February 2, 2012

Rachel and gear update

All being well this should be our last night in BC... despite the blizzard trying to scare us away from Colorado we hope to see Jason Friday night at the Denver Airport.

Being on the road so much lately, I thought I'd give an update about Rachel and her gear.

Rachel - the biggest change to Rachel is her language.  She will try to repeat almost anything you say now.  So lately she will say things like 'oh No!', 'oh Dear!', 'Ella', 'Grandpa', 'Cooper', 'Oh Jeez!', Uh-Oh', 'glasses', 'I don't know' (meshed into one word as she shrugs and looks concerned), and while hashing 'On-On'.  It's hilarious and we're really impressed by how fast she is learning.

Me Too - this is the Phil N Teds High Chair we bought at Thanksgiving.  We have found it light, portable, easy to fly/throw in the car/take anywhere.  We really like it and would recommend it... mostly.  The one big question is what kind of table it's going to be used on.  We've used it at many, many tables now but we've also been in situations where it didn't quite fit the table and didn't work.  In fact, I'm ashamed to admit that I tried to put it on a table last weekend that wasn't quite right and Rachel and the chair fell right down to the floor.  She was completely safe - had a surprise landing on her bottom - but it was scary and not something I ever want to happen again.  So it doesn't work on glass and it requires a table to have a fairly thin counter top / lip with room below to turn the clamp.  I can see that the lobster version may actually work on more surfaces, but I don't know that for sure.

Travel Crib - we have had Rachel in her Phil N Teds travel crib in hotels, houses, a hut ... we've used it a LOT.  We love it.  It's the lightest one there is.  That means more room in our bags for other stuff.  It's like putting up a little tent for her every night - not as fast as the PeaPod ones, but lighter as it's supposed to last her until 3yrs old.  She can now open all the zippers and get in and out, but this has proved so far to be a fun game during the day rather than an issue at night when it's dark.  The only issue we have with it at all is that it's tough to fit back in the bag, and we have torn our bag and now have duct tape on it.

Bjorn - Rachel has used the carrier that we were generously given by friends in Penticton since she was about 2 weeks old.  I'm still using it... although it is not comfortable anymore and she really is getting too big for it.  She doesn't weigh 20lbs yet, but it hurts my neck and back for rides longer than about 10 minutes.  We had actually packed it away after our hut trip last February since it was so uncomfortable for that long trip, but I have used it during travel since.  It's just not practical to fly with a backpack.  I know the Ergo carrier would be a way better option, since it is also just collapsible fabric, but I don't want to buy another carrier when the Bjorn does work.  But if I were starting all over again, I would get the Ergo over the Bjorn and use it right away (with an infant insert) and keep using it well into toddler years.  I still keep my eye out for a used one to cross my path and will buy one if I can find a good deal. 

Stroller - We have not had a stroller on this trip and that has been ok.  We borrowed a jog stroller last weekend from a friend so we could have a family run... but other than that, Rachel has not been in a stroller for many weeks.  Let's hope she's ok to get back into her Chariot and/or backpack on Sat because there's a foot of new snow at home to go xcountry ski or snowshoe on!

No comments:

Post a Comment