Baby Carrying...

[SavageHoutkop]

Hello all I've been away from here a bit, as I have a 3.5 month old now. (I was cycling up till my due date though...). Now.... comes the problem of carrying said 3.5 month old via bike somehow.

Suggestions and pros/cons of various options welcomed. I am off to Amsterdam in a week, and hope to investigate the bike shops there for more inspiration (and possibly to buy!).

Our usual ride is a Brompton, and I'm aware that limits our options a bit, but I'm not completely against a different option that is non-Brompton friendly if it's much better or the only option!

 

[machew]

The first thing that comes to mind is a trailer

 

[kedab]

a complicated system of levers and pulleys suspending said 3.5 month old in a safe and mobile state of suspension utilising a gimbal type scenario while deftly securing the bike to your bottom?

 

[SavageHoutkop]

His head support is very good actually, it's not that I'm worried about. I've heard about the bad vibration argument which is more convincing. If anyone knows why the commonly touted '9 months or older' limit on (eg) bike seats is used, please do let me know! I suppose it's the flopping while asleep problem??

 

[mchunt]

It would be nice if somebody made a bike trailer with isofix connection so you could use a baby car seat in it. I have a brand new car seat that will get very little use as I don't drive and would be nice if it could be used with a bike trailer at some point.

I would think towing a bike trailer with a Brompton may be challenging, think I will be using my hybrid if/when I get a trailer.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

His head lasts pretty long, but thinking about it as soon as he falls asleep it'd be a problem. It looks uncomfortable enough when he falls asleep in a car seat in the car if his head lolls forward! It should be possible to have a bike seat that reclines quite far with the padding though, surely?

I know trailers have been done with the Brompton, it is a bit of a challenge IIRC. And of course you can't do the child seat behind you option either because of the seatpost setup.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Hmmmm are there easily collapsible bike trailers? Thinking of the 'taking the bromptons and junior on a train' solution.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Yep, I can see it happening as your pics show! are there no straps / seatbelts in trailers?

As for the 'flat' part most of my current cycling is flat; and as for the 'slow' part that too.... I would actually be tempted by a bakfiets or trike except my one lovely offroad route would be impassable due to the barriers!

 

[User169]

First, congratulations!

Steco make something that allows a maxi-cosi to be fitting to a bike.

Mrs DP used a type of shawl when our daughter was very young (from 7 weeks) and simply strapped baby to her front.

 

[jdtate101]

We put our son's into a trailer, but like you, found they didn't fit baby seats. The solution was that I used fabric straps with ratchet type fasteners (like you get on lorries) to create a "seat Belt". It fastened the seat to the trailer in the same manner as you do in the car (ie through the loops on the baby seat) but clamped it directly to the trailer frame. The ratchet was round the back so no-where near the child. We placed the child facing forward and wedged blankets to support their heads.
I don't have any photo's of it unfortunately, but it did work quite well. The shame of it is that my two are now too big for a trailer (now 6 & 3), which I really miss as doing outings with them was a blast (except for the hills which were really hard with that much weight on the back)....