Babies in Cabs

Okay, New Yorkers. One thing I’ve seen now a couple of times that just makes me sick to my stomach is a parent without a car seat getting into a cab with a baby strapped onto him/her via Ergo or Baby Bjorn. I know, I get it. It’s a pain in the a** to lug around a car seat, and very often, you don’t plan the cab trip in advance. Maybe the buses aren’t running that day, or the subway station is closed for maintenance or whatever, and so you’re stuck. But before you get into a cab with your baby without a car seat, take a look at the video in this link. If that doesn’t make you think twice about getting into a cab, I honestly don’t know what will.

• http://www.thecarseatlady.com/taxis/using_taxis_3.html

Baby Bjorn v. Ergo

For any new or soon-to-be moms on the market for carriers, debating between the Bjorn and the Ergo, hands down: Ergo. When I was doing research for carriers, I came across a lot of evidence that the Bjorns — at least the older models — were just bad for babies and their spines. Here’s a pro-Ergo discussion, that references the issue of baby’s health.

• http://www.myfavoritebabycarrier.com/comparison_baby_bjorn.html

The Bjorn is also just terrible for mama’s/papa’s back. The previous models lacked lumbar support for parents, so after a certain weight, it was just murder on parents to lug their kids around in Bjorns. Bjorn has since come out with the Comfort Carrier, but it’s more expensive than the Ergo, so why bother? Having said that much, if you do end up going for the Bjorn Comfort Carrier, just note that one of the features it touts is the ability to wear your kid facing out, a la classic models, which just goes back to the issue of the kid’s health.

Anyway, just my two cents!