Hiking with a child close to your heart or on your back
My husband and I have always loved traveling, sightseeing and hiking. When our older daughter was born we knew nothing about babywearing. We only knew that we didn’t want to end our active life. Soon we discovered that the stroller is not for us – we traveled to ‘undiscovered places’, wandered through wetlands and hiked mountains… and in consequence, we had to carry the stroller so many times that we had to search the other solutions. We discovered an ergonomic carrier. The change in the comfort of our trips was great. When our younger daughter was born we started to use woven wraps – and our experience with them was great too.
We discovered that we don’t have to narrow our stroll down to paths with the even surface. Muddy or stony road? A very narrow path? A sandy beach? Mountains? You can go everywhere with the baby in a wrap or carrier. When the child grows and starts to walk – babywearing is appreciated too: little legs get tired very quickly and unexpectedly.
Now our daughters are 6 and 3 years old. We visited with them 11 countries, most of the national parks in Poland and neighbor countries, climbed small mountains and those over 2 000 m too, walked kilometers over the beaches – we couldn’t have done this without babywearing!
So – how it works?
If you travel with a child, planning a trip is much more important than if you travel alone.
If you’re planning a hike, count the distance and time carefully. You must remember that a route that takes you usually 2 hours – will take 4 or more with the child. Why? It’s quite simple. If your little traveler is walking on her or his feet and takes a nap or rest in a carrier – you’ll walk much faster whilst babywearing and much slower – when the child walks by her- or himself. You should plan time for a rest and for a play. For staring at flowers and lying on the sand – too: the world is so fascinating for a little traveler! If you carry a baby that hasn’t learnt to walk yet, you should plan even longer breaks: the child still needs time outside the carrier, to change position and move.
Be prepared for the change of the weather and unexpected ‘accidents’ such as a spilt juice all over the T-shirt. Take some additional clothes, warmer and waterproof too – even on a sunny day! The weather, especially in the mountains, can rapidly change. On colder days - a babywearing coat, a fleece vest or a jacket would be a great help to keep you both warm. Remember about comfortable shoes.
Take something to drink and eat – fresh air can make your child even more hungry than usual.
What about toys? If your baby is teething – taking a chew toy would be a good idea. Bigger children may like to take their favourite teddy with them. Apart from that – you don’t have to carry toys; when walking – you’ll find many natural and fascinating ‘toys’ such as branches, stones, leaves and many others. Let your child play with them.
Remember that you are travelling not only for yourself but for your child too – be realistic when planning!
When you have everything prepared – go outside and enjoy! And… unleash your inner child!
This post was written by Danusia from https://wpodrozyprzezzycie.wordpress.com/. Thank you so much!