First of all I owe myself, my baby boy and my yet-to-emerge readers an apology for not having written in a long time. The reason is simple! When I started the blog, we had a couple of wonderful stroller walks that made me think this would continue, however, I should know better that nothing stays the same with an infant. He decided that the stroller doesn't work for him anymore and now wants to only be carried and it has taken me some time to get used to the idea that our walks will now be a bit "heavier" - at least for me - and maybe a bit shorter too. Therefore, before I start sharing more of my observations about living and parenting in Tokyo, I think it is best if I make a small review of the three carriers I own.
First of all, BabyBjorn Baby Carrier Original. It worked beautifully for us during my son's first 3 months of life. He would always settle in it and fall asleep shortly. However, with him gaining weight, my shoulders would get tired too fast and when after a 45min walk to and back from a supermarket I felt like I had been working out in a wrong way for 24 hours I realized it was time to change it. However, I still love it and glad we started with it - it is very secure, easy to assemble to us and has worked perfectly.
That is how I bought Ergo, our second carrier. Ergo is extremely popular in Japan. It is very easy to buy a cheaper one on Amazon Japan, but one should be careful. Anything cheaper than 10,000JPY in price is usually a fake that comes in a color that is not produced by the original company. Ergo makes a notice on its Japanese website that when making a purchase in Japan one should only buy a carrier from an Ergo-certified store (there are dozens of both certified and non-certified ones on Amazon) that comes with an insurance certificate from Ergo.
Ergo has been working great for us. My son is now 9.5kg (almost 21lbs) and I sometimes carry him for as long as 4-5 hours and, though I feel a bit of pressure on my waist area, it is still very doable. My husband, however, prefers BabyBjorn as, having once hurt his back badly, he now avoids putting any strain on it.
One thing I love about Ergo is that I can easily breastfeed in it and it settles my boy like a charm. To do so, I have to lower the waist belt. If I am outside of home I still put on my Bebe Au Lait breastfeeding cover as it helps my son to go to sleep (while nursing) even faster when it is completely dark. However, this isn't necessary as Ergo already has an adjustable hood that can be used to cover your little one's head. As babies like to be held while their caregiver is standing, I often breastfeed like this without sitting down and this is incredibly useful when on the go. I can even walk like this, though not too fast. It works when I am sitting as well. I just usually have to stand up once to adjust the height and help my son latch and once he calms down I can sit down and continue what I was doing. I have done this many times when eating out with friends when my son became fussy. I am really thankful to one mom in the community here who has taught me this very valuable skill.
Another great thing about Ergo is that I can carry my baby back-style. It requires me to sit down on my sofa or bed to be able to adjust the carrier, but once I manage to put my son in, I can do chores completely hands-free and safe for him for a few hours. With my son now being 6+ months old Ergo is the one I use all the time. As it is winter now, I usually put it on securely under my coat and I can use the sides of the coat to help protect my son's legs from cold. For colder climates though, something like a babywearing coat may be necessary. In fact, I see many moms wearing these even in Tokyo. Noone wants to catch a cold! I don't have one, so I just make sure I wear a warm scarf and/or a nursing-turtleneck.
I also own another carrier - Infantino Breathe Vented Carrier. It is lighter than any other carrier and very easy to fold and carry around even in one's diaper bag. When I know I wouldn't need to walk in my carrier for a long time, I bring it with me as a quick fix. The reason is that I cannot last long in it - maybe about 30 minutes maximum and only if I do not have any bags to carry. It works great as a quick fix in restaurants when I just need to make sure my son is sitting securely on my lap - either in- our outward-facing. However, as the model resembles the one of the BabyBjorn Original, my shoulders get tired too fast and I haven't managed to breastfeed or soothe my baby effectively in it. Occasionally, I would use it at home when putting on Ergo seems like too much of a job. But again - I won't last long, so for me this carrier is more of an in-between solution. It is also worth mentioning that it probably works better for lighter babies as with a heavier one more support is crucial, at least for me.
Lately we have done a lot of things. I go to a supermarket ergo-wearing our baby daily and I can always see at list a dozen moms there doing the same. We have taken public transportation (subway and railroad) for as long as 1.5 hours one way and sometimes during the rush hours as well (those train trips were shorter, of course). We have taken an express train, shinkansen, to a nearby city. On the weekends, we always eat out and, unless my husband is carrying our son in the BabyBjorn, I fully rely on my Ergo and can still easily enjoy the meal and coffee. Carriers are great here as restaurants in Tokyo are very often small so they may not have enough space for a stroller and you may be asked to fold it and place outside which undermines the whole idea of bringing a stroller as you have to now carry your baby and the bags and do it all while trying to quickly fold your stroller without making a fuss. The same goes for many shops. Very often you just won't be able to fit in the aisles - and this is true for seemingly bigger stores too - something will be too small or narrow anyway, either their escalator or elevator or cashier area. To say nothing about trains during the rush hours. There is absolutely no way to fit a stroller (especially a bigger one like ours) in a train carriage in the morning or evening. I think that would even be dangerous. The safest hours are from about 11am to 2pm, but weekday transport in Tokyo is still crowded no matter what. There is usually one priority area with no seats in one of the carriages of a train where there is enough space for a stroller, but with the number of lines and stops to already keep in mind in Tokyo subway - which is huge - to get to a compartment like this requires quite a bit of planning. And unless it is midday, this area will be full of standing people, preoccupied with their plans and not so very caring, either way. Buses' aisles are also too narrow and are not equipped for bringing a stroller on - unless you decide to wait for a special bus that comes much less frequently. Traveling with a stroller around Tokyo is a topic for a separate post, so the bottom-line here is - unless you are walking around your neighborhood - a comfortable carrier is an absolute must.
