Tandem wearing with two wraps

[thanksyoueel]

I'm pregnant with my second and the babies will be 22 months apart. My oldest can walk but isn't the biggest fan of it most of the time yet at 15 months. I live somewhere with great public transportation and I don't drive in this country, and I don't even own a stroller and have no interest in taking one on the metro, so I'm trying to figure out how I'll manage tandem wearing when I want to go out and my husband isn't available to drive me.

My original plan was to get a Naked Panda Duo system but then I realized I'd have to put the toddler up first and take her down last. The toddler has zero chill when she is ready to get down and will 100% lose her shit waiting for me to find somewhere to put the newborn down before I can free her. So that's definitely not a viable option for us.

Next I was planning to use a stretchy wrap for the newborn because I loved the stretchy wrap when my first was small and I found it very easy to get her in and out without waking her (not the case with a woven, particularly in is impossible for me without waking her). But my second is due at the end of June and summer is incredibly hot here. I recently read about the Wrapsody Breeze and I'm considering that for the newborn phase instead this time.

The bigger concern is what to do with toddler on the back. I own an onbuhimo, and I don't hate it but it's just nowhere near as comfortable as a ruck carry with a woven wrap. But it is faster and easier. On the other hand a ruck carry isn't nearly as comfortable as a double hammock for me either, but I assume a double hammock wouldn't be compatible with tandem carrying, right? Is ruck the only tandem compatible back carry if I go with two wraps?

Also... Would this single wrap tandem carry really be as easy as she makes it look? I'd probably not use it much for the same reason I wouldn't get an NP Duo, but for some reason it looks so appealing to me.

 

[endspiel]

@thanksyoueel I've done that single wrap carry with a 2-year-old and a 5-month-old and it really wasn't difficult, but I do wrap every single day and try new wrapping styles for fun. I will say I agree that putting the toddler on second is probably the way to go for you. The only variation I've seen with DH has back baby on first:

. Makes sense because of the chest pass.

 

[thanksyoueel]

@endspiel I don't wrap every single day, but definitely several times per week, and I enjoy experimenting but the baby tends to get annoyed about a lot of up and downs so I usually just try to do it well enough to get an idea of how comfortable it might be, and if it doesn't seem like even with better execution it would be more comfortable than my usual favorites it doesn't get many repeats. A ruck is pretty easy at this point though and the additions to the basic ruck that happen on the front look pretty simple. I usually classify how complicated a carry looks by how many times I need to watch the video and if I need to watch and pause while wrapping, and I wouldn't need to watch this again. I'll give it a try tonight with the toddler and a doll and see!

Just curious because the video says base +1 or +2, was +1 long enough for you? I don't currently own a base +2.

And thank you for the video! My first thought was that a DH on back would have a kangaroo carry on front which I don't love, but this actually looks amazing and definitely something I'll save just in case my first mellows out a little in the coming months lol.

 

[pitcharan]

@thanksyoueel I’m not a wrap person so totally take my comment with a grain of salt, but putting two onbuhimos on is going to be substantially faster than wrapping two kiddos unless you’re a wrap ninja. That video you linked is 5 minutes long, that’s a lot longer than slipping two structured carriers on.

Also just because your 15 month old freaks out and needs out immediately now doesn’t mean they’ll still be acting that way 7/8 months from now. That’s a long window developmentally.

 

[thanksyoueel]

@pitcharan Two onbuhimos would definitely be faster but my shoulders are crying just imagining that, there's no way I'd be able to wear that for more than 5-10 minutes, and I live a solid 20-30 minute metro ride from most places I would be going. I don't think I'm a ninja but I can do a FWCC in under 2 minutes and a ruck in 3-4, and at least for single carries, I consider the small time investment very worth the vastly increased comfort.

Fair point about the toddler possibly being of a different temperament by then though, it's something to consider.

 

[youthpastor500]

@thanksyoueel If you try this and decide that it is getting out of hand, let me put in a good word for strollers on metros. It can be done and it might be easier to manage 2 for a longer trip. Especially if you will need a diaper bag or your big kid wants to get up and down /on and off.

