Best carrier for toddlers « Hellobee Boards

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Best carrier for toddlers

By periwinklebee Oct 16, 2018

Anyone used a carrier for bigger infants/toddlers that they loved?

Background: we commute via subway and walking. Stroller is not an option due to elevator outages and crowds. I have a large osprey daypack on my back with bottles/daycare food/pump stuff/my lunch/laptop/etc that weighs like a brick, and then there is my 25 + pound 9 month old. I'm using the lillebaby with him facing in on the front (facing out nearly broke my back), but am just wondering if this is as good as it's going to get (ouch my shoulders) or if there's anything else that's good for carrying a heavy kid. I don't even want to think how big he's going to be before he doesn't need to be carried anymore. Thank you!

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19 comments

avivoca
watermelon / 14467 posts

Oct 16, 2018

Honestly I don't see how you are still front carrying at this point. Kudos to you! Back carry is so much easier for me when my kiddos are that big. Is there any way you can shift to back carry and change up how you are carting your stuff back and forth? Also, you'll lighten up once you aren't carrying pumping stuff back and forth. Is it an option to leave your pump at work?
bhbee
cantaloupe / 6086 posts

Oct 16, 2018

Ugh it’s hard ... I remember almost crying one day at the Kendall Sq stop when the elevator was broken and I had all that stuff and my city mini. Some nice guy ended up carrying the stroller down for me!

Maybe a hiking backpack like a Kelty? Not cheap though and then where does your bag go - but throwing it out there.

Any chance you could make it work with an umbrella stroller? Our summer infant one has a shoulder strap so you could do that and carry baby down steps as needed but not have to hold him every minute? Doesn’t solve the crowding problem I know.
MamaBear87
nectarine / 2288 posts

Oct 16, 2018

How tall is baby? It has more to do with height rather than weight on whether you can get a toddler/bigger carrier.

That said I find the lille babies to be pretty small and you might have better luck with a few others which I'll suggest based on how tall baby is
muffinsmuffins
persimmon / 1023 posts

Oct 16, 2018

I was also going to say back carry. So much easier. We have a beco Gemini which I think is similar and didn’t have any issues up til like 18 months/2 yrs when he wouldn’t reliably walk longer distances.
Mrsbells
squash / 13199 posts

Oct 16, 2018

I would say Ergo Sport. And you can alternate between front and back carry
periwinklebee
grapefruit / 4466 posts

Oct 16, 2018

Hm, sounds like I should look into back carrying and pushing all of our stuff in a small rolling suitcase or something... Perhaps I can find one that doubles as a backpack, so after daycare drop off I won't look too nuts walking into the office with it...

@Mrsbells: @muffinsmuffins: Going to check these out, thank you!

@MamaBear87: Thank you! he's around 31" now

@bhbee: Hah, that's another strategy - bring the stroller and stand at the top of the steps looking helpless I feel like once he's old enough to stand while I fold the stroller, an umbrella stroller could be doable. I'm not sure i could reliably manage to fold it one handed while holding our stuff and him (while he no doubt would be desperately trying to escape so he could crawl around and lick the ground ) but I think it may be a good strategy for when he's a bit older... Going to check out the Kelty.
abbylyn
apricot / 298 posts

Oct 16, 2018

Toddler carriers will generally not fit until kiddo is wearing size 2T pants - I think switching to back carrying your little (or not so little ) one will be game changing for you!
periwinklebee
grapefruit / 4466 posts

Oct 16, 2018

@avivoca: Thank you! Fortunately I can leave the pump at work, but the bottles/parts/ice for transporting it home still take up space/weight. Looking forward to the day when I'm done pumping and DS eats solids, but for now all he wants to do is consume copious amounts of milk
periwinklebee
grapefruit / 4466 posts

Oct 16, 2018

@abbylyn: Thanks, I didn't realize this about the toddler carriers!
Mrs. Toad
persimmon / 1095 posts

Oct 16, 2018

I was there and used a Beco Gemini most of the time. I did front carry until DD was 16 months for the same reason. However, DD wasn't as heavy as your DS is.

