From the Backpack to the Stroller

Do you love carrying your child on you whether it's a bjorn, a sling, a backpack or just with your hands? I most certainly do! I had my son in a carrier with me from day one. I love having him close plus I definitely appreciate the extra resistance when walking (a much better workout!) I find I'm so much more mobile just carrying him rather than having a stroller to manuever. I work full-time so I also enjoy the closeness you get with carrying your baby. I knew the time would eventually come when he would either outgrow my backpack or I would just be too darn heavy! Well, that time almost came a little too soon for me. As of this posting, my little man is 16.5 mo. and weights 26lbs. I'm still able to wear him on my back in the Beco Baby Carrier (which, btw, I absolutely love and would highly recommend to anyone looking for a carrier, it's awesome and it can hold up to 40lbs), but I recently had to make a trip to the Dr. office because a bump on my knee kept getting bigger. The Dr. said it looked like I had Osgood Schaltters disease which is "where the bony protrusion below the knee becomes inflamed, painful and swollen." I was not really in much pain, but my knee did give out, which is why I went to the Dr. in the first place, aside from my knee being swollen.

Now, one of my favorite things to do with Nate on my back is to walk along the beach and climb up and down the stairs along the coast 101 in Cardiff, CA. Each staircase has approximately 40-50 stairs and there are about 8 sets over a 2 mile span. The stairs are a great workout, but all that resistance on my 5'1" frame built my quads and without strengthening my inner knee. Also, there's a fat pad behind your knee and my was getting swollen. I was so upset, it was time to put Nate in the stroller. As you can imagine, this did not go over well with the little man. He could last about 1/2 as long and definitely likes to snack while he's being strolled. I took a few weeks off my knee and it's feeling much better. :) The Dr. ok'd me for still walking with him on my back, just have to reduce the stairs. Whew!! Looks like I get a few more months carrying my little man in the backpack. I'm definitely not ready to give it up, but I may start to switch things up and put him in the stroller so it's not such a shock when we do transition.