was only a 2 day trip, but we did not take a stroller at all. I wore DD in the Ergo the whole time and my back did not hurt at all. We stayed from park opening to close both days, too. (DD will nap in the Ergo but *never* in a stroller. Go figure!)

Anyway, I think you'll use the Ergo 99% of the time because it will be SO much more convenient than a second stroller. I vote for taking the Ergo and one stroller. I've never used either of the strollers you mentioned, so I don't have a vote on which would be best.

However, there are a couple of things that might temper my answer.
1) How long will you be there? I was fine with the Ergo for 2 days and could have definitely done more...but if you're going to be there 10 days or something, you might not want to carry baby all the time...just for a change of pace.
2) What part of May are you going in and are you (or baby) a person who gets miserable when you're hot? The amount of person-to-person contact that you have with baby in an Ergo can get a little toasty. When we went in February it definitely wasn't unbearable but we did get a little sweaty. If you're expecting super-hot temps, you might not want to be in the Ergo for the whole day.

 

[Ariel8676]

Personally i would bring one stroller and one (or 2..lol) carriers. Your older DS could walk and the baby ride in the stroller, then when he is tired baby goes in the carrier and big boy goes in the stroller. Cuts down on things to carry, but you wil still have storage in your stroller.

 

[Lauren-n-Jeff]

Thanks so much for your replies so far!

We'll be at WDW for 7 nights/8 days...and we're going the second week of may...the 7th is the day we arrive...

I never really thought about the heat factor...

I know for sure that my slings are coming with me. I got one solarveil sling for the pool and water parks (it's awesome!! Actually more comfy than the Maya Wrap I have! Got it from a great woman on ebay who custom makes them... PM me if you want to know her seller ID!) I tried to solarveil sling in the shower with my wee one and it was wonderful... little ones are so slippery when wet and this is a great way to keep him securely attached to me.

The Ergo, too... Definitely will be bringing it...

Still trying to decide on the stroller thing.... I know we want to bring at least one...and it makes sense to bring one that BOTH boys can use...

So to follow up... All the carriers and then the Ipo stroller....might it be worth it to just bring the Triumph we have, too? Just in case? They're both small enough and easy enough to fold and whatnot...

 

[Ariel8676]

Solarveil slings are awesome..i had a beautiful solarveil ring sling that i used for my youngest. I brought it to WDW 2 times and ended up using that carrier more than the others that i brought..it was just so light and cool, and if we got wet, at the parks, it was no big deal. For the pool it is just so great to be able to be so close to your little one and be hands free!!!

 

[momof3littlelilos]

love the Ergo carrier! Our experience was that it was easier to carry DDbaby in the Ergo...older sister used the stroller...Althouh We have a double stroller, but the baby rarely used it.
Can you borrow a double stroller? I would either use a double plus the Ergo carrier...or bring one stroller and the Ergo. For us it would have been too much hassle juggling 2 strollers.