I'd suggest an uppababy vista. You can put 2 kids in it (in a narrow line, not side by side, which is better for getting through doors and aisles) and it has a reallllllllly good turn radius. And a basket big enough to do a giant grocery run. They're expensive, but if you get one used it should be OK.

Hopefully your preferred plan of tandem wearing will work. My only real suggestion here is to stay flexible and don't be afraid to try something radically different.

 

[richgsr7]

@thanksyoueel I also prefer wrapping but haven't tried tandem! I really like tandem trouble for wrap videos. Here's their tandem playlist.

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL77o-k-o63heHhrEYz-iySuT_TLzXMUeb

You can do DH on the back but would have to tie it first.

 

[thanksyoueel]

@richgsr7 This is fantastic, thank you!!!

 

[puddintain]

@thanksyoueel I will admit i've never tried it but there's a way to tandem carry with two didyklicks on a single waistband. Might end up being the middle ground.

 

[thanksyoueel]

@puddintain Like this? It's interesting but looks like it might only work for tandem hip carries or the buckle would have to go on the hip which seems likely to be a bit uncomfortable. I'll look into it more though, thank you for the suggestion!

 

[puddintain]

@thanksyoueel No there's a back/front version. Like this

 

[thanksyoueel]

@puddintain Oh wow, I do like the look of that! One of the reasons I prefer wraps is I don't like padded straps, so this really might be a happy medium between convenience and comfort for me, I will seriously consider! Thank you!

 

[puddintain]

@thanksyoueel I will say I've got a didyklick that I back carry with all the time and you can get super fast with it once you know what you are doing.

 

[alexander7791]

@thanksyoueel I've never worn 2 babies at once but it seems to me that you could use a wrap for little front baby and a meh dai for big back toddler. I find a meh dai pretty comfy for back wearing a toddler, not as good as well-tied wrap but it's much quicker and more convenient.

When the toddler really starts with the upsy-downsies you will be glad you have an onbuhimo though (at least that's been my experience).

 

[thanksyoueel]

@alexander7791 My anticipation of exactly that is why I haven't passed on my onbuhimo even though the best I can really say about it is that I don't hate it and sometimes it's faster (and convenient not to have to deal with keeping fabric off a dirty floor). I usually only reach for it when I go to the doctor for now because there's a lot of up and downing with me needing blood work and blood pressure taken, but I can see how once the toddler is more confident at walking and flip flopping between wanting up and down (which I imagine she will be by the time the new baby arrives) I'll be glad again for that speed.

 

[crownfair]

@thanksyoueel I tandem wear with my twingo and find it pretty quick to put on! I’m definitely far from a wrap person though and love my SSC. With how you do it with that, it’s like 30sec between babies going on.

 

[thanksyoueel]

@crownfair I've sadly never loved a single SSC I've tried. There's nowhere local I could go to try a twingo and given my other experiences I don't trust I'd like it either. The convenience, speed, and ease sound great, but I've been spoiled by the comfort of wraps and everything else always feels diggy and like it isn't distributing weight where I want it to by comparison.

 

[jaredbrown85]

@thanksyoueel Did you end up figuring out a solution?

 

[thanksyoueel]

@jaredbrown85 My plan is a stretchy wrap on front and a ruck carry with a woven wrap on back. I'm still only 14 weeks pregnant now so we'll see how it actually works out . I'm also considering hunting down a mehdai carrier, but a ruck isn't terribly difficult or time consuming so I'm not sure it's really worth the expense for me.

 

[jaredbrown85]

@thanksyoueel Nice! Hope it works out. I found this thread when looking up a solution for my current 3.5 year old (special needs son but 29 pounds) and my 7 month old baby too. I have never tandem wore but seems like it’s something I’m going to need to do as we’ve been only going out when my husband has been available to come with us to help. He’s starting a new job now and I need to take them out on my own but my toddler always wants to be carried with the baby. I’ve also never used a woven wrap but based on your comments that seems to be the most comfortable!!! Any time I’ve used a structured carrier by back killllllls so bad within 10 mins or so. And just feels so awkward and uncomfortable. I liked my newborn wraps though.