Baby on Back

I have to admit that the toddler years are the hardest for me. Not because I don't love them because I absolutely do, but because sometimes those bundles of joy just get in the way. They touch EVERYTHING with their sweet little hands, and they explore EVERYWHERE on those pudgy little feet, and they bother love on EVERYONE all the time.

Right now I have an "almost" two year old. He's old enough to do things but not to do them for very long. This results in time where my older children are happily occupied and the toddler is getting in the way.
My recourse has been to investigate my options for entertaining my little ones. I've had mother talk to me about gates, play-yards, and play pens.

I utilize, without guilt, a play pen for short periods of time. It teaches him, like my other children have been taught, to keep himself occupied and happy without being entertained by another individual. It also gives him the time and space, to explore, with focus, a variety of quality toys I make available to him - one at a time. I also utilize, on occasion, a gate that will block of the entrance (or exit) to our staircase.

With that said, I for the most part let my children roam free in our home. I take time to teach them what they can and cannot touch and where they can and cannot go. For the most part, they learn compliance. (Read that last sentence as - " they ARE children and do test boundaries but they can learn to respect boundaries too")

I'm still left with a quandry though. A toddler...is a toddler...is a toddler... what to do? Well, somewhere in my Mommy journey I discovered a life saver. The "Wrap". There are different variations of it. I started with a Baby Bjorn and grew frustrated as the growing weight of my baby on my front proved too much for my back. I was then referred to a Maya Wrap that would let my baby sit on my hip but this still proved a bit uncomfortable with increased weight. The Maya is 10x better than the Bjorn for an infant, but still not the answer for a toddler.

Glory Hallelujah! Some web research resulted in a old but new solution. The Wrap. I know can carry on my front, hip, or back, a newborn, infant, or a toddler (or a preschooler) with ease. The learning curve is real but short. Great tips abound on the web at MamaToto. This solution has been around for centuries in various cultures. I'm glad that I got wind of it here in our oh-so-technically-advanced- US of A.

Here is me with my not-so-little one (ignore the chunky arms...I'm working on that at the gym). He rode "piggy-back" today while I worked in the kitchen for over an hour.

I guess he got a little worn out. Swaying hips are MAGIC !!!