Feeling the Kanga XT Love :)

Thanks to some sweet mamas at The Babywearer, The Pure Baby (PB) and I are now feeling the Kanga XT love!  I'm so, so happy about this, as the Kanga XT is the only real arms-out carrier - and PB requires arms-out.

The Babywearer mamas made a few super-helpful suggestions:
(1) Wear the waist belt at my waist - or higher,
(2) Make a deep pocket for PB's bottom, and
(3) Loosen the arm straps.

This has worked perfectly :)  No more lower back (or any) pain.  No more feeling like I am going to fall over backwards.  And, no more feeling like this carrier won't work for me!  I'm not going to need petite straps, after all :) 

Yesterday, on a family outing, I successfully wore PB in our Kanga XT!  I really love it.  Our Kanga XT is so easy for ups and downs, which was really great yesterday when PB     frequently decided he wanted up or down :) 

Our Kanga XT Arrived Yesterday :)

Yesterday, I was so excited to find a fluffy package in the mailbox! I thought it might be there, as it was shipped to me on Monday - and it was :)

When I nervously opened the package, I was dazzled by the amazing beauty of our new Kanga XT.  The Amy Butler fabric is stunning!  I absolutely love a chocolate and light turquoise fabric - and that is what we have now in our new Kanga XT :)

Last night, The Pure Baby (PB) enjoyed riding on my back in our new Kanga XT for a couple hours.  PB is such a happy little babywearing baby, and I adore wearing him as well :)

The big disappointment last night, though, was discovering that my lower back hurt quite a lot by the time I took PB off my back.  Lower back pain is not supposed to happen with babywearing, and I knew that was a bad sign for our future with the beautiful Amy Butler Kanga XT :(

I expected the possibility of our new Kanga XT not fitting quite right, but I was so hopeful that it would...  This Kanga XT has "regular" straps, as opposed to "petite" straps.  The Kanga XT straps do not run overly large (like some SSCs), but it ends up that I do indeed need petite straps.  The petite straps will allow for better support of PB, since I am truly petite.

So, it looks like our time with our lovely Amy Butler Kanga XT is sadly limited.  Right now, I'm in the process of trying to buy a cute brightly-flowered Kanga XT with petite straps :)  Let's just hope it works out!  My amazing luck on TheBabywearer FSOT needs to continue :)  After I secure a Kanga XT with petite straps, I'll be selling the Amy Butler Kanga XT to a happy mama.

Our New Carrier: A Toddler Bamberoo Delux!

In my quest for a new carrier for The Pure Baby (PB), I have discovered that the really great ones - which, of course, are the ones I want! - are quite difficult to obtain.  My three top choices for a toddler carrier have been Kanga XT, Bamberoo, and Dream Carrier.  All three of these are made by the business owner/work-at-home-mom.  And therefore, the production is definitely limited.  Kanga XT opens a small customs list a few times a year.  Bamberoo offers one custom per week.  Dream Carrier sporadically offers customs.  To acquire any of these, you've got to be quick on the computer and have some great luck.

Another option for acquiring these in-demand carriers is through the For-Sale-or-Trade (FSOT) forum on TheBabywearer.com.  There, you can buy a previously-loved carrier.  Still, the popular carriers are not that easy to find on FSOT - unless you've got some amazing luck!

And, the lucky one of late would be me!!!  A week and half ago, I was quick on my fingers and bought a like-new beautiful Toddler Bamberoo Delux mei tai - and for a truly amazing low price!  The fabric is Marimekko Unikko, blue on blue.  This was apparently a custom for someone that ended up not needing it.

In addition to being beautiful, my new Bamberoo is super comfortable for both PB and me!  It is such an improvement over our BabyHawk.  I do still love our BabyHawk, but I think we will mostly be saving that for our next baby, as it just can't comfortably accomodate PB's weight anymore. 

Another bonus of buying an in-demand carrier from FSOT is that I can easily sell it for the same price that I paid!  In fact, I already have a "dibs mama" who wants to purchase my Bamberoo when I'm done with it :)

Yesterday, I had a bit more amazing luck on FSOT!  I bought a previously-loved Kanga XT soft-sided-carrier (SSC) in a beautiful Amy Butler fabric :)  Kanga XTs are next to impossible to find, so I am extremely thankful.  The Kanga XT is especially made for 1 to 5 year olds, who like to ride arms-out.  Given PB's strong desire for arms-out and the fact that no other SSCs allow for easy arms-out, the Kanga XT is a must for us!

After our Kanga XT arrives, I'll give our review and post some pictures.  In the meantime, here are pictures of our new Bamberoo!