Day 53: Baby Bjorn

We do own a rather shocking number of things in multiples, but devices for schlepping babies has got to be the category killer. Not only do we have two Baby Bjorn infant carriers, we also have two Maya slings, an Ergo carrier, a Hip Hammock, two mei tie wraps and an aluminum frame baby backpack. (Until recently we also had a Moby wrap, a New Native pouch, and a third Maya sling, but I sold those to finance my ongoing baby carrier addiction).

I can make a case for keeping some of them, because each carrier works best in different situations and so it's good to have a selection. We are using the Maya wrap and Ergo every day, and I keep an extra Maya in the car because it stores well and is there in a pinch in case I forget to bring a carrier when we go out. The backpack is essential for actual hiking, which we do often enough to justify keeping it.

The others, though, are candidates for passing on. Now that Cole has outgrown the front carry we no longer need either Bjorn; I'm not crazy about the Hip Hammock, so that can go; one mei tie is going into Cole's memory box but the other can be given away. (I plan to hold that one for a couple of months since it is Xmas themed and it will likely have more appeal closer to December, plus it's polar fleece and too darned hot for summer anyway).

So I pick the older Bjorn to be the first to go. We haven't used it since Jack was a baby, since the newer Bjorn has better back support, and the other ones could at least in theory still be used to help lug around all 22 pounds of Cole, especially if we want to have a little christmas in August.

I don't want to be disingenuous about this so I feel like I have to go on record stating that I might not give away all of the remaining carriers: I might sell some of them. I feel a little weird putting that in a blog that's ostensibly about giving things away, but we put a lot of money into acquiring these things and they do have resale value. I mean, we paid $75 for the Bjorn I am giving away today, and I know they can be sold used on Ebay. But I also feel good about giving it because I feel so strongly about the benefits of babywearing, and I'm hoping someone at the Young Parents' Support Center who might not otherwise have tried wearing their baby will take the Bjorn and keep their babe close instead of carrying them around at arm's length in the ubiquitous baby bucket-slash-infant car seat.