First of all, BabyBjorn Baby Carrier Original. It worked beautifully for us during my son's first 3 months of life. He would always settle in it and fall asleep shortly. However, with him gaining weight, my shoulders would get tired too fast and when after a 45min walk to and back from a supermarket I felt like I had been working out in a wrong way for 24 hours I realized it was time to change it. However, I still love it and glad we started with it - it is very secure, easy to assemble to us and has worked perfectly.
That is how I bought Ergo, our second carrier. Ergo is extremely popular in Japan. It is very easy to buy a cheaper one on Amazon Japan, but one should be careful. Anything cheaper than 10,000JPY in price is usually a fake that comes in a color that is not produced by the original company. Ergo makes a notice on its Japanese website that when making a purchase in Japan one should only buy a carrier from an Ergo-certified store (there are dozens of both certified and non-certified ones on Amazon) that comes with an insurance certificate from Ergo.
Ergo has been working great for us. My son is now 9.5kg (almost 21lbs) and I sometimes carry him for as long as 4-5 hours and, though I feel a bit of pressure on my waist area, it is still very doable. My husband, however, prefers BabyBjorn as, having once hurt his back badly, he now avoids putting any strain on it.
One thing I love about Ergo is that I can easily breastfeed in it and it settles my boy like a charm. To do so, I have to lower the waist belt. If I am outside of home I still put on my Bebe Au Lait breastfeeding cover as it helps my son to go to sleep (while nursing) even faster when it is completely dark. However, this isn't necessary as Ergo already has an adjustable hood that can be used to cover your little one's head. As babies like to be held while their caregiver is standing, I often breastfeed like this without sitting down and this is incredibly useful when on the go. I can even walk like this, though not too fast. It works when I am sitting as well. I just usually have to stand up once to adjust the height and help my son latch and once he calms down I can sit down and continue what I was doing. I have done this many times when eating out with friends when my son became fussy. I am really thankful to one mom in the community here who has taught me this very valuable skill.
Another great thing about Ergo is that I can carry my baby back-style. It requires me to sit down on my sofa or bed to be able to adjust the carrier, but once I manage to put my son in, I can do chores completely hands-free and safe for him for a few hours. With my son now being 6+ months old Ergo is the one I use all the time. As it is winter now, I usually put it on securely under my coat and I can use the sides of the coat to help protect my son's legs from cold. For colder climates though, something like a babywearing coat may be necessary. In fact, I see many moms wearing these even in Tokyo. Noone wants to catch a cold! I don't have one, so I just make sure I wear a warm scarf and/or a nursing-turtleneck.
I also own another carrier - Infantino Breathe Vented Carrier. It is lighter than any other carrier and very easy to fold and carry around even in one's diaper bag. When I know I wouldn't need to walk in my carrier for a long time, I bring it with me as a quick fix. The reason is that I cannot last long in it - maybe about 30 minutes maximum and only if I do not have any bags to carry. It works great as a quick fix in restaurants when I just need to make sure my son is sitting securely on my lap - either in- our outward-facing. However, as the model resembles the one of the BabyBjorn Original, my shoulders get tired too fast and I haven't managed to breastfeed or soothe my baby effectively in it. Occasionally, I would use it at home when putting on Ergo seems like too much of a job. But again - I won't last long, so for me this carrier is more of an in-between solution. It is also worth mentioning that it probably works better for lighter babies as with a heavier one more support is crucial, at least for me.
Lately we have done a lot of things. I go to a supermarket ergo-wearing our baby daily and I can always see at list a dozen moms there doing the same. We have taken public transportation (subway and railroad) for as long as 1.5 hours one way and sometimes during the rush hours as well (those train trips were shorter, of course). We have taken an express train, shinkansen, to a nearby city. On the weekends, we always eat out and, unless my husband is carrying our son in the BabyBjorn, I fully rely on my Ergo and can still easily enjoy the meal and coffee. Carriers are great here as restaurants in Tokyo are very often small so they may not have enough space for a stroller and you may be asked to fold it and place outside which undermines the whole idea of bringing a stroller as you have to now carry your baby and the bags and do it all while trying to quickly fold your stroller without making a fuss. The same goes for many shops. Very often you just won't be able to fit in the aisles - and this is true for seemingly bigger stores too - something will be too small or narrow anyway, either their escalator or elevator or cashier area. To say nothing about trains during the rush hours. There is absolutely no way to fit a stroller (especially a bigger one like ours) in a train carriage in the morning or evening. I think that would even be dangerous. The safest hours are from about 11am to 2pm, but weekday transport in Tokyo is still crowded no matter what. There is usually one priority area with no seats in one of the carriages of a train where there is enough space for a stroller, but with the number of lines and stops to already keep in mind in Tokyo subway - which is huge - to get to a compartment like this requires quite a bit of planning. And unless it is midday, this area will be full of standing people, preoccupied with their plans and not so very caring, either way. Buses' aisles are also too narrow and are not equipped for bringing a stroller on - unless you decide to wait for a special bus that comes much less frequently. Traveling with a stroller around Tokyo is a topic for a separate post, so the bottom-line here is - unless you are walking around your neighborhood - a comfortable carrier is an absolute must.
