breaking in the backpack

Today we went on a short hike in Marin to try out the new backpack.

Boy does it take us a long time to get ready! We tried to go last Sunday, but we ran out of time before we were supposed to be down in South Bay to have dinner with some friends. We were planning to leave 2 hours early so that we would have time to stop and walk around the reservoir with Charli's new ride, but instead we left right about the time we should have left in order to get to dinner on time. This might have been the first time I have ever gone to a dinner party right at the time it starts. I actually felt a little bad. No one is ever actually ready for guests right at the moment they said the party started.

Anyway, the hike was good! It was a little windy, but carrying a giant backpack sure warms you up! We didn't hike very far, but we saw a lego buddha and we had a great view of San Quentin. We had some Clif bars by the lego buddha - Charli thinks they are pretty OK. We brought her a bottle, but we cleverly forgot to bring a nipple, so we had to dump the water out of her sippy cup and put milk in there. It worked out fine, except that we felt dumb.

As far as a backpack exercise, it was definitely a success. We got a lot of practice adjusting the straps, and I realized after we got home that the reason the carrier is not "hydration compatible" is because, most likely, the person carrying the baby is not alone, and therefore does not have to be the one to carry both baby and water (and food and diaper bag, etc). Indeed, the next time I use the backpack, someone else will carry everything that can possibly be detached. Hooray!

I posted a page of pictures from the hike here.