You could always try carrying him on your back while putting the backpack on your chest.
MamaBear87
nectarine / 2288 posts

Oct 16, 2018

@periwinklebee: if you're looking for a carrier that will support baby better and make it more comfortable for you for both front and back carry I would look at a standard size kinderpack. The base is wider and gives more support but should be small enough to fit your little guy comfortably, if you can find a lending library to try on I'd definitely do that.
Tula is also a bit wider and I hear good things about the free to grow.
And look for a "new" carrier used! The market is insanely saturated and you can pick up a hardly used carrier for way less than new

My preference for heavy kids is to carry with a woven wrap but that definitely has a bigger learning curve than a soft structured carrier.

I wouldn't buy a gemini as it has a pretty narrow base and my tall kid was uncomfortable in one by around 7 months. The kelty carrier is a hiking carrier and will be really difficult to deal with in crowded spaces, they sit pretty far from your back and also high so I would think you'd be constantly bumping people by accident
snowjewelz
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

Oct 16, 2018

I'd suggest Lilliebaby or Kinderpack for better support.
periwinklebee
grapefruit / 4466 posts

Oct 16, 2018

@MamaBear87: Thank you - super helpful!

@Mrs. Toad: Thank you! Yeah, especially once we're done with daycare bottles/pumping, I feel like my bag won't be so bulky and I'll be able to get away more easily with just carrying a smaller bag on my chest...
periwinklebee
grapefruit / 4466 posts

Oct 16, 2018

@snowjewelz: Thanks! Until you and @MamaBear87: suggested, I'd never heard of kinderpack.
MenagerieMama
pear / 1547 posts

Oct 16, 2018

My LO2 is 18 mo and 25 lb (and tall - has been in 2T for a while), and I wear her in a Toddler Tula, almost always on my back. Though if she needs to sleep or if I need to sit on a bus I switch to my front. But that always kills me!
MrsBucky
kiwi / 656 posts

Oct 16, 2018

@periwinklebee: So take this for whatever it is worth to you but I commuted until my son was 16 months old on the subway. It involved four flights of stairs all up to work and four flights of stairs all down on the way home. By nine months I definitely couldn’t baby wear him anymore. I researched and found the lightest umbrella stroller that I could and that was much easier on my back to carry him in the umbrella stroller up the stairs than it was to carry him for the entire length of the commute. I got a maclaren Mark 2 on amazon open box sale for $100.
DesertDreams88
grapefruit / 4361 posts

Oct 16, 2018

We used a toddler Tula starting at 1 year old and he was in 12 to 18 months, it was awesome and worked for us.

It was on sale on black Friday come if you think you can hold out until then.
Pollywog
persimmon / 1111 posts

Oct 16, 2018

I used the Tula toddler to both front and back carry. I commute on foot and it really saved my back. I front carried regularly until LO1 was 2.5 (up until I delivered LO2) and still do on occasion.

With my first I had to lug several heavy bags around. I've lightened my load by washing my pump parts at work. I have an insulated water bottle that I put my coffee in ti transport to the office and then I wash it to transport my milk home. My milk stays cold and it's so much easier. I have one bag with my coffee bottle, lunch, running clothes, and laptop. Then each kid gets a backpack with their clothes, diapers, and lunch.
periwinklebee
grapefruit / 4466 posts

Oct 17, 2018

@Pollywog: Thank you for the tips on the carrier and lightening the load!

@DesertDreams88: @MenagerieMama: Going to check the toddler tula out...

@MrsBucky: Thank you!

For now I ordered a small-ish wheeled backpack and am going to try that in combination with back carrying LO. Once we're done with daycare bottles and pumping, I will see if the stuff we need is light enough to front carry a backpack.

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