Baby on the way: ultralight infant gear?

Babies need food, warmth, love, and diapers. Anything else is mostly fluff. For infants I always used a baby sling, maya-wrap style. There are probably a dozen other models available now. Baby backpacks are no good until they can sit up/hold their head up. I had my babies sleep in down buntings, cuddled up next to me in my sleeping bag. They will happily sleep on foam pads – kids can sleep on anything. Breastfeeding is WAY easier than bottles.

My youngest "baby" is 4 now, so I may be out of touch with any new baby gear that's come down the pike in the last 2 or so years. Congratulations!

Like many things baby carriers are personal. Stroller is nice around the city, but when going off on a trail I would recommend some sort of carrier. Many people use a basic fabric slings like those from maya wrap. Normally the slings are made from cotton. You could also sew your own sling from some different material. We were never comfortable with these. The babybjorn front pack worked well for us when our daughter was an infant. When she got older (needed more room and was about to move around and wanted some freedom of motion) we switched to a modified tough traveler kid pack. I haven’t been following the market… there may be better options these days. This pack wasn’t light, but when you are carrying 50+ pounds of kid + gear the pack needs to be reasonably beefy.

One thing (especially in the back country) to keep in mind is that kids aren’t as good as us when it comes to thermal regulation so you need to make sure they are appropriately warm or cool.

My other hint is you don’t need as much stuff as our culture tells you. Make sure they are fed, kept clean, and you give them lots of attention and love. We found that they first year (other than parents being exhausted) we could do just about anything. For the first 14 months we could move at the pace we were used to. When our daughter fell in love with walking we had to slow down and take joy from watching her learn about the world. The first example of this was going to visit the redwoods… we wanted her to see the landscape and do a modest loop, but she fell in love with the pebbles next to the water fountain.

–mark

It depends on where you are going. The lightest infant gear is not always the best choice for the parents or the baby.

On strollers: they do have their place. A good jogger stroller is great for rail to trails and bike friendly trails – and in town for getting around. Good for getting back in shape and when one doesn't have the time to be out on trips.

Babies travel well. Those between say 2 and 4 not so well. After that they get better and can walk strongly.

A baby carrier has its place as well. A front carrier or sling till 6 months, then you can go to a back carrier. Back carriers are notoriously heavy due to the loads they can carry (50+ lbs). You need to be in shape to carry one without pain once the baby gets big ;-)

But frankly….don't expect to go UL with the baby at first – until you get everything dialed in. Diapers, supplies, clothing, etc add up. After awhile one does relax and carries only what they need. Just don't jump in totally UL concept at first ;-)

are you talking about trail use or everday use?
as the last poster said, the baby bjorn works well. it is small, simple and comfy. both my daughters and i liked the bjorn. the backpacks are not usuable usually until the child can hold his/her head up, most say until the child can sit up on her own. as far as a stroller goes, i've found the cheap umbrella strollers to be good. they are no frills, they fold up small and get the job done. my kids always try to climb out of just about any stroller anyways, so i don't use them that much.

re: sarah
i agree, don't expect to be UL with a baby. with my first daughter we had EVERYTHING all the time. and what a pain that was. now with the second i have the experience to know what i really need or don't and thus can be more effecient or UL so to speak with her needs.

I second the baby bjorn carrier. My wife used it for the first few months. Then transitioned to a Kelty backpack that I got on clearance.

If you are looking to get a stroller to take offroad (even dirt roads i highly recommend getting something that has larger wheels on it. the little dainty wheels on some strollers can barely make it over a small stone!

as far as anything else with a baby – UL can be tough – get ready for a home full of toys!

Great ready for some fun with the your bambino on the way! It's a BLAST

Good luck. My babies started out ultralight, but refused to stay that way.

I loved my jogger stroller I had with Ford (I had 2 actually…I upgraded to a lighter Aluminum one after the first year).

If one does get one (and honestly I LOVED mine) you want 16" tires. You want to carry a small tire pump and a kit with extra intertubes – just in case. I had a hand sling for mine that I kept around my wrist – it acted as a brake in case I fell.

