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Caching with small children in tow


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If you go caching with little ones, what is your preferred method of carrying them?

 

My Lil Bit is only 13.5 months old, but she weighs in at about 12kg/25lbs and is just too heavy to carry.

 

I am currently using a sling to carry her in and it works ok, but my back is suffering big time! I can use it either with a hip carry or a back carry.

 

I know there are backpack carriers, but they look so huge and bulky, not to mention hot. A front baby bjorn type carrier is out of the question, she's too big for them and they are bad for the baby's back.

 

The terrain in Sweden is pretty rocky, so most places a stroller, even a 3 wheeled off road type, isn't an option.

 

What have ya'll tried and what do you use now?

 

Hubby takes the dog, a 50lb husky mix, 7 yo takes the cache stash bag and I take the sprog :laughing:

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I take my 5 year old grandson caching with me.When we have to bushwack I put him on my shoulders.I have carried him for over a mile at times in the dense forest.Im not sure if this would work for you.Kids seem to like the ride.

 

You are a lot tougher than me :lol: ! There is no way that I could carry her for that distance, hubby couldn't, either, he's had back surgery for ruptured discs and his back wouldn't make it!

 

I wish we could use the stroller, but Sweden was covered by glaciers in the ice age and is now covered by boulders of all different sizes, sometimes literal fields of them, and a stroller of any kind just wouldn't work for too many of the caches here. I do use one for places that are accessible with them, but it's the ones that aren't accessible that are the big problem :lol:

 

I've heard good things about the Ergo and Patapum, as well. I've a friend here who is a strong advocate of babywearing and she is who I bought my hotsling from. She just keeps trying to talk me into buying a wrap and I want something a little easier to put on and take off for when we're outthan having to tie a wrap every time!

 

Thank you for the suggestions!

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If you go caching with little ones, what is your preferred method of carrying them?

 

My Lil Bit is only 13.5 months old, but she weighs in at about 12kg/25lbs and is just too heavy to carry.

 

I am currently using a sling to carry her in and it works ok, but my back is suffering big time! I can use it either with a hip carry or a back carry.

 

I know there are backpack carriers, but they look so huge and bulky, not to mention hot. A front baby bjorn type carrier is out of the question, she's too big for them and they are bad for the baby's back.

 

The terrain in Sweden is pretty rocky, so most places a stroller, even a 3 wheeled off road type, isn't an option.

 

What have ya'll tried and what do you use now?

 

 

I'm 100% on board with the whole baby-wearing thing... used a sling with all four of my kids (not at the same time you knuckleheads) when they were small. LOVED it. Wouldn't do it any other way.

 

That said, woman, are you crazy?

 

As soon as my babies were big enough to keep their big ol' oversized-baby-heads upright off to a backpack they went. I didn't find the backpack carrier to be any worse than a sling - in fact, it's a lot cooler b/c you're not sharing sweat with the kid. Also, any well designed backpack carrier will take that into consideration - keeping you cool that is. Much like a pack you hike with.

 

They are large - but really - not so much larger than the kid. It's just the kid plus a frame around them. It takes a little getting used to - the weight on your back and hiking with it, but the reality of it is that it's a quick adjust to having someone behind you.

 

The worst part may be keeping the kid from pulling your hair. :lol:

 

Mine would frequently sing to me when we were walking. Aw... I wish they were that cute now. :lol:

 

If you're not so sold on a backpack carrier, I would suggest finding a friend that has one you can borrow. It took me a few tries to find one that worked well for me (a small person, needing a pack capable of carrying a child who was 24lbs or more with a waist belt that was supportive (that was the tough part!).

 

Other than that, I guess you're going to have to let your baby walk. :lol:

 

 

michelle

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I usually use my sling when we are out caching with the kids (4, 2 and 9 mo). Baby's in the sling. Preschooler's usually leading the way and the toddler is right behind him.

 

Hubby uses the backpack carrier when needed. But normally, I'm the one who carries baby.

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Other than that, I guess you're going to have to let your baby walk. :lol:

 

 

Little fart refuses to walk... I guess she knows a good thing when she sees it, hehehe! She's lightning fast crawling, lemme tell ya, but just won't walk yet.

