Category: Baby Wearing

Review of The Freeloader Child Carrier

This post is a review of the Freeloader Child Carrier. I received product in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.

A few weeks back, I hinted that I’d be getting a child carrier that would be useful not just for the twins but for The Bigs, too. Do you remember me telling you about the Freeloader? Well, it arrived and we’ve been using it to test our backs out for when the twins are big enough to use it by taking Evan up to the Rails to Trails right off our backyard.

freeloader child carrierNote – The Freeloader Child Carrier should only be used with children ages 2 and a half and up (the twins are just a few weeks shy of that) and when they weigh between 25 and 80 pounds. They should also be between 33-50 inches tall. (That means Ava is going to be carriable again soon! Isla has some height to gain, but the way she’s been eating lately, that’s going to be soon, too!)

Like anything new, The Freeloader takes some getting used to. “You’re not going to run with him on here, that’s for sure,” said Greg when he tried it out with Evan.

It’s true. I got pretty sweaty while wearing it and even though I know I’m strong, it still was a core workout. We’re not going to be signing up for any 10-mile hikes while wearing it anytime soon.

While I was carrying Evan on the trail, I wondered what people thought. The three girls were walking around and I was carrying Evan, the sportiest of them all. But then I didn’t care. It’s pretty cool to have a carrier that supports a bigger child – and my mind went to friends who have kids with special needs, how it would allow them to go on adventures, too! Great news, Freeloader has a community for parents of kids with special needs! They’re steps ahead of me.

Preparing for our adventure

The girls can’t wait to be worn again, and we’ll work up to bigger adventures than just our trail. The Freeloader Child Carrier is slim enough we could take it to amusement parks or festivals (it only weighs 5.8 pounds).

Wearing in Prep for our Walk

What We Liked: The Freeloader Child Carrier

  • It is lightweight but sturdy.
  • The straps around the hips and around the shoulders distribute the weight evenly.
  • I ordered a medium Freeloader, and it is just the right size for me and for Greg, even with our height difference.
  • The foot straps for the kiddo!
  • As our kids grow, they’ll still be able to use it, up to 80 pounds. Arianna’s even taken a ride!

What We Didn’t Like: The Freeloader Child Carrier

  • The padding, while super comfy for both parent and kiddo, got me sweaty. Either that or it was our September Summer, but I still think it would be warm on a normal day, too.
  • While I agree the carrier is well worth it, the price is a bit out of our range as twin parents. If we wanted two, we’d be shelling out almost $600 (they are $299 a piece). Also, if you and your partner are different heights, you want to consider this in your purchase.

All-in-all, The Freeloader will be a go-to for our times exploring the world around us. Greg’s excited to have it as an option for next summer’s Wildlife Wednesday adventures. I’m excited to have Ava close by without her pinching and tugging at me to “Up! Up!” without support. Definitely a series of wins.

If you’d like to get a Freeloader Child Carrier of your own, you can save 10% when you use the code freeloaderfun when you use this coupon. See more at myfreeloader.com and find Freeloader on Facebook. Freeloader is also available on Amazon.

 

Babywearing Still Works

The girls were snoring as the clock turned to 6:45. I stopped working on the (constant) project of reorganizing my office space and decided we should probably get dinner started, even though today had been a late lunch. Isla popped right up when I turned on the living room lights while Ava rubbed her eyes and pouted at me.

Arianna helped me get the girls set up with their “appetizers”, but Isla wasn’t having anything we offered her. She just weeped and weeped. As Arianna shrugged her shoulders at her littlest sister, I fought to get Ava’s legs out from under her bottom and into the high chair seat. This wasn’t going to work, middle sister just wanted to cling to her mama.

Not sure what else to do, I put my brown-eyed-girl on my hip and pulled chicken nuggets out of the freezer. We peeked into the dining room to confirm that Isla was good with chicky and that’s when things went further south than I’d expected.

The stuff hit the fan for all the kids when the tears started for Evan.

“I can’t draw my W’s, they look like N’s”, he said, throwing his blue marker across the table. Looking at the page in his 2015 summer journal, I saw no evidence of an N or a W. Just a blue circle with scribbles through it.

A nervous laugh might just have slipped from my lips.

It was at that moment that the ‘lil boy I thought was so innocent slipped a curse word in reaction to my mothering slip. I passed Ava to Arianna, pushing the bawling that commenced out of ears, and went right to Evan’s eye-level, confirming what my ears heard. While he claimed he didn’t say anything, he dug his face into the table.

“Six minutes. Upstairs. Go. No questions.” I tried to keep my cool because Isla was flinging cheese curls at my back trying to make everyone laugh. Turning around, I caught Ava’s eyes and realized I was going to be the only thing that would keep her calm.

Arianna went to get the ring sling and a smile came over Ava’s face. I slipped the nuggets in the microwave and the baby in the pocket of her comfy place. The tears came to a stop from the oldest twin while they started back up by the younger one, weeping as she begged for the chicken to be done.

As the timer for the nuggets singled both the meat and the timeout were over, I breathed a sigh of relief. The last ten minutes might have been some of the tougher ones in this motherhood journey, but they showed me just how much those four ‘lil ones need (and want) their mama.

Thank goodness babywearing still works.

Wrapy Baby Carrier

[Review Disclaimer] Today’s post is provided courtesy of the Wrapy Baby Carrier.

As a baby wearing family, we’ve run through many different types of baby carriers, all working differently for each of our kids, our adventures, and our budgets. I’m really not tied to one particular type or brand, though I will say that those with straps and buckles seem to help me feel safer when I’m also chasing the older two around. The Wrapy Baby Carrier is one of the carriers that we’ve given a try.

The Wrapy Baby Carrier

wrapy baby carrier

I’ll start by saying that we tried a similar carrier when Evan was a babe and again when the twins were fresh newborns. It worked, but I couldn’t get the hang of wrapping by myself (which is really the winning point of baby carrying in my book). The Wrapy was no different, unfortunately. With 9 feet of extra wide material, I would struggle to figure out how to get it wrapped just right without Greg’s help. Bummer! Double bummer? I would drag it on the floor when putting it on and because we have dogs, dog hair all over the cotton/spandex blend. Sigh.

That being said, a few positives about the Wrapy Baby Carrier:

  • The Wrapy is one size fits all. Although I’m somewhere (weirdly) between a 14 and a 20 (I know), it was long enough to wrap around my body and also to hold baby (mine are about 16 pounds). It’s the same length as the one I wore when I was a size 26, so I’d lean toward saying the one size fits all is pretty legit.
  • Baby is held close to the heart. This carrier is for front carries only. You’re able to see and kiss baby’s head because they are right there and safe against you.
  • Baby wearing is sleepy dust. I wore Isla when she was sick and it made a world of difference.
  • Breastfeeding is possible if your baby is in the seated position. Personally, I do not like the forward face in a carrier like this, so I only tried seated against me and Isla was able to eat while she hung out.

wrapy baby carrier

Would I wear the Wrapy in the summer? Maybe! It’s a lot of fabric, so I’m weary about sweat and me feeling uncomfortable, but it’s possible.

Will we keep using the Wrapy? From time to time, yes. Just like all of our carriers, there is a time and a place for it. Greg would probably work better with it, but I won’t rule it out.

If your interest is sparked and you’d like to try one of your own, you can purchase on Amazon and find out more on their website: http://wrapy.net.