Groan - I bought the Beco

If you've become a regular reader you might have heard, earlier this week, about my obsession with a new baby carrier. I already have two, a baby bjorn and a pouch-style sling (this is not the site I got mine from, a good friend made my pouch sling for me). There are benefits to both styles, and David in particular was a big lover of the pouch sling. I wore him in it for months and months. The bjorn is great too, for perhaps less, err, hefty children. I'm finding the design of the bjorn doesn't lend itself to much comfort while I'm carrying Leah - which can easily be up to two hours on any given day at the park. I have noticed after the past month or two increasing pain in my upper back, shoulders and neck, which I attribute to long days with Leah in the bjorn. It's just not a very ergonomic design. And the sling was amazing when she was younger, but seems too restricting to her lately. The giant baby is so active and needs to kick her legs freely to be most happy.

I happened to be in Westboro yesterday after taking Leah to the doctor, so I popped into Milkface Nursingwear just to check out the Beco carriers. Big. Mistake.

It was love at first sight. As soon as I clipped that soft cotton carrier around my waist and adjusted the ergonomically curved shoulder straps to fit my height, I knew I wouldn't be leaving the store without it. The benefits overwhelmed me . . . and in case you're interested:

* Comfortably fits users under 5’ and over 6’ and everyone in between
* Ergonomically curved shoulder straps
* Built-in infant insert enables baby to sit higher in carrier
* New redesigned body style
* Three section ergonomic waist belt
* Inside panel enables to pass baby front one parent to another
* Easy and safe front and back carry
* Removable hood and storage sleeve on the waist belt
* Newborn to toddler up to 55 lbs (PERFECT b/c I can technically use it for any of my three Things!!)
* Lightweight and Stylish (important to me that it fit in a diaper bag)
* Hands free nursing (bonus!! Can feed anywhere!)

As I walked out of the store $100 poorer, I knew I would have to play up the benefits to Paul when I got it home. The "I really need something more comfortable to carry Leah around the neighbourhood in" wasn't likely going to carry a lot of clout with him. I needed to show him the benefits and long-term value of the Beco, and they needed to be GOOD. I needed to convince him of the potential resale value AND the money we will save by avoiding future gigantic chiropractic bills. But better yet . . . I remembered some of the boys' clothing I had sold to a local consignment shop; I popped over there (it was down the street from Milkface - I mean, is that a sign OR WHAT?) to find out the money in my account was just slightly more than the cost of the Beco. Whoop Whoop. I bought me a new carrier.

Leah LOVES IT. She slept in it this afternoon at the park for two hours. She is comfy and secure, I am comfy and have yet to experience any discomfort, or reach for the Advil bottle. It was meant to be. My only minor complaint would be they didn't carry any funky, stylish colours so I had to opt for plain brown (my other option was skull and crossbones - um, no thanks). I didn't want to order a custom carrier and have to pay shipping.

So here we are earlier tonight in all our glory, ready to take Rudy for his evening walk.



And totally unrelated, here is Thing Three getting better at sitting up. She likes to sit up and look at her toys now, to shake the bejeebers out of them and then giggle :-).