Lets just say that we l-o-v-e-d it so much that Ford had a special rig I came up with behind his back to keep the cold out, a fleece wrap system I sewed that the harness went through. He even had the all weather rain cover.

We walked thousands of miles those first years in it. It gave me SO much freedom with a little one.

This spring Synchro said I gets the REI dividend (which is around $600 or so this year). I am getting a BOB with part of it and am buying the car seat adapter so I can take the soon-to-new baby out well before the 6 months are up (you just can't run or jog with the little ones but you can walk).

Even when Ford got to be 5 we would at times use the jogger stroller when there was a long road walk involved. The last trip we took it there was 10 miles of road walking rt – plus the actual hike. He rode and we put the packs under the jogger. When we got to the old trailhead, we stashed the jogger (there was a bike rack and locked it up) and then went hiking. It works great for those situations.

On big ticket kid carriers for older kids…the Deuter ones are some of the best out there. They are not cheap and no, they are not UL. But they are indeed well made and fit WAY better than Kelty's.

Thanks for the inputs. I know this is a backpacking forum, but this thread is for just day to day life with a baby. How do I go to the grocery store, the mall, or just go walk the dog with an infant- but keeping somewhat minimalist. I'm thinking one of those graco infant seats that you can carry the kid around- throw it into a shopping cart, take to a restaurant, etc. Baby sling sounds great for walks, or a quick run to the store. Jogging stroller is a must- I like that idea. Plus we both enjoy jogging- she can run with the stroller, I'll handle the dog. I guess I'll just have to see what comes up. I'm just trying to avoid buying a whole house full of baby stuff if only some key items are essential. What "systems" work for you best?

On the car seats – while they work great as a carrier and fab in grocery stores, etc….I do suggest if you are going to use it a lot for carrying the baby, buy the stroller base for it to snap in for walking in town and etc. It will save your arms/neck/back. The Graco ones are nice and you can get a WAY better selection of styles on Amazon than in person.

On baby stuff in the house? It is easy to keep it down. Like you don't "need" a changing table for example – you can just buy a pad and do it on a bathroom counter.

But beware grandparents who like to buy junk by the bushel ;-) Hehheh!

Baby jogger, baby stroller, car seat, high chair, changing table, baby swing, baby jumper, tricycle, plastic car, plastic slide, swing set – oh no, do we really need all this stuff?

Be assured that you don't need it and your child won't know the difference, but much of it is nice to have.

The thing is that most of this your baby will use for a very short time, and the stuff is almost always good for years and years. So borrow, lend, buy used, sell what you no longer need, and in general let the stuff circulate widely.

As far as carrying the baby, I highly recommend a wrap (basically a long piece of cloth). There are stretchy ones (Moby wrap) that are good for small babies (wear on front in or out facing). The woven kind are more versatile, and can be worn in dozens of different ways (on front or back). The web is full of instructions and ideas for various carrier types that are simpler and lighter than backpacks and work longer than a baby bjorn will (check out http://www.thebabywearer.com). We have a baby backpack that we've almost never used with my 11 month old because the wrap is simpler, lighter, and more comfortable since it keeps his weight close to my back. I carried him for 7.5 hours on my back hiking in the snow yesterday (he was underneath a coat with a slit cut in the back for his head to poke through), with just short breaks for nursing and eating. Parents and baby were very happy.
I have basically never used anything else to carry him, and we've done up to 4 day off-trail backpack trips this way.

Well baby is now 10 months and I thought I'd post an update:

Carriers: Maya wrap was a no go with the wife, she couldn't get it confortable. We bought an Ergo baby at first with infant insert. Not very good for a tiny baby. Bought a baby Bjorn sport and it was awesome for 0-7 months. He loved facing forward once he could hold his head up. Now's he's big enough to like the ergo baby without insert. That works great for malls and crowded venues. We used it on a short 4 mile hike but it was way too hot for us and baby. Those carriers put the baby right against your shirt and it warms up quick.

