Double Baby Wearing

Most parents of multiples can recount the moment when their images of impending parenthood were challenged. The ultrasound. That first ultrasound when you learned you were not just expecting a baby, you were expecting a litter. After the initial shock, your mind tries to take in all of the adjustments. You shift from thinking about strollers to rigs. The Mini Cooper turns into a minivan. The college fund turns into a university endowment.

And baby wearing? What happens to that sweet image of cradling your darling near and dear to your heart? It turns to this:

Am I the only person who starts to think of nocturnal critters?

Don’t let these images frighten you. As a parent of multiples you should embrace the concept of baby wearing even more. It is no longer a cute accessory item. It is a necessity. Long after parents of singletons put the carriers up on the shelf, you will be walking around a playground chasing two toddlers with a carrier clipped around your waist. 

My children are nearing their second birthday and our days of double baby wearing are nearing an end. Over these two years I have explored a variety of configurations that give me freedom to be hands free when home or out and about.

1 month

In those early days, one carrier could accommodate both babes. I had a Storchenwiege wrap (similar to a Moby in concept but the material is less stretchy so works well with the weight of two babies or as the babes get heavier) that I would put them both in those early months. I personally think the special multiples carriers have limited utility and you are better off going with a carrier that can accommodate two but can also be a great carrier for one as your children gets older. The wrap carriers work well for this. Some parents also use the Kangaroo Korner at this stage.

4 months

When my children were about 3 months old, I remember trying to make pancakes while juggling two babies who both wanted/needed to be held. They were too big for one carrier now, so the experimentation began. I started with a combination of one wrapped to me in the front and then the other under in the ring sling. This allowed me to make those pancakes and was a configuration I did a couple more times, but as my children got bigger I needed to balance them a bit more. So I either put one on each side or front and back.

1 year

I continued to use the ring sling as they got older but they would sit in it rather than be cradled by it. The ring sling was nothing fancy, just a simple hand me down and for some reason my daughter was especially comforted by it. As children get heavier the ring sling can slide into your neck more. You can drape the material over your shoulder to prevent this, but that never seemed to stay for me. My children were on the smaller side, so I didn’t find it uncomfortable when it did start sliding up a bit as you see here.

When the babes were about 6 months, I started throwing an Ergo into the mix. In those early days, I would sometimes forget I even had a child on my back. Some folks prefer Becos and others use Mei Tais at this point. I found the Ergo worked better for me and my proportions. I strongly encourage folks to take their children with them and try different carriers to see what works best for them. Even if you don’t double baby wear at this stage, having the ability to wear one still gives you a good amount of freedom. I would often wear one and carry the other when running errands. If all the double carts are taken when you get to the grocery store you can put one in the cart and wear the other.

17 months

In our second year of baby wearing my most common combination was a Baby K'tan in the front (often without the extra sash tied on) and an Ergo in the back. In an ideal world I probably would have gone with one Ergo on the front and one on the back. But not knowing how much double wearing we had left wasn’t willing to commit to the price of another Ergo. The Baby K’Tan is similar to the wrap carriers but is two interlocking loops and is much simpler to get on. My babes were late walkers (~16 months) so it was well worth it to find a double arrangement that worked at this point.

22 months

One advantage of the Baby K’Tan over the Ergo in the front is I did have the option to have the child in the front face in or out. I recently took the children to Disneyland (with two other adults) and much preferred navigating without the stroller. The kids could sleep on me while we were in line and I didn’t worry about what would happen to the stroller while left unattended at the stroller parking.

23 months

Being proficient at baby wearing can be a crucial skill for parents of multiples but it takes a little experimenting to find the right combination for you (and then be prepared to change it a month later as the babes develop!)   

                                                                                          Good luck!

Sionainn M.

FHM Treasurer

Mommy to boy/girl twins (almost 2!)