Bjorn to shop

A month ago, when we were first figuring out the best ways to carry Zachary while maintaining at least some individual hand control (and without completely destroying our arms, wrists, and backs), we tried out a few different options.

• The Maya Wrap was disliked by Zachary, even though it was accompanied by a comically retro PBS-looking DVD (that didn't really help explain the product). [Revisiting their website to grab the link, it looks like they've actually taken their wraps off the market due to the crucial ring breaking in some scenarios. Yikes.]


• The baby bjorn seemed interesting, but it's only really recommended once the baby can hold his or her head up straight. And even though Zachary had good neck strength early on, he mainly got angry when we made attempts to use it.


• The moby wrap worked fabulously, and became a mainstay of our hands-free Zachary operating procedures. (Incidentally, there's apparently now even a video for doing yoga while wearing the wrap. Scary.) The only minus to it is that it's cursed to get dirty; it's a giantly long piece of fabric that simply must hit the floor/ground when you put it on, and it's also a prime target for Zachary to spit up on. The wrap has spent as much time in the wash as in use -- though I suppose we could say that about anything else placed in his vicinity!

So today we decided to give the baby bjorn another go, since he's a bit older and sturdier, and we haven't figured out the positioning on the moby wrap to let the baby sit facing outwards anyway. Wow, such a difference! He didn't fuss when he was dropped in, and had the big wide-open eyes as we started taking a spin around the house. Then he discovered part of the carrier in close proximity to his face and started sucking on it. It was totally damp by the time I noticed what he was doing, ew. Bib inserted between baby and bjorn, he remained a drooler, but definitely seemed to like being able to look out, even making some happy giggling noises at times. He quickly demonstrated that it's his absolute favorite way to get around (see below). For now, at least.
With another dreary Seattle day in the forecast, we decided to take an excursion out to an outlet mall -- big open spaces, forgiving of potential crying, and of course lots of sense-engagement (for both Zachary and, um, mommy :-), without the beyond-hectic crowds of the local 'regular' malls (where the parking process alone often makes Meh car sick). On the way up to Burlington, we actually stumbled on an even more spectacularly promising outlet mall near one of the Native American casinos, right off the side of the freeway, and stopped to investigate. Zachary was cozy in his car seat, so to start we strolled with the, um, stroller. But when he got unhappy, we moved to the bjorn, and he just started smiling and laughing for a good twenty-five minutes! It was perhaps the cutest thing ever, and definitely among the happiest long-term periods we've observed in Zachary.

We ended up having a nicely successful shopping excursion in addition to just getting outside for a bit. Zachary apparently fits into some 9-month-old sizes now, so we grabbed a few new sleepers and such to keep him comfortably asleep at night. When we got home, Meh started organizing the new clothes and realized we already had received an identical style and sized item as a gift. Whoops! Time to review his full wardrobe, particularly the sizes that we thought he couldn't possibly be ready for yet. It's the amazing growing baby!