Plan Your Summer with a HugaMonkey Baby Carrier

It's snowing.  Blah.  But on a recent walk around the neighborhood I saw irises starting to poke their pointy little leaves through the soil, and our shrub oak have tiny fuzzy buds just beginning to peep out.  There is hope!  I am itching for spring and summer.  It has my mind racing over all over the places I want to go, things I want to do, and people I want to see.

Of course, I do have a baby coming this summer so my plans have to be altered a little.  Who knows how much bike riding I'll actually get done!  But I'll still have a plenty of time to enjoy the great outdoors, and I'll be taking the little bundle everywhere. So here are a few the things the baby, the sling and I are planning on doing.

1.  SWIMMING!!!!  I cannot wait to go swimming.  I'm so flippin' excited!  It will be absolutely amazing and wonderful while I'm super pregnant all summer.  Hey, I'll look like a whale anyways, right?  After the baby is born, the HugaMonkey carrier is the perfect way to introduce the little one to the water.  Since it's a single layer of fabric, it dries quickly and easily.  It's light weight and I can easily adjust it while I'm in the pool.  And without buckles and straps, the baby can be removed really quickly and handed off to Daddy to quickly towel off and warm up.

2.  Hiking.  Sure, i might not be able to scale the steep slopes of Mt. Timpanogos this year, but there are plenty of mild, paved trails just calling my name.  Serious hiking will have to wait until next summer.  But I'm still looking forward to doing it with a HugaMonkey.  When the terrain is constantly changing, you can swing the kiddo onto your front while going uphill, and quickly slide him around to your back when going downhill.  This keeps your center of gravity stable and reduces risk of injury.   And, once again, you can take a toddler out in the blink of an eye to explore and gather rocks.

3.  Biking.  Just kidding.  I do not recommend riding a bike with a baby in a sling.  BAD iDEA!  I do, however, recommend the iBert Safe-T seat.

It's a stroke of genius for kids who are big enough.  Oh, well.  Next summer.

4.  Strolls.  One of our favorite family activities is to walk around on quiet summer evening and just see who's out.  We used to say, "Let's go on a quick walk," and then be out for 2 hours.  Now we just plan on the 2 hours.   It's great leisurely strolling around to visit your friends and neighbors, and it's especially easy with a baby in a sling.  Then I can push the kids on a near by rope swing without leaving the baby on the sidewalk in a stroller, or trying to bounce her over the grass to be close to me.  She just goes where I go.

5.  Swinging.  My brilliant hubby bought a three person, free standing swing last year, and I was surprised how often we used it.  We moved it up onto the patio to watch the kids play baseball, or moved it onto the grass to swing in the shade.  We ate on it, took Sunday naps on it, and chatted on it.  I can see myself sitting out there with a tiny baby, listening to the wind chime, and rocking gently. 

I'm going to make myself cry!  I hate all this waiting.  Just get here already, baby!  Between waiting for the sunshine and waiting for the baby, I'm going to pass out.