Babywearing Instead of Stroller

[OneDNP]

We are going Halloween week and Mr. Littles will be 22-months old. He is petite and a slow grower (the body of a 12 month old, head of a 2 year old!) so I can wear him for hours in our Boba4G and even the ring sling. He naps beautifully when worn, though does okay in the stroller too. I would not even consider wearing without having the stroller at the parks for backup if we were going earlier in the warmer part of the month, and we will probably bring it on the trip anyway since evening walks around CSR are awesome.

When it was just hubs and I, we toured with what fit in our pockets, and while we cannot get away with that anymore, one wearing the diaper bag (<10 pounds) and the other wearing the boy (25 pounds at most) seems reasonable. We are likely doing 5 hours or less at the park in the morning and maybe a return for 2-3 hours in the evening.

I'm curious if anyone has opted to ditch the stroller in the parks and babywear instead, how it went, and any tips. Thanks!

 

[Weather_Lady]

I haven't "carried" in WDW myself (we didn't take the kids until they were 4), but if you aren't going to be too tired carrying your little guy, traveling without a stroller is wonderfully freeing. (I also think your plan of doing 5 hours, then a break, then returning later, is a good one. We never tour parks for more than 4-5 hours at a time and we take a 3-hour nap/swim break every afternoon, and between rope drop arrivals and a good touring plan, we've always gotten everything done with a minimum of muss and fuss, and stayed well-rested and refreshed.

 

[KordovaJD]

My wife carried our 10 month old a lot earlier this month. I carried him some. We used the classic little baby bjorn thing.

Other than it getting pretty sweating, we didn't have great complains. And he actually slept some, which is not his style.

That said, our double stroller goes with us everywhere.

 

[WDWDreamer4]

I babywore in Sept 2014 but she was a newborn and only weighted 7 lbs. I also kept the stroller with us as we have two older children that used it. We also exchanged our diaper bag for a backpack while on vacation so that was the easy part of the equation.
At 22 months you might find he will walk more than you will need to carry. But having the sling instead of a stroller is a lot easier to cart around.
Maybe split and have the stroller during the day and then babywear in the evening. You may find after multiple days of constant babywearing around the parks you may get sore/tired and need the break.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

We carried (wore) our first son around Disneyland when he was 11 and 18 months... no problems at all. We took him to WDW when he was 22 months and figured we'd do the same thing... nope! I'm not sure whether it was the heat or a bigger baby, but we were exhausted after a few days. Make sure you bring your stroller, just in case!

 

[ItlngrlBella]

Never carried, only strollered (we brought our own, a McLaren - best stroller ever). We liked the stroller because she could nap and there is storage in it for diapers, bottles, all the gear plus souvenirs.

If you Dad is the one to carry, the baby would be cute as Yoda, Dad as Lune and you as Leia!

 

[englanddg]

I never liked strollers. Even when the kiddo was a baby (about 6 months old) and I took her to the Columbia Zoo, I carried her all day.

I'd vote for the belly carrier!

 

[SAV]

I couldn't see having another person constantly on me the whole trip. I much preferred using a stroller. The stroller also provides you with somewhere to put the diaper bags and what not, instead of having someone have to carry those too.

It's still going to be warm in October, so that just doesn't seem comfortable to me at all.

 

[OneDNP]

Thanks for the input folks. It will probably wind up being a day-by-day decision since we are bringing the stroller on the trip, so it's good to hear it can work. When I went with my niece she was just shy of two and wanted to walk everywhere, so the stroller was a really annoying to just push and park.

 

[Scott10]

My wife and I did the carry/stroller rotation with our youngest and it worked pretty well. The nice thing with the carry option was that I could video while she snapped photos of our older child when she did meet and greets and it was a lot easier than maneuvering a stroller in many places!

 

[DizneyPryncess]

We're bringing the baby carrier on our fall trip for our son, who will be 7 months at the time. For shorter visits into the parks, we might not bring the stroller in at all. But for longer trips, we will probably bring the stroller in too, for if he gets too heavy. Our daughter is 3.5 and needs afternoon naps, so the morning trips in that are shorter might be just with the carrier. Playing it by ear.

 

[jaklgreen]

I could never use one of those baby carriers. Having another heat source attached to me all day in the Florida sun would have done me in. We liked the stroller especially with an almost 2 yo. They can walk a bit and then sit in the stroller when they get tired. Much more freedom of movement then being smooshed into Mom or Dad.

 

[Dana Boo]

I baby-wore when DS was 8 months, and then again when he was 12 months- he'll be 20 months on our next trip and I'm afraid too big to wear- I'll miss it, I really enjoyed baby-wearing at WDW!!

 

[OneDNP]

I baby-wore when DS was 8 months, and then again when he was 12 months- he'll be 20 months on our next trip and I'm afraid too big to wear- I'll miss it, I really enjoyed baby-wearing at WDW!!

Good to know! I have been doing a lot of wearing this summer and frog toggs have been amazing.