 

Beings that she's my second kidlet I know better than to be in a hurry for her to walk, too :lol:

 

Mamid, what type sling do you use? Mine is a hotsling.

 

This is my little chunky monkey, showing us how you eat french fries...

 

picture001ta8.jpg

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We just started and we use a backpack for our 2 1/2 year old peanut (only 23 lbs) and our son who is 6 walks, and complains, but walks...that's the whole idea of us starting this hobby to get him out walking...

 

Stacey

 

719977002_e9d3990acf.jpg

 

 

Other than that, I guess you're going to have to let your baby walk. :lol:

 

 

Little fart refuses to walk... I guess she knows a good thing when she sees it, hehehe! She's lightning fast crawling, lemme tell ya, but just won't walk yet.

 

Beings that she's my second kidlet I know better than to be in a hurry for her to walk, too :lol:

 

Mamid, what type sling do you use? Mine is a hotsling.

 

This is my little chunky monkey, showing us how you eat french fries...

 

picture001ta8.jpg

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Looks like we're going to go with a Patapum. Hubby wasn't so keen on the idea of the Mei Tai wrap and the Patapum looks to be a cross between a wrap and a backpack.... has the straps of the backpack and the seating type of a wrap.

 

Thanks for the input. It's nice to hear from others' experiences and fun to see so many others wearing their ankle biters :lol:!

 

Cute kidlets, WS, and nice page, BBP'ers - the quote you have under your title gave me shivers :lol:, sure does "go" with things!

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The worst part may be keeping the kid from pulling your hair. :)

Hmmm...I guess you never fed your backpacker and had them - return it later. :unsure:

 

I concur, though - I have a 6 year old and a 3 year old, and both got at least 2 years of time in the backpack. I too had a jogging stroller that worked great - even on tough terrain. We had to carry it up some pretty good hills a couple of times, but still worked out well as a complement to the backpack.

 

We had a trailtech backpack, but I don't think they make 'em any longer. Now that my son is too big for the pack, it's Dad's shoulders that do the carrying.

 

If you happen to have a son/daughter that complains a lot if you make them walk at all (my legs are sooo tired, blah, blah, blah) - the surest fix for that is to find another caching friend with kids the same age, and let them hike together - we do that quite often, and when they walk together with their friends, they forget that they're actually walking - or as is often the case, running to the cache!

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http://www.kelty.com/kelty/kids.php?cat=48

 

My wife and I have used the sling (gets too hot when hiking) and had one previous backpack that had our kids too close to our bodies (again too hot). When the first backpack broke (it was a cheapy) we upgraded and got a Kelty and have not looked back. They are made with hiking in mind; they are lightweight, very well ventilated, have additional pack storage areas for gear, water bottles and sippy cups, are very ergo friendly, and are able to safely be set up-right for easy loading and unloading of your bundle of joy. My wife willingly does all the carrying and she has carried each of our 3 children in it up 35 lbs (they can hold up to 40lbs.).

 

They are a bit pricey, but they will last and is a great investment!

 

Good luck!

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http://www.kelty.com/kelty/kids.php?cat=48

 

My wife and I have used the sling (gets too hot when hiking) and had one previous backpack that had our kids too close to our bodies (again too hot). When the first backpack broke (it was a cheapy) we upgraded and got a Kelty and have not looked back. They are made with hiking in mind; they are lightweight, very well ventilated, have additional pack storage areas for gear, water bottles and sippy cups, are very ergo friendly, and are able to safely be set up-right for easy loading and unloading of your bundle of joy. My wife willingly does all the carrying and she has carried each of our 3 children in it up 35 lbs (they can hold up to 40lbs.).

 

They are a bit pricey, but they will last and is a great investment!

 

Good luck!

 

I used a Tough Traveler Filly for a large number of years and then passed it on to my sister-in-law who's still using it. It's gone through 5 kids!

 

I tried the Kelty when they first came out with their mo' bettah line like they have now, and found that after using the TT, the center of gravity for the kid was just to high and I felt like they were going to fall out (not very realistic, I know, but... I'm just saying...)

