How to cart 10 lbs of human around

Graco, BabyTrend, inStep, EvenFlo, BOB, Quinny, Phil & Ted, Bjorn, Mobi Wrap, Ergo, Infantino, Baby Jogger.

Where in the world do you start!? All of these lovely brands were up for consideration as we tried to figure out how to best move little Jackson around.


Get excited to see what ended up being the finalists!

Carseat.

Here is Jackson, modeling the Graco Snugride--5 point harness--infant carseat. This was the one thing that we HAD to acquire by law. The hospital won't let you take the baby w/o one properly installed. Really, these things are so awkward to put a baby into, but LUCKILY Jackson will usually stop crying once he gets moving (via the car or his parents arms). Unfortunately our arms are not looking forward to Jackson's continued weight gain, as these things are already too awkward to hold and carry.

 Laundry Basket.

Gosh! We didn't even have to buy this one! A baby in the house has turned out to mean I GET to do an average of 5-6 loads of laundry a week. (SO GRATEFUL FOR A WASHER/DRYER!) It's really quite impossible to carry up a load from downstairs with a baby in arm, so why not throw him into a freshly dried basket of clothes. Despite his face of "I'm not really sure what to think of this," I'm convinced heaven must include adult-sized baskets of warm downy goodness--just for lounging about.

Stroller.

By far the most difficult decision. There are only five billion choices of the same thing, and yet NONE of them had everything that I wanted! So, we're going with 3 different ones, and we'll probably have to get more once a sibling comes around in a few years. Mark is sporting the BabyTrend Snap n' Go stroller (picture above). Basically it's PVC pipe in a collapsible form that holds a car seat.  Love it. ESPECIALLY because this one was 7 (not 70) dollars at a consignment sale, and it works magnificently.

Jackson is awkwardly buckled into the Combi EX Cosmo--cranberry. I went to Babies R Us to register for a lightweight stroller that would fit him when he got older, and I was so overwhelmed by the choices I asked the salesman for advice. He picked up this stroller, folded it in two seconds, and slung it over his back like a backpack, opened it back up in 2, and showed me how it lays flat for an infant, but holds a baby up to 55 lbs. Super lightweight and it has ONE handle at the top. I was totally sold.
Funny enough, he must have said the same thing to everyone else, b/c when we went back to get it with gift certificate money that Mark's office gave us, it was totally out of stock--in EVERY STORE, AND the warehouse. Guess it was popular. SO, after a grueling hour, we were finally able to have one shipped to our home. Whew! 
Jackson and I took it out for a spin, and decided it was awesome.

We will also be purchasing an Instep Safari Jogger but since mom and baby aren't jogging yet, we're enjoying a no guilt postpartum.

Baby Carrier.

LOVE THIS. Yes, I garden, cook, clean, sing, dance, jump... all in my lovely Infantino Front to Back carrier. He can face either way in the front, and when he gets too big keep his hands to himself, we'll just turn him around and wear him on the back (I'll have to let everyone know if I still appreciate it at that point).

As lovely as it is for me to do all these domestic things, it's even BETTER when I get to strap junior onto Dad.



We went to the International Spy Museum last Friday. Apparently they have a strict "no stroller" rule--which meant Mark got to be the baby carrier. Love having a willing man around. Jackson did great as a spy, until he decided the media and images were just a bit too much for him (after about 30 min). So, to save the ears of the other patrons, he was held and bounced for the last hour and a half of our little spy museum tour. But the subway ride out there, and all of the walking was definitely w/ Dad right next to him.



For memorial day, we went down to Fredricksburg VA--a National Park/Memorial for 3 different civil war battles. We brought the snap n' go, but for a lot of the walking we strapped the poopster (Jackson) onto Mark. Jackson did amazingly. Besides napping more consistently than ever before, he was definitely our little celebrity. "OH!!! A baby!" "Look how little" "He's SO cute!" (Most of the time he was under blankets, so I'm not sure how they knew he was so cute, but I guess he just puts off the vibes.)

Mark is ALSO standing in front of the latest FAMILY Carrier. YES. We finally retired ol' Betsy (the 94' Ford Taurus that has been loved so dearly by so many), and got a 07' Toyota RAV4. We definitely love it, (especially the AC!!!) but we've driven old cars for so long we almost feel embarrassed to drive it. It's just a bit... worldly?

Hands.

With Hands. My old roommate Kimberly, came and got to practice. Jackson was so used to the other methods, he didn't know how to react! ;) ...No, he gets held all the time, and boy is that our favorite too!