Now I'm researching full blown baby carriers like the tough traveler to do hikes. The Ergo still works for shopping trips and we always have it with us when taking baby anywhere.

Baby seat/stroller: The Chico Key Fit 30 has been great so far. We also got a snap-n-go stroller for $60 that the seat fits into. That worked great as a cheap "travel system" while he was an infant, but now he likes to see where he's going so we got a Uppa-Baby G-luxe folding stroller- it's awesome. Pricey, but he'll use it for years. It tracks good with one hand on it, it's heavy duty, yadda yadda, it's awesome.

So with a full sized baby carrier pack, we'll be back to day hiking soon.

Julbo has 'real' sunglasses for kids and babies.

FyI (yes, you)

While not incredibly light, I love our kelty backcountry child carrier. It is incredibly comfortable and carries the weight well. My wife carried it when we took our one year old on a 3 day backpacking trip. I carried the rest of the gear. I still use it for my 2nd (now 3 years old) and 3rd (8 months). On mine you can detach the daypack.

A friend just picked up the new one (Kelty TC) from Leftlane sports. They're $99 to 130 depending on the options. The downside is that it is 2.2 kg. The benefit is that it carries up to 40 lbs. The daypack has a 24 liter capacity, but no the new model it doesn't seem to be detachable… That's a stinker!

If you haven't registered at Leftlane sports, you get a $10 credit through anyone that is already registered (https://www.leftlanesports.com/invite/PaulOsborn and I get a credit too when you buy). However, you don't need to register through anyone to get access (you just don't get a discount).

I have to go with mark…after raising one I have fou d you don't need much at all in the way of goods. The big strollers are expensive and not needed. We ended up using a pack and the little foldable stroller.

We didn't take Ny more clothes for the boy than we had for ourselves. We didn't have food available every 20 minutes and tried very much to treat hi. In much the same manner as ourselves in regard to what was required to be safe and comfortable.

We still to this day shop consignment clothes and gear and we are more than capable of paying retail. They simply don't care where their clothes and gear come from and they outgrow it twice a year anyway.

I personally have reservations about taking very young children out on trails in packs or slings. There is a couple doing the pct this year wi their one year old. I personally believe this is on the selfish side for them. I don't know a single person who has done long distance hiking that hasn't done a face plant or 5

That coupled with the time required for emergency medical attention on the pct seems unnessisaryly risky to me.

That doesn't mean I wouldn't sling one up and go hike around my local loop or park by any means.

This is a very personal issue and everyone has their own ideas of what's required. You can decide what's right for your family

I really liked the Ergo baby carrier from about 4 months on and the new models looks like they fixed some of the issues with the Infant inserts. Before that wraps and slings worked well.

I think the easiest way to go in the back country is to get our your old heavy pack from your Pre-ultralight days and decide to be a Sherpa. One person carries the baby keeping that persons load light and allows them to be very stable. The other person carries a 40lb with all of the gear and food. We did this before I began going UL.

Sleeping is something to think about. Depending on how you feel about co-sleeping you can share a sleeping bag or quilt. We used gro-bags (essentially a zip on blanket) and her own sleeping bag from when our daughter was about 6 months on ward. You have to be careful as babies will lose heat quickly and not get it back very well.

The basic UL principle of right sizing still applies. You know the approxmate amount of diapers, diaper cream, wipes, etc that you are going to need so don't take more than neccesary. Repackage everything from the bulletproof baby containers to zip locks.

Glad to hear the update! We had some of the same issues I would say – Walker is now 14 months old. I found that he did best until he was 10 months or so in the 2 Bjorns I was using. For short stuff I had a basic one, for long hikes I had the Active (with back support). I have an Ergo Performance and I just couldn’t warm up to it – mostly due to it being a PITA putting it on and then feeling like the straps were going to slide – as well Walker wanted to face out from 4 months on, so that was a huge fail for the Ergo. The Bjorn put him on very firmly to me. This made it so I could hike without too many issues. I will say that trekking poles made a huge difference for safety:
On the AT in the Smokies last October –

Last week on a hike – Walker has taken to his Deuter III –

The Deuter III is freakishly massive, no way around that. Walker isn’t exactly a small baby though – he was a 9 lber (and wasn’t full term). He is the size of many 2 year olds….which is what I get for having a child with a giant ;-P

This is us from today:

Anyhow, we use a BOB Revolution as our stroller – it worked well, from newborn and on. Only thing is it swallows small babies – now that he is bigger he is fitting in it well.
I have kits for the stroller and the backpack, so that I don’t forget anything. I will fully admit that with a big baby the stroller is considerably easier.