 

Kelty is, definitely, the better known brand (albeit not around as long) and a LOT easier to find around here (being the US).

 

 

michelle

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The worst part may be keeping the kid from pulling your hair. :)

Hmmm...I guess you never fed your backpacker and had them - return it later. :unsure:

 

I concur, though - I have a 6 year old and a 3 year old, and both got at least 2 years of time in the backpack. I too had a jogging stroller that worked great - even on tough terrain. We had to carry it up some pretty good hills a couple of times, but still worked out well as a complement to the backpack.

 

We had a trailtech backpack, but I don't think they make 'em any longer. Now that my son is too big for the pack, it's Dad's shoulders that do the carrying.

 

If you happen to have a son/daughter that complains a lot if you make them walk at all (my legs are sooo tired, blah, blah, blah) - the surest fix for that is to find another caching friend with kids the same age, and let them hike together - we do that quite often, and when they walk together with their friends, they forget that they're actually walking - or as is often the case, running to the cache!

 

Amazingly enough, I have non-puking kids. It's a VERY rare thing for any of them to revisit whatever they've eaten. So, no vomit in the hair... while backpacking.

 

I also had a jogging stroller (two, actually - a double and a single) and they were fabulous in certain areas. For the most part, however, the backpack was preferred due to the unwieldy-ness of the stroller (fold/unfold/space required to transport/blah blah blah).

 

I've also had the child who complained about walking... but it was largely dependent on who was in the walking group. If it was just me and the kids - no complaints, AND she kept up. If she was with her father - always complained.

 

Gosh, I wonder who carried her when she complained... and who didn't.

 

I was pleasantly surprised about a month and a half ago when we went on a 4-miler and there wasn't a complaint to be heard from the entire group.

 

Super. Nice.

 

 

michelle

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I have a 30 pound 3 year old and he walks or runs most of the time, but I carry him on my hip or shoulders if there's bushwacking or rough terrain. When he was a baby I used a backpack and that worked real well, but it was hot.

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If this was the 7 yo there is no way in heaven or hell I'd be having her on my back. That child had reflux!! Poor little sweetheart was never carried facing anyone for the first 18 months of her life, unless they were rookies with her :unsure:... and they weren't rookies for long!

 

My sweet little redhead, however, doesn't give ANYTHING back once it has enterred her mouth :).

 

Makes for some interesting diapers... it's not just corn that comes out whole, lol!

 

Her current favorite is clover. I figure if it doesn't hurt the cows it won't hurt her, just gotta watch out for the bees :)

 

I may just have to give the backpacks a try. Got lucky and found a friend with a patapum that we're going to borrow as a trial, if it doesn't work, there are a lot of different backpacks for sale on the net here for the equivalent of between 40 and 70 bucks, used.

 

I wish outright carrying was a better option, but it just won't work for us. Hubby had ruptured discs and back surgery on his lower back 4 years ago and my back is currently on strike, so it just doesn't work for us!

 

Then again, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? :)

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Snuggli's are awful and should be illegal! Baby Bjorn's are almost as bad, but not quite, but according to chiropractors, anything that hangs the baby from its crotch isn't a good carrier. Their backs aren't ready for that kind of stress yet, their hiney needs to be lowest, pretty much the way you carry a baby. A lot of support comes from resting a bit of weight on the bottom sides of their thighs, or something like that... Lemme see if I can find the information that I have about it....

 

Brb!

 

Ok, back... here's the quote that I dug up, along with a website...the quote is actually from another member here, but she hasn't posted here yet, she posts on another website that I'm a member of and she's a chiropractor.

 

We discussed this just a few weeks ago in a series of pediatric classes I'm taking. The problem with the baby bjorn is the amount that it separates and turns out the hips, and also that it puts the child into a vertical weight bearing position before the spine has matured enough to take the weight in that direction. Usually a child's spine is ready to take vertical axial weight bearing when the child is able to sit by themselves. Nature just plans it that way.

