Wednesday, April 1, 2009

It's here!

After obsessively looking out the window all morning and checking the front stoop to see if the mailman had come yet - despite the fact that I know he comes around 3 or 3:30 - it finally arrived: my Pikkolo Baby Carrier.

Here's a review of sorts. More info than you really need, but maybe someone in cyberspace will find it helpful in the future.

When Big I was born, I used the Maya Wrap and Moby Wraps for him. I love both, they have their (mostly) pros and (lesser) cons. (I'll skip the details of just what each of those pros and cons are right now.) But as he's getting bigger, I wanted something I could move him in and out of easier and that would help support his weight a bit more.

At first, I wanted an Ergo Baby Carrier. I love, love, love that it has a front pocket and an optional backpack - a very appealing feature for taking the little guy on trips. But when I went to try it on at the store, it was just a bit too bulky for me...just seemed to wear me instead of me wearing it. Despite the bulk, the first thing I said when I tried it on was "Oh, this is comfy." Hmm.

When I saw the Pikkolo, I as immediately intrigued by the fact that it had a front, facing out option. It's the only soft-structured carrier that has that feature that I've seen. Big I loves to face out, so I was very excited. But it lacks a front pocket or even a pocket to stash the sleeping hood. Plus it didn't have a padded waist belt to transfer weight to my hips. You can, however, buy a separate waist belt to do just that. Also, it is much trimmer. I decided to give it a shot.

(Please forgive the horrid pictures. No one was around to help me take shots today; there is not a poltergeist in my house. I do what I can.)

When it arrived, I resisted the urge to wake Big I from his nap, but as soon as he was up and all set, I popped him right in.

Since I didn't get to try the front, facing out carry in the store, I did that first. Hmm, not too sure about it. The front felt a little 'gappy', like he was hanging forward to much instead of being snug up against me. And his little bottom was resting on my abdomen instead of the bottom of the carrier. I may need to work on placement a bit more.

I flipped him around and got him all settled facing in to me. That felt nice and comfy.

We went for a walk and he had just enough room to turn his shoulders a few degrees to look around but still felt nice and secure. Though he seemed content, I would think it would get uncomfortable looking to the side all the time. Pretty soon he'll be too heavy to face outward anyway, so he may as well get used to it.


Once back home, I put the padded belt on. I was able to get him onto my back surprisingly easily.


Unfortunately, I had to keep tightening the hip belt tighter and tighter until I felt like he was seated securely and not going to slide out the bottom. As you can see from the picture, though, all that tightening made the padding sit above my hips and the belt dug into my tummy a bit. It wasn't too bad now, I wore it around for a while that way. But what about when he's 30 pounds?


The shoulder straps felt fine, though I need to add the sternum strap to keep them in place with no worries.

Big I, it should be noted, thought this is a grand place to be and happily jabbered and kicked while I worked on dinner. (That's an over-the-shoulder shot.)


So I'm not sure. I like the over all feel, and it's not very bulky. I'm tempted to scrape together some funds to buy an Ergo from a place with a good return policy so I can really do a true test around the house.

As a bonus with my purchase, I got some free dog ear warmers...


oh wait, those are Baby Legs.


They're pretty fun and I'm sure they'll come in handy.

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Big I has got the camera figured out. I think he may have a future in photography. Just check out some of his self-portraits.



Uh huh. (That last one is the inside of his mouth...everything tastes interesting these days.)

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Oh, the camera? Yeah, it was about 8 inches from the keyboard the whole time.

In my defense, it was behind the open laptop screen. This is why there's a place for everything and everything in its place.

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