On those thoughts….some of us DO use the big strollers. Lets put it this way: our "van stroller" is a small $25 number, designed only for running into a store. It isn't trail useable. It is no different than having a tiny sedan that is used on paved roads – but is useless in the snow/mud on forest service roads. Those expensive jogging strollers have suspension, well built frames, and did I mention suspension? They are designed to be used on trails, on uneven surfaces and more – the big tires go places little umbrella strollers can only dream of going to. It is how the little sedan sits 5 miles from the trailhead and the truck with suspension keeps going. Just saying…..

You might not need that fancy stroller but I know I do. I use mine almost daily. We go nearly everywhere. It is my sanity saver. I have the ultimate Yuppie Mobile and I love it. It rocks on dirt, river rock, sand, anywhere we want to go that is bike friendly. As I said in this thread back in 2010 – I took my oldest on many, many miles in his jogger stroller.

My husband likes it as he can push it without running into it (at his height most traditional strollers are tiny toys).

As for not taking babies out…if one is careful, plans well and matches trips to everyone's limits by all means go. Babies sleep well while hiking. It is a very short window till suddenly your "baby" is a teen! So enjoy it and don't feel limited.

Having said that I don't ford rivers, creeks or cross snow fields with the baby on me – that is simply common sense there.

Interesting that no one here likes the Ergo. All of my friends love them – but then, heat isn't really an issue in Alaska. Wraps do have a learning curve, but I'm still happy with mine.

Our current challenge is how to carry 2 (dayhikes are easy, but we haven't yet been out longer with our 2 yr old and 5 month old). Wearing one on front and one on back works, but then both the parent with babies and parent with gear are pretty heavily loaded. We're taking both on a 2 month expedition this fall that will have some basecamping and some traveling. Should be interesting.

As for safety, I'm not sure longer distance means more risk of falling. Icy paths in the front yard and icy streets in town are probably much more of a risk, given that I encounter them every day (half the year), am paying less attention, and may be carrying baby instead of wearing them (much harder to catch yourself well). That said, I've certainly slipped while wearing/carrying babies, and landed without bumping them at all, as has basically everyone else I know with children, hikers or not.

Erin,
It was odd – last week I went on a Mom and Baby hike and of the 8 moms there 6 had Ergos – and they liked them.
I just need to find an Ergo lover to unload mine onto. :-( It is like new. Ah well!

I think the best thing about the Ergo is that it can carry a 30 lb baby comfortably before you have to move to a hard framed carrier. I found the Bjorns became uncomfortable at around 20lbs.

It does have drawbacks: no Outward facing, need help to put it on in backpack mode, very finicky for infants but from a comfort standpoint I found it couldn't be beat.

I love my ergo. My two year old is now 36 ibs and I just can't carry him in the deuter III anymore. In the ergo, his center of ballence is closer to mine and it is much more comfortable. Unfortunately, that means our backpacking trips are all going to probably be 1.5 miles or less. We are also thinking of doing slightly longer trips, where we bring two packs but if the little one needs to be carried, then we will drop the second pack and one of us goes back for it. We may do the one big pack, but that's hard to do at toddler pace.

I totally agree with Sarah, I love my jogging stroller and hiking poles are key for stability on the trail.

Anyone have experience with a Tough Traveler Colt? It is one of two they advertise as working on an adult taller than 5'6". The other is the more deluxe Stallion. Mark, I know you mentioned you had one back in the day. Any thoughts?