I’ve been waiting to tell you guys (especially fellow babywearing Mama’s out there!) about my latest splurge – but I wanted to have a pic to go with my post first. 

This is Nate and me showing off both our new carrier and my new Suses Kinder babywearing jacket!!Yep – I told you I splurged! 

I’ve been looking for a new carrier for a while now.  We have a borrowed Cuddly Wrap that was great when Nate was small and liked the cradle hold, and for around the house I have a Peanut Shell pouch that is fabulous now that Nate likes the hip carry (he was never a fan of the cradle hold or front carry in the pouch  – I think he felt too constrained).  But I have been looking for something more comfortable to replace our borrowed Kelty Kangeroo Soft Structured Carrier (SSC) for longer walks outdoors.  The Kelty just isn’t distributing his weight well enough now that he is almost 13lbs. 

So based mostly on a recommendation from my friend Kelly (who loaned us the Kelty and the Cuddly Wrap), I bought a Beco Baby Carrier in Metropolitan.  It is great! I also know that lots of Mama’s (such as Reesh) swear by their Ergos, and the Beco is very similar.  My decision to go with the Beco over an Ergo was mostly based on styling.  The Beco prints were just too adorable to resist.  I had a tough time choosing just one!

But my real splurge was the babywearing jacket.  I have kind of been keeping my eyes open for a decent price on one for a while, but up until recently I wasn’t sure that I really loved any of the styles that I had seen.  I had seen a lot of ponchos, but I didn’t figure they would be very useful for either the wet West Coast winters that I’m living in now or the frigid Northern Ontario winters that I expect to be living in for the next few years.  Finally I came across this jacket from Suses Kinder. 

It is absolutely amazing!!  They really thought of everything when they designed this jacket.  It is a shell, with a zip-in fleece, so it can be worn three ways (shell and fleece together, shell only or fleece only) making it a true 3-season jacket.  You can wear baby front or back, in any of the three configurations.  There is lots of space (even for a toddler), yet when you’re not carrying a babe it doesn’t look super bulky.  In fact it looks just like a normal ski jacket.  And not only did they really think about the design in terms of babywearing, they also included tons of great features you’d like to see on any typical hiking/ski jacket, such as multiple drawstrings to control air flow, pit zips, a hide-away hood and lots of pockets.  There are even built in hoods for baby in both the front and back of the shell layer!  Like I said – FABULOUS!

And…surprisingly, only $150.00.  Less than you would expect to spend on a good quality ski jacket.  I have been wearing it all week already and I love it.   I was out walking in Hickson (the village where my in-laws live and my hubby grew up) and got comments from two or three people.  It keeps Nate nice and warm and since he’s inside the jacket, he only needs to wear a hat -  no coat or mitts.  Much easier to manage than trying to bundle him up in a snowsuit and then get him into a carrier.  I’m sure you can all imagine the screaming bouts that ensued from the inevitable overheating in that situation.

So, it was definitely a splurge on my part but, especially when I’m home in Comox, I do a lot of trail walking with my fur baby.  Knowing that I can keep both Nate and I warm and dry will make it so much more appealling to hit the trails when it’s pouring rain and windy outside. 

And just in case anyone is wondering, I bought both the carrier and the jacket online from Tadpoles and Butterflies in Edmonton, Alberta.  I also purchased our Bum Genius diapers from them and have been extremely pleased with their prices and prompt shipping.

BTW – please excuse the lovely bags under my eyes in the picture.  Those are the result of Nate’s recent streak of sleepless nights.  Apparently getting up every hour from midnight to 8 am with a screaming teething infant is incompatible with my goal to win 2008’s Hottest Mama of Year Award

Happy babywearing!