 

What I have found to be the ideal carrier is the sling. There are many variations of the sling, but one should look for the following in any type of carrier:
  1. Before an infant can hold her head on her own, the carrier should support the neck. A sling cradles the infant just like your arms would, unlike vertical carriers which can actually allow a whiplash type injury.
  2. The carrier should not place the infant's spine in a weight bearing position too early. (The young baby should be horizontal or inclined, with the spine supported along its length.)
  3. When a baby wants to be more upright to see the world around him (usually around age 4 to 5 months), the carrier should allow him to sit cross-legged, so his weight is dissipated through his legs and hips, as opposed to the style that has the legs hanging down, where the young spine has to bear the entire weight.

When considering the purchase of a baby carrier, you can often just ask yourself if you would be comfortable in it. Would you feel like you were in a hammock (a sling), or in a parachute harness, with your legs hanging down? Laying in a hammock is better for all of us.

 

Other benefits of sling type carriers include easy accessibility to breastfeeding, ability to wear baby facing toward or away from wearer, ability to wear sling on back, front or side.

 

You may be wondering, "What about backpacks? Are they bad? At what age or stage of development is it okay to carry a child in a backpack? What should you look for when buying one?" Wait until your child can sit alone well before carrying him in a backpack. The seat of the backpack should support the child's entire bottom — not just between the legs, leaving the legs to dangle. One that has a foot rest is preferred.

 

HTH! :unsure:

Edited by mousekakat
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Snuggli's are awful and should be illegal! Baby Bjorn's are almost as bad, but not quite, but according to chiropractors, anything that hangs the baby from its crotch isn't a good carrier. Their backs aren't ready for that kind of stress yet, their hiney needs to be lowest, pretty much the way you carry a baby. A lot of support comes from resting a bit of weight on the bottom sides of their thighs, or something like that... Lemme see if I can find the information that I have about it....

 

Brb!

 

Ok, back... here's the quote that I dug up, along with a website...the quote is actually from another member here, but she hasn't posted here yet, she posts on another website that I'm a member of and she's a chiropractor.

 

We discussed this just a few weeks ago in a series of pediatric classes I'm taking. The problem with the baby bjorn is the amount that it separates and turns out the hips, and also that it puts the child into a vertical weight bearing position before the spine has matured enough to take the weight in that direction. Usually a child's spine is ready to take vertical axial weight bearing when the child is able to sit by themselves. Nature just plans it that way.

 

What I have found to be the ideal carrier is the sling. There are many variations of the sling, but one should look for the following in any type of carrier:
  1. Before an infant can hold her head on her own, the carrier should support the neck. A sling cradles the infant just like your arms would, unlike vertical carriers which can actually allow a whiplash type injury.
  2. The carrier should not place the infant's spine in a weight bearing position too early. (The young baby should be horizontal or inclined, with the spine supported along its length.)
  3. When a baby wants to be more upright to see the world around him (usually around age 4 to 5 months), the carrier should allow him to sit cross-legged, so his weight is dissipated through his legs and hips, as opposed to the style that has the legs hanging down, where the young spine has to bear the entire weight.

When considering the purchase of a baby carrier, you can often just ask yourself if you would be comfortable in it. Would you feel like you were in a hammock (a sling), or in a parachute harness, with your legs hanging down? Laying in a hammock is better for all of us.

 

Other benefits of sling type carriers include easy accessibility to breastfeeding, ability to wear baby facing toward or away from wearer, ability to wear sling on back, front or side.

 

You may be wondering, "What about backpacks? Are they bad? At what age or stage of development is it okay to carry a child in a backpack? What should you look for when buying one?" Wait until your child can sit alone well before carrying him in a backpack. The seat of the backpack should support the child's entire bottom — not just between the legs, leaving the legs to dangle. One that has a foot rest is preferred.

 

HTH! :rolleyes:

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I have two, 2 year old girls, and I had to do everything with my girls. Leaving them on a trail why I went out wasn't an option. So I took a bike trailer cart thing, added my own touch to it and BAM, one all terrain twin 4x4 cart thing. You can buy them I guess, but that wasn't an option on my budget. All it took was some work, and a lawn mower tire and I was in the thick woods doing what I love and my girls. They have there own little hide away from black flies and I can push them easy enough that I can go out and do lots.. If you can find one at a yard sale, and you own a hack saw, you can make a great ride too. I would insert an image but I'm too new to make that happen I guess.

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