to even consider cycling with my baby in a baby bjorn carrier?

[Jazmyn]

Before I get totally flamed I'd like to explain a few things.

Firstly I live in a modern town in Holland with miles and miles of perfectly flat, well maintained cycle paths so the traffic risk is not an issue, I can cycle for hours without having to risk coming into contact with any cars at all.

Secondly the Dutch bicycles are slightly different to the majority of the UK bikes, more "sit up and beg" style so you ride in an upright position with your arms out stretched and plenty of room for the baby between you and the handlebars as they curve at the ends towards you.

My DS is 8 weeks and LOVES being out in the baby carrier! We dont have a car and although I go out walking with him every day I do miss cycling. Also I'm part of a mother and baby group which have weekly meetings, I end up having to beg for lifts every time, if I could cycle I could be independent but it's too far to walk (about 40 mins cycling) and there's no footpaths, only roads and cycle paths.

Before he was born I cycled EVERYWHERE up to the day before his birth.... the bikes here are really comfortable and I couldnt walk due to SPD but could still cycle!. I miss it and am tempted to try it out but am hesitent due to the amount of "ney-sayers" I've found online (mostly UK sites advising not to because of traffic or american sites and I find they can be rather over the top safety concious).

I'd never even considered it until the idea was suggested by a few friends of mine with young kids. Apparently it's quite common to do it here and I'm wondering what the MN thoughts are, given the situation......

WWYD?

I'm not sure which way I would go on this one tbh, but I think you should also consider that with the extra weight of the baby on your front it would inevitably alter the weight distribution/centre of gravity that you are used to cycling with. That may make the safety issue more valid.

Just a thought.

Very good point Sam, I might just try it around the back garden with DH nearby -giggling- helping out, just out of curiosity.

Jazmyn, sorry didn't realise other Dutch mums were suggesting this. Having said that, as you mentioned yourself, attitudes in Holland are very different to here. I knew a few Dutch mums who left their babies sleeping at home alone while they collected older children from school so I'm not necessarily sure I would be happy taking much parenting advice from them. Obviously, different attitudes prevail in different countries so I'm not knocking what worked for them/was acceptable in Holland but I wouldn't have felt happy doing it.

Btw, I am jealous that you manage to have a garden large enough to cycle around, ours was about two steps in every direction when we lived there!

annh actually I may have bent the truth a bit.... it'd be my PIL's back garden :P ours sounds pretty much identical to yours!!! :D

I know what you mean about attitudes, I have a very "natural mother" type friend of mine (you know the sort.... ring slings, co sleeping etc) who actually left both hers (2 and 4) asleep upstairs and dropped the baby monitor around to the neighbour while she went out for half an hour. I found that quite bizaar!

Jazmyn I can absolutely see why you'd be tempted and I would have been too, but I wouldn't anymore. I would wait until they could go into some kind of seat and wear a helmet.

I have always cycled and have never fallen off - until last year in Spain. Both times I was on a cycle lane (pavement style, not side of the road) the first time my inner tube had deflated (no bang or clue it just went) and when I went to turn the corner the bike just fell and I damaged my knee, the second time this fucking stupid girl (in her 20's) rode into me (she had been stopped at an intersection and literally pushed off into me).

Neither were my fault, both I ended up with injuries and both would have seriously hurt a baby in a sling :(

You will just have to get your cycling fix while DH stays home with the baby for a little while :( I'm sure the others don't mind giving you a lift for a few months until you can cycle again.

There is absolutely no way on earth that I would do this, in the UK, in Holland or anywhere else in the world.
And I speak as someone who never uses a pram but instead back-carries everywhere.
My partner is a competitive cyclist who commutes an 18 mile round-trip every day. He is about as safe a cyclist as there can be. He has had two falls recently, one due to a pedal clip shearing off without warning, the other due to someone else on the very quiet road doing something stupid. If he had been carrying our baby then it is almost certain that our child would have been seriously injured or worse. You cannot say that you won't fall off and if you do, the child will almost certainly be injured. The risk of falling off may not be all that high, but the consequences of any such fall are very serious.

Havne;t read whole thread , but
I did it Jazmyn (in UK and Spain), only a few times, wouldn't do it again because I didn't have the right set up (bike or route) and I didn't want to have to go so slow. I am sure you are the best judge in your circumstances, not any of us.

We switched to child in an infant car seat strapped in a trailer, found that much more practical for our needs. If I lived in Holland I'd look at the Bobobike thingie or whatever it's called.