Baby Bjorn & Bun Bun

We loved wearing Jones in his Baby Bjorn when he was little and light! (Thank you Laksh and Mark for giving it to us - it was a life saver in those first months!!!)However, by the time Jones was about 3 months old it looked like the future of our wearing him around town, the flat, neighborhood, and everywhere else would be limited: he was still in the 90th percentile in weight and height at about 14lbs. Sadly, despite its ubiquity and good looks, the Baby Bjorn is not a very good baby carrier for the long term. It markets itself as the be-all-and-end-all of baby carriers until your child is 25lbs, but the Baby Bjorn's design is really only good for carrying newborns and very light babies, not for carrying weighty little lumps like our little'un. The problem is it is a 'parachute' design which means all the of the weight is concentrated in the wearer's shoulders instead of the back; thus really digging into the old trapezoid muscles and making one feel slightly paralyzed after a few hours of carrying a baby much over, well, 12 pounds.

Thankfully, our good friend and baby-wearing expert, Heath Sledge, introduced us to the world of baby wearing and carriers galore! We tried one of her Mei Tais at Jones's Baptism and, really, there is NO comparison. When we got back to the UK we bought a stretchy wrap and never looked back...

So, my public service announcement for the day is: anyone who is reading this and thinking of wearing your baby (which, incidentally, has many proven benefits for both wearer and child) pass on getting a Baby Bjorn and go straight for a wrap and/or Mei Tai...you will not regret it! (And Mikey, if you are reading this, this means you now know what your baby gift from us is going to be!)

Anywho, all this is a rather unneccessary set-up for these pictures: the last of Jones in the Baby Bjorn with his new 'not a toy' toy, Bun Bun.

Bun Bun is Jones's new black bunny that we got him at Greenwich Market. It's made out of recycled materials by Bea's Beastlies, a woman's company (Bea, presumably) who does a lot of trade at the markets in London. They are sooo cool - the eco-friendly, one-of-a-kind cousin to the mass-market, but also very cool Ugly Doll.

Here's the thing, after seeing Bun Bun (originally named 'Radical Reg'), Jones reached for him/her with lightening speed and then proceeded to smile, coo and lovingly suck on his/her ears within an instant. Obviously, Bun Bun had to be ours. But it was only after we'd handed over the cashola that we realized that Bun Bun came with a rather stern warning:

WARNING!
THIS IS NOT A TOY
NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER
THE AGE OF 8 YRS, AS SMALL PIECES
MAY CAUSE CHOKING

AHHHHHHH!

Come on!!! Our baby son finds a little black bunny he loves and it's not a toy?!

Lame-o.

Apparently Bun Bun's eyes might fall off and be inadvertently 'in-' and subsequently 'di-'jested.

Double lame-o.

So, sadly, Bun Bun is only a Mom, Dad and Jones time toy...

Here is one of those times:

 
 

Bun Bun