It was a beautiful sunny Seattle afternoon, and believing that these days are truly numbered, I decided to load of Ryder in his carseat/stroller and head down to the Top Banana for a produce run. We were just a few blocks from home when a man carrying what seemed to be his life’s belongings on a his back in a ragged backpack walked by us. I smiled and said hello. He got about 10 feet beyond us when he turned and said, “Child rearing has gone out the window these days. People just push their kids around like grocery carts.”
My first reaction was to get pissed. Who was this guy to comment on my parenting decisions? Then I started to consider what he said and he has a good point. I chose to take the Snap ‘n Go because it has a big lower basket for bringing home my wares, and it never even occurred to me that Ryder might want to ride in the Moby for a portion of the walk. I just put him in the seat without even thinking about it.
The better way to go may have been to put my sleepy little boy in the Moby for the start of the walk (more sun protection and cozy carrying for the both of us), then when he got fidgety later on, put him in the stroller. It’s not going to be long before he’s too big to be carried on my chest. And soon enough he’s going to outgrow the carseat/stroller option and he’ll be sitting facing out toward the world, instead of staring his sweet little face up toward me.
When Ryder was a little teeeeny baby, and I put him to sleep on my chest when he was fussy, I remember thinking: This won’t last forever, I should do it a lot now. And I was right about that … so goes the baby wearing. The Ergo and Moby will be my first choice for walks from here on out.
Or at least until my back can’t handle it anymore.
